Tag Archives: Hawks

January 13, 2024

Herring, Ring-billed, and Iceland Gulls

Herring, Ring-billed, and Iceland Gulls (click to see the larger version)

The middle of January is about the slowest time of the year for birding at Montrose. If you see 20 species on a visit you’re doing very well. January 13, 2024 proved to be the best mid winter day of birding I’ve experienced at Montrose. I tallied 32 species in a couple hours of birding, and 41 species were reported to eBird by all observers for the day. My highlights include

Iceland Gull
Long-tailed Duck
Long-eared Owl
Northern Harrier
American Pipit
Lapland Longspur
Snow Bunting
Horned Lark
Orange-crowned Warbler
Common Grackle
Fox Sparrow
Savannah Sparrow

Some of these birds were likely driven south by an approaching Artic cold front. The temperature on January 13 was in the 20s, but dropped below zero overnight and is expected to stay in this range for several days. Extreme weather events like this often produce extreme birding events.

Winter Birding Ideas – The Kankakee Sands

Rough-legged Hawk

Rough-legged Hawk (click to see the larger version)

The Kankakee Sands is a complex of prairie and wetland habitat owned and managed by the Indiana chapter of The Nature Conservancy. Birding is excellent all year round. Summer is the season to see the grassland specialties like Henslow’s and Grasshopper Sparrows and Dickcissel, which are hard to miss and fill the air with their songs. Winter brings a different set of visitors, most notably birds of prey like Rough-legged Hawk, Northern Harrier, and Short-eared Owl (the owls are best seen at dusk). The main mammal claim to fame is a herd of about 70 American Bison. These iconic North American animals were introduced to the Sands in 2016 and play an important role in maintaining the integrity of the grasslands.

How to Bird The Kankakee Sands (and look for Bison)

The Kankakee Sands is about an hour and a half due south of Chicago off US41 in eastern Newton County, Indiana. Morocco is the nearest large town and lies about six miles to the south. When I bird the Sands, I drive slowly down county road 200W between county road 675N on the north and 225N on the south, looking and listening for wildlife. These roads don’t get a lot of traffic, especially in winter, and are generally safe to drive. County roads 500N and 400N east of US41 can also be productive for birds of prey in winter. Note that in winter the roads might not be drivable because of heavy snow.

American Bison

American Bison (click to see the larger version)

The Bison are best viewed from the Bison Viewing Area west of US41. To reach it, take 400W south from 400N for about half a mile. Look for a gravel road that goes east and take it to the parking lot. Walk up to the top of the rise and start scanning. The Bison are usually to the south, east, or northeast. You can usually see them with your eyes but binoculars make the experience more enjoyable. This is also an excellent place and vantage point to look for Rough-legged Hawks, Northern Harriers, and other winter birds of prey. I’ve included a link to my January 9, 2021 Kankakee Sands eBird checklist to give you an idea of what I saw on that visit.

To read more about The Nature Conservancy’s efforts at Kankakee Sands, go to this site – Efroymson Restoration at Kankakee Sands.

Kankakee Sands eBird Checklist
January 9, 2021

Ferruginous Hawk – An Unexpected First Record For Montrose, November 6, 2023

A list of the next ten or twenty new species for Montrose might include a buteo like a Broad-winged Hawk but probably not Ferruginous Hawk. On November 6 the improbable happened and a juvenile dark morph Ferruginous Hawk flew over Montrose Point. Dark morph buteos can be tricky to identify but diagnostic photos taken by an attentive birder confirmed the identification. The bird drifted down the beach and off to the west before disappearing, though it was seen and photographed the next day at the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago. Ferruginous Hawk is a very rare visitor to Illinois from the western United States and southwestern Canada. This is the 351st species for Montrose, and yet we still don’t have a verified Broad-winged Hawk.

May 6, 2023 – A Good Day

May 6 lived up to the billing and turned out to be the best day of the spring so far. The persistent south winds brought in a lot of migrants, including many first of seasons. About 130 species were reported to eBird by all observers, which is about as good as we do. Sparrows were well represented, with many White-throated and White-crowned. Warbler variety was low, but it’s still early. My highlights for the morning include

Common Tern
Merlin
Golden-crowned Kinglet (getting late)
Clay-colored Sparrow (3)
Lark Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco (getting late)
Bobolink (3, all males)
Orchard Oriole
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Dickcissel

We’re close to the peak of spring migration. The next couple weeks should see an increase in warbler, flycatcher, and Catharus thrush numbers. Keep checking weather forecasts for warm fronts, and keep checking the Montrose Point eBird Hotspot for the latest sightings.

Rough-legged Hawks, November 9, 2022

Rough-legged Hawk over Montrose Point

Rough-legged Hawk over Montrose Point (click to see the larger version)

Two Rough-legged Hawks flew over Montrose on November 9. What’s interesting is that conditions weren’t favorable for hawk migration – overcast skies, light rain, and breezy south winds. Montrose is known for many things birdwise but we don’t do well with migrating buteos. Reasons for this discrepancy could be a lack of birders looking up for hawks and our proximity to Lake Michigan, which may scare away migrating buteos. Rough-legged Hawks aren’t intimidated by large bodies of water, which, oddly, may be the reason why we see more of them in active migration than other buteos, though they’re still rare.

April 11, 2022 – Fantastic Day

Eared Grebe

Eared Grebe (upper left) with 2 Horned Grebes and a Red-breasted Merganser (click to see the larger version)

April 11 lived up to the billing and turned out to be an exceptional day for migrants, with about 80 species reported to eBird. The south winds overnight brought in a lot of birds, as south winds usually do in spring. Northern Flickers and Hermit Thrushes were conspicuous by their numbers. Bird of the day goes to the nearly full breeding plumaged Eared Grebe on Lake Michigan near the base of the fishing pier. The bird was close to shore and conveniently associating with a group of Horned Grebes for comparison. Eared Grebes are rare and not annual at Montrose. Other goodies include Merlin, Short-eared Owl, Eurasian Collared-Dove, and the late continuing male Long-tailed Duck along the fishing pier. Link to my eBird checklist for the morning below.

eBird Checklist
April 11, 2022