Tag Archives: Common Loon

May 7, 2016

I spent a couple hours at Montrose this morning, May 7, from just before
sunrise to about 8 when the cold front passed and the rain and lightning
started. There were good numbers of birds and I ended up with 70 species
on the head. Sparrows were the big story, especially White-crowned,
which probably peaked today. Flycatchers, thrushes, and vireos on the
other hand were scarce and warbler diversity was low. Passerines were
coming in off the lake for about an hour after sunrise. I had several
FOYs. Here are my highlights:

Common Loon – 1 adult in breeding plumage in the lake
Great Egret – 3 flyovers
Northern Harrier – 1 going north low over the lake
Black-bellied Plover – 1 cracking adult male in breeding duds on the beach
American Avocet – 4 on the beach
White-rumped Sandpiper – 1 flying around the beach with a group of Least
Sandpipers
Lesser Yellowlegs – 13, a nice count for Montrose which tends to be
Tringa repellent
Dowitcher sp. – 1 with the yellowlegs
Great Crested Flycatcher – 1 This and an Eastern Kingbird were my only 2
flycatchers
Blue Jay – ~100 flying over and around the Point
Cliff Swallow – 1
Bank Swallow – ~25, moving north and south
Marsh Wren – 1 in the Dunes
Hermit Thrush – 1 This and a Veery were my only Catharus thrushes
American Pipit – ~5, all at the beach
Northern Parula – 1
Clay-colored Sparrow – 1
White-crowned Sparrow – Hundreds
White-throated Sparrow – ~75
Savannah Sparrow – ~30
Rose-breasted Grosbeak – 3
Orchard Oriole – 1 adult male

I also had a dead Sora on the fishing pier.

Red-throated and Common Loons, April, 13, 2016

I walked out onto the Fishhook Pier this morning, April 13,
to see what if anything was on the water or flying by. It’s getting late
for waterfowl so I wasn’t expecting much but I did have Common and
Red-throated Loons. The Common was on the water on the lakeside and the
Red-throated, a basic type bird, was flying north. I also saw a few
Blue-winged and Green-winged Teal flying around, small numbers of Lesser
Scaup, a couple Bufflehead, and continuing Red-breasted Mergansers and a
few Horned Grebes. I didn’t look very hard for landbirds but with the
east winds I wouldn’t expect to see many.

Common Loon, March 9, 2016

I walked to the end of the Fishhook Pier at Montrose this morning, March 9, to scan the lake for resting and flying waterfowl. There were a few flocks of Aythya going north, as well as a tight cluster of flying Green-winged Teal. Best and somewhat unexpected was an adult Common Loon in breeding dress boogying north. This is about 2 weeks earlier than I usually start seeing them along the lakefront. I didn’t spend a lot of time birding but I also saw several flocks of blackbirds going north, south and west. South winds in spring rock.

Bonaparte’s Gulls, April 25, 2015

There was a lot of activity on the lake at Montrose this morning, April 25, including good numbers of Caspian Terns, Double-crested Cormorants, and Red-breasted Mergansers. More exciting were the Bonaparte’s Gulls. In about 45 minutes I estimate I had about 200 moving north past the point, and I only stopped looking when the rain started coming down in earnest. Bonaparte’s Gulls have become rare at Montrose in the spring, so seeing this many was a pleasant surprise. I also had a single Common Loon and White-winged Scoter and flocks of Lesser Scaup. Migrant landbirds were scarce, as would be expected with northeast winds.

March 29, 2014

I spent about an hour and a half at Montrose this morning, mostly looking at the lake and checking the harbor. I thought there might be migrating waterfowl, loons, and grebes, but there was very little movement on the lake. Migrant passerines were almost non-existent. I did see a few interesting birds though. Here’s my partial list:

White-winged Scoter – ~12, most in the lake off the end of the fishhook pier
Long-tailed Duck – 3 moving north
Northern Pintail – 7 migrating north
Lesser Scaup – ~250, almost all in or just outside the harbor
Greater Scaup – ~10, in or just outside the harbor
Redhead – ~25
Hooded Merganser – 2 moving north
Common Merganser – Still a few around
Red-throated Loon – 1 in basic type plumage off the end of the fishhook pier
Common Loon – 4 moving north, my first of the year
Horned Grebe – ~10, in various stages of molt and plumages
Great Black-backed Gull – 1 adult flying north close to shore

Common Gallinule, November 4, 2011

Pine Siskins

Pine Siskins

The Common Gallinule was still at Montrose today. This morning it was on the beach inside the protected area at the base of the fishhook pier. It had previously been inside the boat harbor. Other birds seen at Montrose this a.m. include about 20 flyby Common Loons, 10 Snow Buntings, 8 or so Pine Siskins, and a Purple Finch. I’ve included a photo of some of the Pine Siskins.