Techny North & Fort Sheridan Hawk Watch Thursday 9-4-25

[Al Stokie]

Hello Bird People,

In spite of not getting a whole lot of rain yesterday Techny North is
almost completely flooded with only one small area of mudflats
remaining. Still had a few shorebirds & heron/egrets.

D.C. Cormorant (1)
Great Blue Heron (2)
Great Egret (2)
Black Crowned Night Heron (1-AD)
Canada Goose (2 & 5 fly-bys)
Mallard (5 fly-bys)
Red Tailed Hawk (1-IM)
Killdeer (9)
Solitary Sandpiper (1)
Least Sandpiper (5)
Semipalmated Sandpiper (3)
Pectoral Sandpiper (2)
Mourning Dove (2)

Fort Sheridan Hawk Watch (10:30 a.m.-2 p.m.)

The official count of raptors for the day was 49 of which I saw only
23 but I am not very good
at hawk watching. I just hope a rare one flies in close enough for a
good look & don't expect
to see any of the farther birds

Turkey Vulture (4)
Osprey (2)
Bald Eagle (4)
Cooper's Hawk (3)
Red Tailed Hawk (7)
Kestrel (1)
PEREGRINE FALCON (2, flying together)
Chimney Swift (lots!)
Eastern Kingbird (1), Purple Martin (4) Barn Swallow (2) & Goldfinch (4)
Heard only were Red Headed Woodpeckers & Blue Jays

A Pine Siskin flew by & was heard by some but it didn't stop & I never
heard it anyway.

So 26 species for the day & Bird-Of-The-Day will be the in transit Peregrines &
Runner-Up to the better seen of the Bald Eagles.

I would like to thank Adam Sell, Andy Sigler, Susan L & Pieter B for
help in finding the raptors.

Al Stokie
In Cook & mainly Lake County today