Category Archives: Non-Montrose Birding

This category is for birding topics not related to Montrose birds or birding. To be used sparingly.

Ross’s Gull – MEGA Rarity (but not at Montrose)

Ross’s Gull at Chicago’s Park 566 (click to see the larger version)

Few birds spark feelings of ecstacy the way Ross’s Gull does, so when one showed up at Park 566 on the south side of Chicago on March 11, 2023, it generated a lot of excitement in the birding community. Hordes of eager birders descended on Park 566 and Rainbow Beach to see what may be the rarity of the decade in Chicago. The Ross’s obliged and put on a show worthy of its status as one of the most sought after of North American birds. This is the fourth record of Ross’s Gull for Illinois, and the first record of an immature for the state. Many excellent photos are at the Park 566 eBird Hotspot.

Ross’s Gulls at Montrose Point

Montrose has two confirmed Ross’s Gull sightings, the first from November 1978 and the second from March 2011. The 1978 record is the same bird first seen at Gillson Park along Lake Michigan in Wilmette, Illinois. This individual made its way south to Chicago, where it was observed at North Avenue Beach and again at Montrose. The 2011 record is of a well-photographed adult sitting on the fishing pier.

Sandhill Cranes (not at Montrose but not far away), November 22, 2021

Migrating Sandhill Cranes over Chicago. Taken at Graceland Cemetery. (click to see the larger version)

A big push of Sandhill Cranes took place over Chicago on November 22, 2021. These birds were migrating en masse, responding to an intense cold front and strong northwest winds, typical behavior for Sandhills in late fall. When I started to see flocks from my apartment around noon I walked over to Graceland Cemetery to get a better look. From Graceland I could see multiple flocks drifting south one to two miles to the west and 300 to 500 feet high, possibly following the Chicago River or Western Avenue (the photo shows how I was seeing them). We rarely get big numbers of Sandhills like this at Montrose, unless the wind is blowing very hard from the west, and it wasn’t on November 22.

Sandhill Crane migration is fairly predictable in late fall – be alert for strong cold fronts with west winds. They also seem to move better on days with clear or at most partly cloudy skies. Heavy overcast and precipitation discourage them from flying.

Purple Martin Memories

Purple Martins staging at LaSalle Fish and Wildlife Area in Indiana (click to see the larger version)

Some of you may remember the hordes of Purple Martins that staged at Montrose in late summer in the 1970s and 1980s. It was quite a sight and quite a sound, as several thousand martins would roost in the tall cottonwoods and suddenly explode in noisy, excited flight. This spectacle is a thing of the past – most of the Purple Martins we see anymore are the nesting birds on the northwest side of the harbor, and they number less than 100. I took this photo of migrant Purple Martins staging at LaSalle Fish and Wildlife Area in Indiana in late August 2021. The photo reminds me of what we used to experience at Montrose.

Kankakee Sands, January 9, 2021 – Bison, Buteos, and More

Rough-legged Hawk (click to see the larger version)

I took a break from Chicago birding and headed down to the Kankakee Sands in Newton County, Indiana on January 9. The Kankakee Sands is a complex of prairie and wetland habitat owned and managed by the Indiana chapter of The Nature Conservancy. I visit the Sands several times each year, usually in summer and winter to look for birds and butterflies. Birding is excellent all year round. Summer is the season to see the grassland specialties like Henslow’s and Grasshopper Sparrows and Dickcissels, which are hard to miss and fill the air with their songs. Winter brings a different set of visitors, most notably raptors like Rough-legged Hawk, Northern Harrier, and Short-eared Owl. These birds of prey were my avian targets on my January 9 visit. I saw a dozen Rough-legged Hawks and seven Northern Harriers, all coursing the fields for rodents or perching on the tip tops of trees for a better vantage. I missed Short-eared Owls, probably because I was there too late in the morning, but they are there and in numbers. I also had a couple of Bald Eagles and American Kestrels, a Cooper’s Hawk, and a lone Red-tailed Hawk. The Sands is one of the few places where Rough-legged Hawks outnumber the usually more common Red-tailed Hawk. The main mammal claim to fame at the Sands is a herd of about 70 American Bison. These Bison were introduced to a section of the Sands in 2016 and play an important role in maintaining the integrity of the grasslands. They’re hard to miss and I didn’t have any problem finding them.

How to Bird The Kankakee Sands (and look for Bison)

The Kankakee Sands is about an hour and a half due south of Chicago off of US41 in eastern Newton County, Indiana. Morocco is the nearest large town and lies about six miles to the south. When I bird the Sands I drive back and forth slowly on the gravel roads east of US41, looking and listening for birds and other wildlife. These roads don’t get a lot of traffic, especially in winter, and are safe to bird while driving. Note that in winter the roads might not be drivable because of heavy snow. County roads 500N and 400N are excellent for birds of prey.

American Bison (click to see the larger version)

The Bison are best viewed from the Bison Viewing Area west of US41. To reach it, take 400W south from 400N for about half a mile. Look for a gravel road that goes east and take it to the parking lot. Walk up to the top of the rise and start scanning. The Bison are usually to the south, east, or northeast. They can be seen with your eyes but binoculars make the experience more enjoyable. This is also an excellent place and vantage point to look for Rough-legged Hawks, Northern Harriers, and other birds of prey. I’ve included a link to my eBird checklist for my January 9 visit below. The checklist includes more photos of the birds I saw.

