White-winged Scoters
Franklin’s Gull (click to see the larger version)
Who said summer birding is boring and predictable? This morning, June 26, I had an immature Franklin’s Gull at Montrose Beach. It flew off after a few minutes and I never saw it again. I also had a flyover Great Egret.
Franklin’s Gulls (click to see the larger version)
I spent a couple hours at Montrose this morning, May 27. Most of the passerines from earlier in the week must have flown north with the south winds, which isn’t surprising. The waterbirding however was much better. Two Black-necked Stilts and 2 immature Franklin’s Gulls were on the beach early in the morning. The stilts were in the fluddle on the beach, working west and feeding along the way. They flew to the east and disappeared after a little while. The Franklin’s Gulls didn’t stay long either. Black-necked Stilt is an accidental species at Montrose, with just one previous record.
The real excitement came when a group of Double-crested Cormorants flew over that contained a noticeably smaller cormorant. We could tell the bird was brownish, so it was probably an immature, and based on size likely a Neotropic, a species unrecorded at Montrose. The bird was too far away and the flock was moving too fast to make out any other plumage features. I’m not going to add it to the list of birds seen at Montrose because of the distance involved but I think it was a Neotropic.
eBird Checklist
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S29933222
Black-legged Kittiwake. Photo by Geoff Williamson. (click to see a larger version )
One doesn’t usually associate Black-legged Kittiwakes with strong west winds on the west side of Lake Michigan but this morning a first year Black-legged Kittiwake flew south past Montrose Point, delighting the several people who were conducting a lakewatch at the end of the fishing pier.
Other birds seen on today’s westerlies include about a dozen Franklin’s Gulls (a more expected species on strong west winds), numbers of Bonaparte’s Gulls, several Northern Harriers, an American Woodcock, and a few Lapland Longspurs and Common Redpolls.
Snow Buntings (click to see the larger version)
The gusty west winds produced a Short-eared Owl and 9 Franklin’s Gulls this morning, October 29. The owl flushed out of the dunes and the Franklin’s flew south over the east end of the beach. I only spent an hour in the field so I imagine there were more Franklin’s moving. I also had a Greater Yellowlegs on the beach, a Wilson’s Snipe in the dunes, 2 Snow Buntings, and 15 or so Pine Siskins at the point. The Snow Buntings posed obligingly on the fishing pier for a photograph (try to ignore the graffiti).
Baird’s Sandpiper (click to see the larger version)
I had a late juvenile Baird’s Sandpiper this morning, October 18. This is over a month past their peak time of occurance. I also had a first cycle Franklin’s Gull on the beach and 6 Lapland Longspurs in the dunes. Other landbirds seen include 2 Purple Finches, several Pine Siskins, and a few Orange-crowned Warblers, in addition to the usual mid October fare of kinglets, Hermit Thrushes, Winter Wrens, and White-throated Sparrows.
Karen and I spent a couple hours at Montrose on October 26.
The highlight were a 100 or so Franklin’s Gulls. Most were flying over
and continuing south but a few spent some time on the beach. The largest
flock was about 50 birds, the smallest 4. This is one of my best counts
of Franklin’s Gulls at Montrose ever, a consequence no doubt of the
recent strong westerly winds. In addition to the Franklin’s we had a
number of other birds of interest, including:
American Bittern – 1 in the dunes
Bonaparte’s Gull – 6, all first cycle birds
Short-eared Owl – 2 flying around the dunes and over the lake
Greater Yellowlegs – 1 on the beach
Wilson’s Snipe – 1
American Woodcock – 1
Lapland Longspur – 1
Snow Bunting – 2
American Pipit – 1
West winds in late October do a birder good.