Turkey Vulture. Photo courtesy of Tamima Itani. (click to see the larger version)

It’s axiomatic among Chicago lakefront birders that southwest winds in spring produce lots of migrants. Today, March 8, reaffirmed that maxim. I ended up with 42 species in a couple of hours of birding, including a number of new birds for the year. Large numbers of blackbirds and Canada Geese were moving on the south winds, and we had a number of unusual sightings. Best for the morning were

Greater White-fronted Geese – 27
White-winged Scoter – 1
American Woodcock – 1
Turkey Vulture – 1
Merlin – 1
Rusty Blackbird – 2

The favorable conditions will continue for at least three more days, so birding should be good at Montrose for most of the rest of the week.

eBird Checklist
March 8, 2021