Baker's Lake & Air Station Prairie Saturday 7-4-26

[Al Stokie]

Hello Bird People,

Wanted to check Baker's Lake for large shorebirds & to see if last
week's Pelicans were still around but no large shorebirds nor Pelicans
were present today.

Baker's Lake (8-8:45 am) (You really need a scope here to see the
distant mud flats)

D.C. Cormorant (~250)
Great Blue Heron (9)
Great Egret (42)
BLACK CROWNED NIGHT HERON (1)
Canada Goose (14)
Wood Duck (~10)
Mallard (4-AD & 2 small young ones)
Killdeer (14)
Spotted Sandpiper (2)
Least Sandpiper (7)
Herring Gull (1-AD)
Caspian Tern (14)
BALD EAGLE (1-AD)
Mourning Dove (1)
Blue Jay (2), Chickadee (1), Robin (1), Cardinal (1) & Red Wings (4)

Then from the south end of Baker's Lake at Younghusband Prairie I
checked on the Osprey nest & saw 2 adults & 2 large young Ospreys all
at the nest. Also a Flicker & other common landbirds.

Air Station Prairie (9:45-11 am) (Still no standing water in the 2
ponds but the mud is wetter)

The West Pond had Killdeer (2-AD & 2 young), Spotted (1) & Least (2) Sandpipers.
The East Pond had Killdeer (1-AD & 1 young), Spotted (1) & Least (4)
Sandpipers.
Also one Cooper's Hawk flew by & flushed the shorebirds & one each
Warbling Vireo & Yellow Warbler are still around with other common
stuff. Still no Rails were seen by me.

So 30 species plus 2 roadside additions for a day's total of 32.
Since it's the 4th of July Bird-Of-The-Day will be the adult Bald
Eagle (the national bird) at Baker's Lake & Runners-Up will be the
Osprey family & the lone Black Crowned Night Heron.

Al Stokie
In Cook County today