Montrose Point & Big Bend Lake Friday 4-3-26

[Al Stokie]

Hello Bird People,

Started off at Montrose with targets being Thrasher & Barn Swallow
both being seen here recently. But I found neither although I did see
something better which was two SHORT EARED OWLS flying over the Dunes.
Also saw some early migrants that I haven't seen here before. After
lunch I returned to Big Bend Lake where I saw the Loon I saw yesterday
& thought it was a Red Throated. Nice of it to stick around & I still
think that's what it is.

Montrose Point (7:30-10:30 am)

Pied Billed Grebe (1, in the lake)
Horned Grebe (4, in the harbor)
D.C. Cormorant (15 fly-bys)
Canada Goose (6)
Mallard (8)
Greater Scaup (4)
Goldeneye (1-F)
Red Breasted Merganser (15)
Ring Billed (22) & Herring (4) Gulls
Caspian Tern (1)
Mourning Dove (1)
SHORT EARED OWL (2, high flyers)
Yellow Bellied Sapsucker (4)
Downy Woodpecker (1-F)
Flicker (5)
Eastern Phoebe (2)
Tree Swallow (only 2)
Crow (1)
Chickadee (3)
Brown Creeper (3)
Ruby Crowned Kinglet (1)
Hermit Thrush (10)
Robin (22)
Starling (4)
Yellow Rumped Myrtle Warbler (4, 1st of the Spring)
Cardinal (6)
Tree Sparrow (1)
Field Sparrow (1)
Song Sparrow (6)
Fox Sparrow (10)
Swamp Sparrow (2)
WHITE CROWNED SPARROW (1-AD, 1st of the Spring)
Junco (~15)
Red Wings (12), Grackles (18) & Cowbirds (4-M & 1-F)
House Sparrow (~25)

Big Bend Lake (12:35-1:15 pm)

Common Loon (9)
RED THROATED LOON (1)
Pied Billed (7) & Horned (2) Grebes
D.C. Cormorant (1)
Canada Goose (5)
Mallard (6) & Shoveler (3-M & 1-F)
Lesser Scaup (8)
Red Breasted Merganser (~300)
RUDDY DUCK (1, a nice looking male)
Great Blue Heron (2)
Ring Billed (5) & Herring (1) Gulls
Kingfisher (1)
Flicker (1)
Robin (10)
Cardinal (1)
Tree (1) & Song (1) Sparrows
Red Wings (2)

So 45 species at my 2 locations plus 2 additional roadside birds for a
total of 47.
Bird-Of-The-Day will be the Short Eared Owls & Runner-Up will be the
Red Throated Loon.
I thought it strange that I saw no Golden Crowned Kinglets today at Montrose?
I had 7 species of ducks & also 7 species of Sparrows today.

Al Stokie
In Cook County today