Well, spring migration isn’t over just yet, but it’s really close. There might be one last pulse of migrants with the south winds and warmer weather forecast for Tuesday and Wednesday. This morning I had singing Wilson’s and Magnolia Warblers, a female American Redstart, and a Great Crested Flycatcher. I also heard what were probably Alder and Willow Flycatchers calling. I usually keep birding Montrose for the first 10 or 15 days in June for late migrants and stragglers. Who knows, maybe a Fork-tailed Flycatcher or Brown-chested Martin will show up.
Author Archives: rhughes
June 5, 2013
A brief walk around Montrose this morning yielded the following birds:
Mute Swan – 5 (3 adults, 2 immatures) flying east
Black-bellied Plover – 1
Sanderling – 2
Semipalmated Sandpiper – 1
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher – 2
Alder Flycatcher – 1
Mourning Warbler – 2
Wilson’s Warbler – 1
The fat lady still hasn’t sung.
Hooded Warbler and Northern Mockingbird, June 2, 2013
Montrose wasn’t very active this morning, as is to be expected for the first week in June, but I had a few goodies. A male Hooded Warbler was singing in the Magic Hedge. I never saw him but others did. I also had a Northern Mockingbird in the willows in the dunes. Other birds seen or heard include Semipalmated Plover, Yellow-bellied and Willow Flycatchers, Eastern Wood-Pewee, Veery, 8 migrating Blue Jays, Wilson’s, Magnolia, and Chestnut-sided Warblers, Ovenbird, and American Redstart.
Mottled Ducks! (Upon further review, not)
Mottled Ducks. Photo by Kanae Hirabayashi (click to see the larger version).
Kanae Hirabayashi and Luiz Munoz found two Mottled Ducks, both apparent males, at Montrose Beach on May 30. This is an unexpected and extraordinary sighting. Illinois has a handful of Mottled Duck records but this is a first for Cook County, and obviously Montrose. Unfortunately for other birders, a careless photographer got too close to the birds and they flew off. They haven’t been seen since. This is the 337th species of bird recorded at Montrose.
Addendum: The photos of these birds show evidence of hybridization with Mallards, specifically, curled uppertail coverts and white in the outer tail feathers. Therefore, Mottled Duck has been removed from the list of birds recorded at Montrose.
To see a list of the birds recorded at Montrose, please refer to the Birds Recorded at the Montrose Point Area in Chicago page.
May 29, 2013 – Still Going
Montrose was fairly birdy this morning, especially for Empidonax flycatchers, American Redstarts, and Common Yellowthroats. Here’s some of what I saw in about an hour and a half:
Lesser Scaup – 1 male in Lake Michigan just off the beach
Horned Grebe – 1 in full breeding plumage just off the beach
Semipalmated Sandpiper – ~50
Pectoral Sandpiper – 1
Semipalmated Plover – 1
Yellow-billed Cuckoo – 1 seen and heard giving the “rain crow” call
Ruby-throated Hummingbird – 1
Olive-sided Flycatcher – 1
Eastern Wood-Pewee – ~5
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher – 6
Least Flycatcher – 3
Willow Flycatcher – 3
Willow/Alder Flycatcher – ~4
Philadelphia Vireo – 1
Blue Jay – ~40 migrating west
Swainson’s Thrush – 3
Veery – 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler – 1
Cape May Warbler – 1
Magnolia Warbler – ~4
Black-throated Green Warbler – 1
Black-throated Blue Warbler – 1 female
Canada Warbler – 3
Wilson’s Warbler – ~6
Ovenbird – 1
Common Yellowthroat – ~15
American Redstart – ~15
Lincoln’s Sparrow – 2
White-throated Sparrow – 1
Orchard Oriole – 1
Blast From the Past – Black Rail, May 30, 1994
Photo by Kanae Hirabayashi (click to see the larger version).
On May 30, 1994, Chicago birder Kanae Hirabayashi found a Black Rail at Montrose. The bird put on quite a show for the dozens of people who saw it, walking around in the open and giving mouth watering looks. This bird was a lifer for many birders, including myself, and I haven’t seen one since. On a side note, all of the rails that have been recorded in Illinois have been seen at Montrose.