[NO SIGHTING] - HAWKWATCH Questions

[Santo A]

I know there are Hawkwatches @ both Fort Sheridan and Ill. Beach State Park (north unit).

My questions are:

1. Can any birder show up and hang around or is there some sort of sign-up sheet? I would love to experience this for at least a half-day.
2. Which weeks are the busiest weeks for raptors funneling through?
3. What time of day is best?

Thanks in advance for any info.

Santo.

Cook Co.

[Tamima Itani]

Hello Santa,

Anyone is welcome to show up and hang around at the Fort Sheridan Hawkwatch and I’m pretty sure it’s the same at IBSP.  

We are approaching peak migration time in late September and October, but each month has its specialty migration.  For example Golden Eagles are often spotted in conjunction with big Sandhill Crane flight in November.

The best days to come are days when the wind is blowing from the Northwest.  The northerly component encourages the birds to head south, while the western component pushes them towards the lake, making them more likely at our lakefront locations.

Raptors are more likely to fly as the day warms up, when thermals form that allow them to “climb” in the sky then glide south with minimal effort.  So 10 or 11 am onward, although we recently had an Osprey flight that started at 7 am.

On very good days, the crowd can be large, so keep in mind 2 things:  

- give the official counters enough space to move around and count

- don’t yell bird sightings at the counter or otherwise be so loud the official counters can’t communicate with each other

Hope to see you at a future count!  It’s a lot of fun.  Next weekend is shaping up like a possibly good time for migration!

Thanks,

Tamima Itani

Evanston, Cook Co

On Sep 14, 2025, at 5:29 AM, Santo A <sant...@gmail.com> wrote:

I know there are Hawkwatches @ both Fort Sheridan and Ill. Beach State Park (north unit).

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "IBET - Illinois Birders Exchanging Thoughts" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to ilbirds+u...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/ilbirds/d39288e1-2d82-4243-8432-d5a8b2f0d900n%40googlegroups.com.

[Tamima Itani]

My apologies on behalf of Siri for turning you into Santa!  

On Sep 14, 2025, at 6:07 AM, Tamima Itani <tamim...@hotmail.com> wrote:



To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/ilbirds/BN6PR19MB008346E70B69865EA0ABB82EA90AA%40BN6PR19MB0083.namprd19.prod.outlook.com.

[Jeff Smith]

Hi Santo,  The Greene Valley Hawkwatch is another option, but unlike the others it is only open to the public on weekends through October. Fortunately the Forest preserve now opens the gates on their morning rounds usually by 7 am.  We generally don’t see as many birds as they are not funneled our way. We do get good photo ops as local birds hunt the hill sides and the local Bald Eagles can be seen at or below eye level.  Moderate winds from north or south bring the locals to the hill. If long distance challenges are your thing, we can see some birds from 5 miles away.

JeffSmith, Woodridge, DuPage Co

Sent from my iPad

On Sep 14, 2025, at 5:29 AM, Santo A <sant...@gmail.com> wrote:

I know there are Hawkwatches @ both Fort Sheridan and Ill. Beach State Park (north unit).