Indian Ridge, Wolf Lake/Powers, Powderhorn, Eggers Woods & Big Marsh Sunday 4-4-21

[Al Stokie]

Hello Bird People,

I have gone to the Lake Calumet area on a Sunday for 4 of the last 5
weeks missing only last Sunday. I do this as Sunday is the best day to
drive down there (no traffic) although this is not true of the drive
back home via downtown Chicago but you can't have everything I guess.

Started with a brief look at Indian Ridge, then to Big Marsh but that
was a mistake in the early a.m. as the lightning is bad at that time,
next to Wolf Lake Powers, Powderhorn, Eggers Grove Woods & finally
back to Big Marsh where the light was more favorable. About 10 years
ago Stoney Island (by Big Marsh) was turned into a "drag strip" with
markers showing where the quarter mile distance started & ended.
Interesting that the "drag strip" is back with about 4 high powered
cars making runs while I was there although the street is not marked
off so far. So be careful where you park along Stoney Island as if one
of the racing cars loses control you could get more than you bargained
for.

Indian Ridge along 122nd St. (8:40-9:10 a.m.)

Great Blue Heron (4) & Great Egret (7)
Mute Swan (3)
Canada Goose (11)
Flicker, Robins, Song Sparrow & Red Wings.

Wolf Lake/Powers (9:20-10:30 a.m.)

Duck numbers have really gone down here although still quite a few
species. For example last time I was here I saw about 75 Canvasbacks &
50 Redheads & today I had 6 Canvasbacks & only 1 pair of Redheads.

COMMON LOON (1)
Horned Grebe (3)
P.B. Grebe (1)
Mute Swan (7)
Canada Goose (12)
Mallard (8) & Gadwall (1)
(No other puddle ducks)
Canvasback (6), Redhead (1-PR) & Ring Necked Duck (12)
Greater & Lesser Scaup (Total of 60-70)
Bufflehead (1-M)
Goldeneye (1-F)
Red Breasted Merganser (~30)
Coots (262, as exact a count as I can do)
Killdeer (1)
Ring Billed (10) & Herring (4) Gulls
Mourning Dove (1)
Red Bellied & Downy Woodpeckers & Flicker
Chickadee, Robins, Starlings, Cardinal, Song Sparrow & Red Wings.

Powderhorn Lake (10:35-10:45 a.m.)

Canada Goose (14), Ring Billed Gull (27) & Robins (6)
But the star of the show here is the returning OSPREY who is placing
sticks on the nest platform,

Eggers Grove Woods (11:05 a.m.-12:15 p.m.)

Mute Swan (2, with 1 on a big nest)
Canada Goose (~15)
Mallard (~20), Black Duck (3), Shoveler (~30), Gadwall (8) & Blue
Winged Teal (1-M)
Ring Necked Duck (3) & Bufflehead (2-PR)
Tree Swallow (6)
Red Bellied & Downy Woodpeckers & Flickers
Chickadee (2), Robins, Starlings, Cardinal, Song Sparrow (2) & Red Wings

Back to Big Marsh (12:35-1:40 p.m.) (Viewed from both Stoney Island &
the Bike Park)

D.C. Cormorant (1, fly-by)
Mute Swan (8) & Canada Goose (~10)
Mallard (15), Shoveler (12), Gadwall (7), Green Winged Teal (6) & Blue
Winged Teal (10)
Killdeer (16)
Greater (4) & Lesser (2) Yellowlegs
Pectoral Sandpiper (5)
Wilson's Snipe (9)
Kingfisher (2-M)
Tree Swallow (4)

While at Big Marsh I saw birder Chris who had seen a bunch of White
Pelicans go by but I saw none all day. Rats!

Bird-Of-The-Day to the nest building Osprey & Runners-Up to both
Yellowlegs species
which were my only new year birds for the day.
By the way I had 45 species for the day & 14 duck species.

Al Stokie
In southern Cook County today

[Carolyn A. Marsh]

Every time I go to the Big Marsh area the smell is so bad at the 122nd and Stony Island corporate corridor. It smells like nail polish remover. Thinking the entrance road to the parking lot would be smooth by now, it wasn't. The  pit holes were terrible even though some had been filled with stone. More trees were cut down.The north entrance parking lot was roped and closed. Fishermen were parked along Stony Island on Saturday afternoon.

Carolyn Marsh, Whiting, IN

--
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 on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/ilbirds/CADMwL52ij3d4U%3DNHgNyEjBzpq_FT%3D%3DDSjMZ6e9ieoGCsbixE%3Dg%40mail.gmail.com.