To read more about The Nature Conservancy’s efforts at Kankakee Sands, go to this site – Efroymson Restoration at Kankakee Sands.

eBird Checklist
January 9, 2021

Sandhill Cranes (not from Montrose, but close), October 28, 2020

Sandhill Cranes (click to see the larger version)

I live on the outskirts of Wrigleyville in Chicago, about a mile from Montrose Point and its famous bird sanctuary. My third-floor apartment offers a decent and relatively unobstructed view to the west. When I’m home I often look out my windows to see if anything is flying by. I’ve had some interesting birds and birding experiences over the years – Bald Eagles and Peregrine Falcons, big flights of Common Nighthawks in late summer, and when the conditions are right, flocks of Sandhill Cranes in late fall. On the morning of October 28, 11 Sandhills came in from the north, not far from my apartment building. Sandhill Cranes are less common close to Lake Michigan – I rarely get large flights of them, unless the wind is strong and from the west, which it was on October 28. When those conditions occur, and I have time to look, I sometimes see hundreds or even thousands moving south. I didn’t have a lot of time that day, so those 11 Sandhills were all I saw.

If you live in Chicago and want to see Sandhill Cranes, check the skies from late October to early December on days with strong west winds following the passage of a cold front. You might see them under other weather conditions but they move en masse on days with west winds, the stronger the better.

Graceland Cemetery – Switching Gears

When the city closed Montrose Point to limit the spread of COVID-19 I had to find an alternate place to go birding. Graceland Cemetery is within walking distance of my home and that’s where I went for my local birding fix this spring. I birded Graceland once in the past, forgot about it, and never really considered going there again. The Chicago lakefront park closures changed that.

The Basics

Graceland Cemetery is on the north side of Chicago, just north of Wrigley Field. It’s 121 acres and extends from Irving Park Road on the south to Montrose Avenue on the north and from Clark Street on the west to the elevated train tracks on the east. If you’ve driven east on Irving Park past Clark Street you’ve probably seen it. This Google Map shows the road system around Graceland.

Birds, Birding, and Other Critters

Playing hide-and-seek with a Connecticut Warbler at Graceland Cemetery (click to see the larger version)

From late March when I started to early June I tallied 105 species. My best day was May 15 with 72 species in about 3 hours. As of early June, the eBird total for Graceland is a respectable 174 species. Graceland proved to be excellent for warblers, vireos, flycatchers, and other arboreal passerines, which isn’t surprising given the many tall deciduous trees on the property. Overall habitat diversity is low, however, which limits avian diversity, especially for waterbirds. Lake Willowmere is the only body of water and it’s too small to attract most waterfowl and other water associating birds. One aspect I liked is how open the cemetery is, which made scanning the skies and looking for flyovers easy.

Graceland’s most famous animal residents are the family of Coyotes that call it home. I saw them on most of my visits and they became the subject of conversations I would have with other birders and even non-birders. They were hard to miss and showed a casualness towards people, a sign they’ve become acclimated to us. They brightened my visits and sometimes gave me a start when they got too close.

It’s an Arboretum Too

Graceland is also an arboretum with over 50 species of trees. Many of the common ornamental trees that line Chicago streets grow on the property (e.g., Silver and Norway Maples, American Elms, and Honey Locusts), and I found other more exotic species like English Oak. These trees give Graceland a beautiful, open park-like atmosphere. They’re also why it’s so attractive to warblers and other tree-loving passerines during migration.

In the End, It’s a Cemetery

Jack Johnson’s Grave, Graceland Cemetery (click to see the larger version)

When most Chicagoans think of Graceland they probably think of the many famous people buried there. The cemetery hosts a number of movers and shakers from our history, businessmen like Potter Palmer, former Chicago mayor Carter Harrison, architect Mies Van Der Rohe, and artist Ed Paschke, to name a few. To my mind, the most notable resident is Jack Johnson, the first black heavyweight boxing champion of the world. You may have seen the Ken Burns documentary about him, “Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson”. Johnson became a lightning rod for white hatred when he won the boxing championship and also for aspects of his personal life.

Final Thoughts

Losing access to Montrose was a bitter pill to swallow. I’ve birded there for almost 40 years and I’ve never missed an entire May migration until this year. Having Graceland took some of the sting out of that loss. It also gave me a chance to explore an underbirded site in Chicago. Graceland is a wonderful place to wander around and look at things. A big thanks and shoutout to Graceland Cemetery management for keeping it open to the public during the COVID-19 crisis.

Resources

Official Graceland Cemetery Website
https://www.gracelandcemetery.org/

Graceland Cemetery eBird Hotspot
https://ebird.org/hotspot/gracelandcemetery

May 15, 2020 Graceland Cemetery eBird Checklist
https://ebird.org/checklist/gracelandcemetery/05152020

Google Map of Graceland Cemetery
Graceland Cemetery Google Map

The Montrose Birding Blog

Bird and Nature Sightings from Montrose Point in Chicago