Second Late Report From 10-2-25-Lake Charleston in Coles County Thursday 10-2-25

[Al Stokie]

Hello Again Bird People,

While I was birding Wood Dale with Luis M I got a phone call from
David Johnson who had decided to finally head south to Lake Charleston
to look for the Sabine's Gull that has been there for several days.
Left Wood Dale at 9:45 am & got to David's house by 10:30 am.
Traveling companions were David & Jeri Johnson plus their very
friendly dog Toby.

Arrived at 2:20 pm as it's about a 3 1/2 hour drive to get there and
after such a long drive we were ready to look for rare birds. Right
away we saw the SABINE'S GULL feeding over the lake & also resting on
the water. Always nice to see those black & white patterned wings when
in flight! It seemed to be feeding by picking off bugs from the water.
Took longer but David finally was able to find the EARED GREBE. Both
were pretty far back to the north part of the lake & scopes were
needed to see them well. Here's our list:

Lake Charleston (2:20-3:30 pm)

EARED GREBE (1)
D.C. Cormorant (18)
White Pelican (20)
Great Blue Heron (5)
Great Egret (3)
Canada Goose (6)
SABINE'S GULL (1)
Ring Billed Gull (4)
Bald Eagle (1-IM)
Osprey (1)
Red Bellied Woodpecker (2) & Flicker (H-1)
Blue Jay (2), Crow (6) & Carolina Wren (Heard)
Eastern Bluebird (1)
Black Throated Green Warbler (1)
Cardinal (1-M)
Along the nearby roadsides we found a flock of 23 soaring Turkey
Vultures but, alas, there were no Black Vultures with them.

Then we made a quick stop at the Douglas-Hart Nature Center so I could
add Carolina Chickadee to my year list. While there we also saw 2 Bay
Breasted Warblers.
Then we were ready for the long ride home after a Taco Bell stop as I
had not eaten all day.
I did not get home until 8:40 pm & was pretty sick of driving even
though all the driving was done by David.

Bird-Of-The-Entire-Day will be the Sabine's Gull which I don't see
most years & Runner-Up will be the Eared Grebe. It was a very long day
but I was glad to see the Sabine's Gull.

And rare birds deserve a rare license plate too & we saw one from
Alaska on I-57.

Al Stokie
Ending the day in Coles County