White-winged Scoters
A female type White-winged Scoter was in Lake Michigan just south of the east end of the harbor this morning. This has been a good February for White-winged Scoters in Illinois. Hopefully this trend will continue into March.
I didn’t see the Ross’s or Snow Geese. The grass they have been feeding on is covered in an inch or two of snow so perhaps they flew off to greener pastures.
Snow Goose (click to see a larger version)
The Ross’s and Snow Geese were still present this morning. They were feeding in the grass just south of the parking lot near the bathrooms on the south side of the harbor. The Ross’s Goose has been present for almost 2 weeks now.
I also saw 2 Killdeer at the east end of the beach, my first of the year, and a sure harbinger of spring. Most of the beach is still covered with ice and snow so it was a bit strange (though not unappreciated) to see these shorebirds there.
The long staying Ross’s Goose was resting on the ice with Canada Geese inside Montrose Harbor this morning. A light morph Snow Goose was also with the Canada Geese.
Ross’s Goose (click to see a larger version)
A Ross’s Goose has been at Montrose since February 12. It was found by local birder Luiz Munoz. I briefly saw the bird this morning, February 14. It flew in with a lone Canada Goose and landed on the sidewalk on the southeast side of the harbor. This was about 7:30. A few minutes later a pedestrian came along and flushed it to the north. The last time I saw the bird it was flying to the northwest over Cricket Hill with a group of Canada Geese. Ross’s Geese are very rare at Montrose, with only about 4 records total.
A drake Canvasback was in Lake Michigan a few hundred yards west of the end of the fishhook pier at Montrose this morning. I saw nothing else of note. Beware that sections of the pier are still icy and this ice isn’t always conspicuous.
Snow Goose (click to see a larger version)
Two Snow Geese have been at Montrose for the last week. Snow Geese are rare visitors to Montrose, occurring mostly in the fall. These two were part of a moderately large incursion of Snow Geese into the lower Lake Michigan area over the Thanksgiving holiday. The photo at left is of the white morph bird. The other Snow Goose was a dark morph bird.