(Late) Montrose & a Bunting Adventure Wednesday 4-22-26

[Al Stokie]

Hello Bird People,

Well another day where I was out birding so long I could not finish my
record keeping & do my reports. So here's yesterday's report a day
late.

Montrose Point (7-10:30 am)

Kind of windy from the start & by 10:15 it also got cloudy/foggy. But
there were plenty of birds present & I added 7 new year birds in one
visit.

Montrose Point (7-10:30 am)

Canada Goose (6)
Mallard (5)
Red Breasted Merganser (4)
Rock Pigeon (1)
Mourning Dove (2)
WHITE WINGED DOVE (1, returned for a 2nd day) (FOY)
Ring Billed & Herring Gulls (no counts)
Caspian Tern (2)
Horned Grebe (10
D.C. Cormorant (45)
AMERICAN BITTERN (1, on the pier)
Downy Woodpecker (2)
Flicker (4)
WARBLING VIREO (1) (FOY)
Blue Jay (2)
Crow (1)
Chickadee (2)
Ruby Crowned Kinglet (10)
Red Breasted Nuthatch (1)
Brown Creeper (3)
BLUE GRAY GNATCATCHER (2) (FOY)
Purple Martin (5)
Tree (6), Rough Winged (6) & Barn (1) Swallows
Hermit Thrush (9)
WOOD THRUSH (1) (FOY)
Robin (~20)
Brown Thrasher (1)
Starling (8)
Yellow Rumped Myrtle Warbler (6)
Palm Warbler (2)
NORTHERN PARULA (1-M) (FOY)
Cardinal (4)
Eastern Towhee (2)
LARK SPARROW (2) (FOY)
Song (2) & Swamp (6) Sparrows
White Crowned Sparrow (4)
White Throated Sparrow (12)
Red Wings (8), Grackles (10) & Cowbirds (2)
PURPLE FINCH (1, looked like a female but singing like a male, maybe a
young male?)
House Sparrow (12)

So 46 species at Montrose.

I was at lunch when I got a call from Dave Johnson who told me about a
LAZULI BUNTING coming to a feeder in Wauconda. So I picked up Bob
Erickson & we hurried out there. We were supposed to take Old Rand
Road part of the way but it turned out there were 3 Old Rand Roads &
we got lost. Finally figured it out & arrived at about 3:30 pm only to
learn that the Bunting had not been at the feeder for 90 min. So the
other folks waiting were getting nervous. But we figured the bird
would come back for one more feeding before night. And that proved to
be right as at 4 pm back it came. Went to the feeder until it was
flushed by an aggressive Red Winged Blackbird. After this the Bunting
hung out in 2 conifers next to the feeder at which time Bob & I left.
See ebird or Discord for directions & parking rules if you choose to
go.

So 51 species for the whole day. Bird-Of-The-Day will be the LAZULI
BUNTING which was the 1st one I've ever seen in Illinois. Runners-Up
to the White Winged Dove, the Lark Sparrows & the American Bittern.

Al Stokie
In Cook & Lake Co's yesterday