Category Archives: Spring Bird Reports

March 1 – May 31, inclusive

Barred Owl (finally), March 23, 2019

Barred Owl

Barred Owl (click to see the larger version)

Well, the Barred Owl that was at the Jarvis Bird Sanctuary in Lincoln Park on March 22 wandered north to Montrose (Montrose is about a mile north of Jarvis). This is a big deal for us, the first confirmed Barred Owl record for Montrose and one of only a handful of records for Lincoln Park. Hard to believe I know, but Barred Owls are rare in Chicago; chalk it up to a lack of extensive forest in the city. The bird was viewed and photographed by many. A big shoutout to the mob of American Crows for locating it. To see a list of the birds recorded at Montrose, refer to the Montrose List page.

eBird Checklist
https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S54133558

White-winged and Black Scoters and Long-tailed Ducks, March 17, 2019

Today was a good day to look at Lake Michigan – overcast skies, a flat surface, and excellent visibility most of the way to the horizon, perfect conditions for looking for birds on the water. While scanning the lake I found several groups of White-winged Scoters, a female Black Scoter, and 4 Long-tailed Ducks. The White-winged Scoters (~20) were scattered in small flocks 1/5 to 1/4 mile offshore from the fishing pier. With one of these flocks was a female Black Scoter, a good bird for Montrose in the spring. Finally, I saw a group of Long-tailed Ducks flying south far offshore. These birds landed eventually but disappeared because of distance. Also of note were about a dozen Double-crested Cormorants on the water crib a couple of miles offshore from Montrose, the beginnings of the nesting colony. Link to my eBird checklist for the day below.

eBird Checklist
https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S53931628

May 27, 2018 – Still Going

Great Egrets

Great Egrets (click to see the larger version)

Migration is still going on at Montrose, albeit at a slower pace than a week or 2 ago. A check of eBird for today, May 27, shows over 85 species reported, not half-bad for the final days of May. Montrose holds late migrants better than most other places; I keep birding it until about June 10. Some folks bird it through the month. One of my highlights today was this flock of 17 Great Egrets that came winging over.

eBird Checklist
https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S46065216

Loggerhead Shrike and Bell’s Vireo, May 24, 2018

Loggerhead Shrike

Loggerhead Shrike. Photo by Mike Ferguson. (click to see the larger version)

This continues to be a stellar spring migration at Montrose Point. Today, May 24, was a bit weak for migrants but we made up for the lack of variety with 2 outstanding rarities. The more significant rarity was a Loggerhead Shrike, a bird I haven’t seen there since the 1990’s. That’s right, since the 20th century. The second and lesser rarity was a Bell’s Vireo, a bird that is less than annual at Montrose. Both birds were seen and enjoyed by multiple observers.

Here’s to a final week of May that’s bursting with migrants.

eBird Checklist
https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S45982164

Tree Top Feeding Passerines

Passerines feeding on flies

Passerines feeding on flies (click to see the larger version)

If you were at Montrose on May 5 you probably noticed the many passerines feeding in the tops of trees that were leafing out. These birds – Gray Catbirds, Swainson’s Thrushes, Baltimore Orioles, and a variety of warblers and sparrows were feeding on small flies. I also saw a Prothonotary Warbler and White-eyed Vireo doing the same. I’m not sure what kind of flies these were, possibly midges, but it was enjoyable to watch normally ground dwelling birds up high and above eye level.

This photo shows Red-winged Blackbirds, White-throated and White-crowned Sparrows, Gray Catbirds, and a Swainson’s Thrush, all feasting on flies.

May 5, 2018

Yellow-headed Blackbird

Yellow-headed Blackbird (click to see the larger version)

The hit parade of spring migration wonderfulness continued today, May 5 at Montrose. I ended up with 101 species in 6 hours of birding, only the fifth time I’ve topped 100 species in a day at Montrose. Passerines were abundant, with White-crowned, White-throated, and Swamp Sparrows and Yellow-rumped and Palm Warblers leading the way. There were also good numbers of Gray Catbirds and Swainson’s Thrushes. Interestingly, many of these birds were feeding in the tops of trees that were just leafing out, apparently on newly emerged midges. Shorebird variety, however, was low, which was surprising given the complete lack of dogs on the beach (thanks to CPD security) and the presence of a large fluddle on the public beach. The large number of people probably didn’t help (there were 2 major events at Montrose today). My highlights include

White-eyed Vireo – 1, feeding in the top of trees, a common theme today
All 6 regularly occurring swallows
Golden-crowned Kinglet – 1, getting late
20 species of warbler, the best being Prothonotary and Golden-winged. Only Yellow-rumped, Palm, Northern Waterthrush, and Ovenbird were common however
Clay-colored Sparrow – 2
Lark Sparrow – 1
Yellow-breasted Chat – 1
Yellow-headed Blackbird – 1
Orchard Oriole – 2

eBird Checklist
https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S45299316