Fwd: Annual Loon Count on the Chain O'Lakes: Lake & McHenry Counties, IL

[Al Stokie]

Forwarded for David Johnson

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: DAVID JOHNSON <djoh...@comcast.net>
Date: Tue, Mar 24, 2026 at 5:21 PM
Subject: Fwd: Annual Loon Count on the Chain O'Lakes: Lake & McHenry
Counties, IL
To: Al Stokie <alsto...@gmail.com>


Hi Alan!

Could you please post this for me on IBET.

Thank You!

David J

---------- Original Message ----------
From: DAVID JOHNSON <djoh...@comcast.net>
To: IBET - Illinois Birders Exchanging Thoughts
<ilbirds+s...@googlegroups.com>, "jfes...@illinoisaudubon.org"
<jfes...@illinoisaudubon.org>
Date: 03/24/2026 3:07 PM CDT
Subject: Annual Loon Count on the Chain O'Lakes: Lake & McHenry Counties, IL


24 March 2026

Fellow Loon Folks (Loonatics!) and Ibeters,

Yesterday, Monday, Karen Lund, Vicki Buchwald and I performed our
Annual Common Loon (and pelican) Count on the Chain O'Lakes covering
24 lakes. Loons were calling (Yodel call) on all the lakes that had
multiple loons.

The following are our totals:

371 Common Loons (our 4th highest loon total; the highest ever was 676
on 6 April 2013) - 503 American White Pelicans - 42 Horned Grebes, 3
Bald Eagles, one Cooper's Hawk and more...

Lake Zurich: Zero loons.

Bangs Lake: 4 Common Loons, Horned Grebes - 6

Diamond Lake: Common Loons - 3; Horned Grebes - 6; bald eagles - 2

St. Mary of the Woods: Common Loons - 2

Pistakee Bay Yacht Club: Common Loons - 93; pelicans - 142

Bru Crew Bar & Grill (Bald Knob Rd.) Common Loons - 2; pelicans - 78

Myers Bay: Common Loons - 10

Mineola Bay: Common Loons - 2; pelicans - 97; bald eagle - 1

Lakeview Park (Nippersink Lake) : pelicans - 3

Columbia Bay: Common Loons - 4; pelicans - 78

Petite Lake: Common Loons - 29; pelicans - 9

Lake Marie South: Common Loons - 55; Horned Grebes - 2; pelicans -
57; cooper's hawk - 1

Bluff Lake: Common Loons - 34; pelicans - 13

Lake Marie North - Common Loons - 27; pelicans - 21; Horned Grebes - 4

Lake Catherine: Common Loons - 23; pelicans - 3; Horned Grebes - 6

Channel Lake: Common Loons - 75; pelicans - 2

Antioch Lake: Common Loon - 1

West Loon Lake: Common Loons - 2

East Loon Lake: Common Loon - 1

Miltmore Lake: Zero loons; Trumpeter Swans - 2.

Sand Lake: Zero loons.

Deep Lake: Common Loons - 9; Horned Grebes - 24

Fourth Lake: Common Loon - 1

Duck Lake: Common Loon - 1

David B. Johnson
djoh...@comcast.net

[jarojim]

I remember going to a lake in North Dakota to see my first white pelican in the 1990’s. Drove the family 25 miles off route to go see one I had heard about on the new internet.
Now they’re all over the place
What a great comeback!

Jim Jarosz Norridge, IL

Sent from my iPhone

> On Mar 24, 2026, at 6:14 PM, Al Stokie <alsto...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Forwarded for David Johnson

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