Will County-Rock Run Rookery & Des Plaines River Wide Waters Friday 2-27-26

[Al Stokie]

Hello Bird People,

This is the 2nd day in a row I've driven over 100 miles & even though
the baby Prius made 61 mpg that's too many miles so expect me to cut
back on driving for the next few days.

I was trying to reach 100 birds for my year list by the end of
February & I thought my best chance to do it was to visit Will County.
Started at Rock Run Rookery & finished up at the Widewaters area. And
I did make it to 100 & then to 101 species.

Rock Run Rookery (9:10-10:20 am) (Most of the water remains frozen!)

PIED BILLED GREBE (1) (FOY)
DOUBLE CRESTED CORMORANT (15-18) (FOY)
Great Blue Heron (23)
Canada Goose (47)
Mallard (6)
Gadwall (5)
Lesser Scaup (15)
Ring Necked Duck (22)
Bufflehead (2-M fly-bys)
Goldeneye (12)
Hooded (2-F), Common (64) & Red Breasted (9) Mergansers
Coots (11)
BALD EAGLE (1-1st year)
Ring Billed (9) & Herring (2) Gulls
Robin (5), Starling (1), Cardinal (4-M), Tree Sparrow (7) & Red Wings (3)

The bad news here was that 3 other birders saw a big flock (over 75)
of White Pelicans go by
but I was glued to my scope counting ducks & never saw them.
Unfortunately Pelicans don't call in flight like Cranes so I missed
them in silence. Only I could miss over 75 Pelicans!

Widewaters Area (10:35-11:05 am)

Great Blue Heron (6)
Mute Swan (2)
Trumpeter Swan (1)
Canada Goose (240)
Mallard (49) & Gadwall (110)
Shoveler (1-M)
Bufflehead (3-M)
Hooded Merganser (7)
Ring Billed (19) & Herring (6) Gulls
Kingfisher (1)
Chickadee (H-1) & W.B. Nuthatch (H-1)
Tree Sparrow (3), Red Wings (2) & COMMON GRACKLE (1) (FOY)
House Finch (2) & House Sparrow (6)

After lunch I was about to enter I-55 from Rt 6 when I saw a smaller
hawk fly in. It was very close & it circled a while so I could get a
great look. It was an adult RED SHOULDERED HAWK (FOY) & not a Cooper's
Hawk which was what I thought it was going to be. I usually only see
one at the Hawk Watches in the Fall so seeing this one more than made
up for missing the Pelicans.

So 32 species at my 2 locations plus 2 roadside additions for a day's
total of 34.
Bird-Of-The-Day will be the Red Shouldered Hawk & Runners-Up will be
the Trumpeter Swan, the P.B. Grebe & the Grackle which seldom wins any
awards. Every dog has its day & so does every Grackle.

Al Stokie
In Will County today having bad luck & then good luck