Montrose Again Tuesday 4-14-26

[Al Stokie]

Hello Bird People,

I heard that the Piping Plovers were back as of late yesterday so I
thought I would visit them & say hello. I saw two of them running on
the Protected Beach & they had a Long Billed Dowitcher for company.
Another surprise was a Virginia Rail in "The Clump" which took me
forever to see.

Montrose Point (9 am-12:30 pm)

Horned Grebe (1, in the lake)
D.C. Cormorant (6)
Canada Goose (8, harbor)
Mallard (6)
Red Breasted Merganser (6)
VIRGINIA RAIL (1)
Killdeer (H-1)
PIPING PLOVER (2)
LONG BILLED DOWITCHER (1)
Ring Billed (~30) & Herring (4) Gulls
Caspian Tern (16)
Rock Pigeon (2)
Yellow Bellied Sapsucker (2)
Downy Woodpecker (2)
Flicker (6)
Purple Martin (2)
Tree Swallow (6)
Rough Winged Swallow (3)
Crow (1)
Chickadee (1)
Creeper (1)
Ruby Crowned Kinglet (2)
Hermit Thrush (1)
Robin (~15)
Brown Thrasher (3)
Starling (3)
Cardinal (4)
Eastern Towhee (3-M)
Song Sparrow (2)
FOX SPARROW (1)
Swamp Sparrow (8)
White Throated Sparrow (12)
White Crowned Sparrow (1)
Junco (4)
Red Wings (8), Grackle (8) & Cowbird (1-M & 1-F)
House Sparrow (10)

Made a quick stop at Axehead Lake & found that two Common Loons still
remain but all migrating ducks have left.

So 39 species at Montrose plus the Loons for a total of 40 for the day.
Bird-Of-The-Day will be a tie between the Virginia Rail & the Long
Billed Dowitcher as they were not expected to be here. Runner-Up to
the returning Piping Plovers which were expected to be here today.

Al Stokie
At Montrose in Cook County today