Tag Archives: Shorebirds

The Sweet Season, May 9, 2019

Common Nighthawk

Common Nighthawk. Photo by M. Ferguson (click to see the larger version)

The sweet season has commenced. Days like May 9 make suffering through Chicago winters worth it. I don’t know if the volume of birds was better than the fantastic weekend of May 4-5 but the variety certainly was. I tallied 95 species in about 3.5 hours of morning birding, my best spring total to date (according to eBird, over 120 species were reported). My highlights include 3 Black-bellied Plovers, Willet, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Common and Forster’s Terns, a roosting Common Nighthawk, 5 woodpeckers, 19 species of warblers (Pine, Northern Parula, and Blue-winged being the best), and Clay-colored Sparrow. Link to my eBird checklist below.

eBird Checklist
https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S56042131

Whimbrels, Piping Plover, Hooded Warbler, and More, May 2, 2019

Piping Plover

Piping Plover (click to see the larger version)

Miserable weather often means fantastic birding at Montrose. Such was the case on May 2. The temperature never got out of the 40s, drizzle was a constant companion, and it started raining before I left. Parka and Polartec weather in May. I tallied 79 species in 3.5 hours, my best day of the spring so far, highlighted by 2 Whimbrels, 8 Willets, a Piping Plover, and 13 species of warblers, including Pine, Hooded, and Blue-winged. I also had a number of new birds for the year. Link to my eBird checklist for the day below.

eBird Checklist
https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S55669480

Long-billed Curlew!, April 13, 2019

Long-billed Curlew

Long-billed Curlew. Photo by L. Munoz. (click to see the larger version)

This is turning out to be a fantastic spring for rarities at Montrose. A Long-billed Curlew graced Montrose Beach on the morning of April 13. The bird flew off after a few minutes but returned a short while later before departing again for good. This is the first Illinois record since 1985 and a new species for Montrose, bringing the site total to a whopping 345.

What else will show up this spring?

Piping Plover, November 22, 2018

Piping Plover

Piping Plover (click to see the larger version)

The long-staying Piping Plover was still at Montrose Beach on November 22. This is now the latest Piping Plover record for Illinois, the previous late record being November 21 from Mendota in 1982. Most of November has been unusually cold in Chicago, with high temperatures in the 30s and nighttime lows even colder for the last couple weeks. It makes you wonder what the bird has been eating – invertebrate activity must be seriously depressed in such cold conditions. This bird also survived at least one close encounter with a Cooper’s Hawk. We’ll see how long it holds on. Link to my eBird checklist below.

eBird Checklist
https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S50125138

Harlequin Duck, Piping Plover, and Swainson’s Thrush, November 8, 2018

Harlequin Duck

Harlequin Duck (click to see the larger version)

I spent a couple hours at Montrose on Thursday, November 8. The female type Harlequin Duck was inside the fishing pier and the Piping Plover continues on the beach. The Plover has been present for 3 weeks now. My best passerine was a very late Swainson’s Thrush near the Magic Hedge. A strange mix of birds for November. I ended up with 43 species for my effort. Link to my eBird checklist for the day below.

eBird Checklist
https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S49754515

Harlequin Duck, Black Scoters, Red-necked Grebe, Piping Plover, and Baird’s Sandpipers, November 4, 2018

Baird's Sandpiper

Baird’s Sandpiper (click to see the larger version)

I wasn’t even going to bird this morning (November 4) because of rain in the forecast, but when I looked out my window at 7:30 I saw no rain, so I grabbed my gear and headed over to Montrose. I tallied a whopping 20 species for my effort, unimpressive even by early November standards. But, BUT, 25% of that tally consisted of good birds – Harlequin Duck (off the end of the fishing pier, found by Krzysztof Kurlyowicz), Black Scoter (2 flybys, found by Steve Huggins), Red-necked Grebe (flyby), Piping Plover, and Baird’s Sandpiper. The Baird’s (2 juveniles) represent one of the latest records of this species for Montrose, continuing the trend for late birds started by the Piping Plover.

It’s hard to go wrong in November.

Link to my eBird checklist for the day below.

eBird Checklist
https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S49669117