Category Archives: Spring Bird Reports

March 1 – May 31, inclusive

Red-throated Loon, White-winged Scoters, Long-tailed Ducks, and Snow Bunting, March 7, 2014

Red-throated Loon

Red-throated Loon (click to see the larger version)

This is beginning to sound like a broken record. Lake Michigan was ice covered from horizon to horizon but there were a few areas of open water and these open areas had birds. Best was probably the Red-throated Loon at the harbor mouth. Unfortunately the bird flushed when a fisherman walked onto the north pier. This must have been one desperate fisherman as there was barely enough water to fish in. There were also a dozen or so White-winged Scoters and a drake Long-tailed Duck here.

A larger group of ducks (100-150 birds) were in the lake a couple hundred yards north of the end of the fishhook pier. I didn’t have my scope but most appeared to be scaup, White-winged Scoters, and mergansers. Another small pool of water south of here held more White-winged Scoters and 2 Long-tailed Ducks.

A few ducks are hanging on in the ever decreasing water hole near the bend of the point. It’s really a sad sight. There were probably more birds standing on the ice around the hole than actually in the water, and there were multiple dead ducks scattered around.

Finally, I heard a Snow Bunting flying over the beach.

March 4, 2014

Waterfowl trapped by ice

Waterfowl trapped by ice (click to see the larger version)

I went over to Montrose this morning, March 4, to see what was around. There were a couple very small areas of open water along the shore, one at the harbor mouth and the other near the tower at the bend of the point. Both areas had birds, mainly White-winged Scoters, Greater Scaup, Redheads, Common Goldeneye, and Red-breasted Mergansers. The open area near the tower was all of about 10 feet in diameter and crammed with birds. The situation looked desperate and reminded me of when whales get trapped in small areas of open water surrounded by ice in the Arctic. Lake Michigan was frozen from horizon to horizon, though there was a decent sized lead just east of the fishing pier. I couldn’t figure out why the ducks that seemed to be trapped didn’t just get up and fly a few hundred yards to the larger area of open water. Maybe they were afraid of losing their places or leaving the safety of what little open water they thought existed. When I was walking back from the fishing pier I did see a group of scoters flying from the small area of open water near the tower to the lead, so some of them figured it out. I also saw several dead ducks on the ice which I guess shouldn’t be surprising considering the conditions.

Mottled Ducks! (Upon further review, not)

Mottled Ducks

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

Black Rail

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.

May 21, 2013

There were decent numbers of birds this morning. Last night’s south winds did us some good. Flycatchers seemed to be everywhere. Warblers were dominated by American Redstarts, Magnolia, Wilson’s and Common Yellowthroat. Most sparrows seemed to have pulled out. Here’s some of what I saw in about an hour and a half:

Blue-winged Teal – 2, pair
Black-bellied Plover – 1
Semipalmated Plover – 2
Ruddy Turnstone – 2
Dunlin – 2
Sanderling – 2
Semipalmated Sandpiper – ~15
Ruby-throated Hummingbird – 1
Eastern Wood-Pewee – ~8
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher – 3
Alder Flycatcher – 2
Willow Flycatcher – 2
Alder/Willow Flycatcher – ~8
Least Flycatcher – 3
Eastern Kingbird – ~10
Cliff Swallow – ~8
Bank Swallow – ~10
Eastern Bluebird – 1
Veery – 2
Swainson’s Thrush – ~5
Gray-cheeked Thrush – 2
Cedar Waxwing – ~60
Chestnut-sided Warbler – 1
Magnolia Warbler – ~15
Black-and-white Warbler – 1
Black-throated Green Warbler – 1
Bay-breasted Warbler – 1
Mourning Warbler – 2
Kentucky Warbler – 1 in the Magic Hedge
Canada Warbler – 1
Wilson’s Warbler – ~20
Common Yellowthroat – ~20
American Redstart – ~25
Bobolink – 1