Montrose Parking Meters

Montrose Parking Meter Map

Montrose parking meter map. The blue pins represent parking meters. Courtesy of the 46th ward office. (click to see the larger version)

Parking meters have been installed at Montrose, and starting on May 20 you’ll have to pay to park. I don’t know what the cost will be. I only saw meters on West Montrose Harbor Drive, and NOT on West Montrose Avenue or Simonds Drive up to Wilson Avenue. I assume we’ll be able to park on these roads and not have to pay (for now). This Google Map shows the road system in and around Montrose Point. Also see the image with this post, which shows the current locations of parking meters at Montrose.

May Big Days at Montrose

Big Day – An effort to see as many birds as possible in a 24 hour period.

If you follow Montrose on eBird, you’ve probably noticed that several people have had 100 or more species in a day this May. There’s a narrow window when this is possible, usually the first 2 weeks in May. This coincides with the peak of spring migration in northern Illinois. Montrose is one of the few places where you can see 100 species on your own by foot. Big days usually require large amounts of planning and strategy, like building a route and staking out birds. Montrose is different. Getting to 100 involves hitting it on a day with loads of migrants and then birding like mad for 4 or 5 hours. Every May several people manage to cross the century threshold. The weekend of May 14 – 16, 2021, for example, saw multiple birders hit 100.

Doing a big day at Montrose isn’t for everyone, but if you’re competitive and like a challenge, give it a try. Also, you don’t have to go for 100. You could start at 60 or 70 or whatever goal you’re comfortable aiming for, and working your way up as you gain experience. I’ve included a link to my eBird checklist below for May 15, a day I had 104 species.

eBird Checklist
May 15, 2021

May 14, 2021 – An Unexpectedly Spectacular Day

The weather conditions didn’t look great for a large fallout of birds on May 14, but that’s exactly what happened. I ended up with 98 species in 3.5 hours of birding, and about 130 were reported to eBird by all observers. This is about as good as it gets for Montrose. I had so many personal first of season sightings I lost track. We suffer through January and February for days like this. My highlights include

American Woodcock (late)
Yellow-throated Vireo
Blue-headed Vireo
Clay-colored Sparrow
Yellow-breasted Chat
Bobolink
Orchard Oriole
22 species of warblers; best were Northern Parula, Black-throated Blue, Pine, Golden-winged

Throw in tons of White-crowned Sparrows, scads of Rose-breasted Grosbeaks and Gray Catbirds, and 3 or 4 male Scarlet Tanagers and you shouldn’t ever complain about anything again. Link to my eBird checklist for the morning below.

eBird Checklist
May 14, 2021

April 27, 2021 – A Day to Remember

Green Heron

Green Heron (click to see the larger version)

We were all expecting a great day on April 27, but I don’t think anyone knew just how good it would be. It turned out to be one of the best April days at Montrose any of us could remember. According to eBird, about 120 species were reported by all observers, with multiple rarities and first of season sightings. I ended up with 73 species in about 2.5 hours. My highlights include

Eastern Kingbird (early)
Yellow-throated Vireo (early)
All 6 regularly occurring swallows
Gray Catbird (early)
Swainson’s Thrush (early)
Cerulean Warbler (very rare, less than annual)
Yellow-throated Warbler (very rare, less than annual)
Pine Warbler (2, uncommon)
Summer Tanager (a nice adult male, uncommon at Montrose)
Rose-breasted Grosbeak (early)

Any day with Cerulean and Yellow-throated Warblers and Summer Tanager is hard to beat. I don’t think I’ve had this trio at Montrose before either. The number of early passerines felt like early or mid-May rather than late April. It’s amazing and predictable what southwest winds do for bird migration in the spring. Link to my eBird checklist below.

eBird Checklist
April 27, 2021

Weather and Birding Forecast, April 27 and 28 – Here We Go

Weather screenshot

Weather forecast for April 27 and 28 (click to see the larger version)

We’re in for a surge of warm air and southwest winds on Tuesday, April 27 and Wednesday, April 28. These conditions look favorable for a strong movement of passerines during that two day period. We should see an increase in warbler activity, with several uncommon species possible, including Hooded, Kentucky, and with luck, Worm-eating. Sparrows will be the big story. White-throated and Swamp Sparrow numbers will increase dramatically, and late April is a good time to see less common species like LeConte’s and Henslow’s. As always, keep checking the Montrose Point eBird Hotspot for updated information and sightings.

Time to get excited.