I spent a little over an hour at Montrose Beach this morning, hoping for large shorebirds, especially the kind with long recurved or decurved bills. The only shorebirds I saw were a flyby Ruddy Turnstone, a couple Semipalmated Plovers, a Spotted Sandpiper, and a few Sanderlings. The morning wasn’t a complete bust however. Around dawn a Merlin flew in off the lake with something in its talons. This is my first Merlin of the season at Montrose. I also had about 15 adult Common Terns fly south over the beach. They were coming by in small groups and never landed. A juvenile Forster’s Tern made an appearance too.
Author Archives: rhughes
Willets, August 27, 2014
Willet (click to see the larger version)
I went over to Montrose this evening to check the beach for large shorebirds. No Whimbrel or Hudsonian Godwits but there were 3 juvenile Willets inside the protected area. There were also a few shorebirds in the fluddle just to the west of the protected area, including a bunch of Semipalmated Sandpipers, a few Least Sandpipers, a lone Pectoral Sandpiper and a couple or 3 Semipalmated Plovers.
Willet and Baird’s Sandpiper, August 16, 2014
I rode my bike over to Montrose early this afternoon to watch the Air and Water Show, but before the Blue Angels started flying I checked the beach and had a Willet and a Baird’s Sandpiper, both juveniles, inside the protected area. I also had a “flock” of 5 Blue-gray Gnatcatchers at the southeast corner of the point.
Baird’s Sandpiper, August 1, 2014
Baird’s Sandpiper. Photo by Clara Coen (click to see the larger version)
An adult Baird’s Sandpiper was inside the protected area at the east end of Montrose Beach this morning, August 1. The bird was seen yesterday too. Adult Baird’s Sandpipers are fairly unusual at Montrose; most of the Baird’s we see are juveniles. Also seen inside the protected area this a.m. were one each of Ruddy Turnstone, Semipalmated Plover, and Semipalmated and Least Sandpipers.
Buff-breasted Sandpiper, July 27, 2014
Buff-breasted Sandpiper (click to see the larger version)
Al Stokie found an adult Buff-breasted Sandpiper at Montrose Beach this morning, July 27. Al first saw the bird near the fence at the west end of the protected area. He said the bird flew off after a few minutes and I thought I wouldn’t get to see it but it magically reappeared in front of us while we were standing at the base of the fishhook pier. This was about 7:20. A Killdeer spooked the bird and it flew off to the west and wasn’t seen again. This is the first Buff-breasted Sandpiper I’ve heard of not only for Illinois but the upper Midwest. There were also Semipalmated and Least Sandpipers, Sanderlings, and Semipalmated Plovers on the beach.
The Return of the Green Gunk
Shorebirds and Algae (click to see the larger version)
Green gunk has returned to Montrose Beach. Green gunk is just algae that has washed up and accumulated on the beach. Shorebirds love to feed in this stuff. This morning, July 26, there were ~30 Sanderlings, ~6 Semipalmated Sandpipers, a fresh juvenile Least Sandpiper, 4 Semipalmated Plovers, plus the local Killdeer and Spotted Sandpipers feeding in the gunk inside the protected area at he east end of the beach.