Techny North Sunday 6-4-23

[Al Stokie]

Hello Bird People,

Saw that reports from yesterday showed Snowy Egrets from Middlefork
Savanna in Lake County & Techny North in Cook County. Figured that one
of them would still be around but I started at Techny North as that
was closer. Saw a Sunday report that the Snowy was at Techny Basin but
it had flown away. Arrived at Techny North to find that Matthew C was
already there but had not seen the Egret. Should we wait to see if it
would arrive or look elsewhere? That question was resolved by Yonatan
S who saw the SNOWY EGRET fly in & sit with a Great Egret right in
front of us! This was at about 7:15 a.m. It stayed for about 20 min &
then flew down to the north end & then flew into a big tree by the
stream. Later when Jayne L & John L went to that spot they could not
re-find it. I stayed another hour counting birds but the Egret did not
return. Later I saw that other birders did see it again at Techny
North but it was unreliable in that it kept landing & then flying
away. Guess that the way to see it would be just to wait there until
it flies in, if it did fly in.
Here's today's bird list:

Techny North (7-9:40 a.m.)

Stayed here quite a while & that paid off as different birds kept flying in.

Great Blue Heron (3-4)
Great Egret (2)
SNOWY EGRET (1-AD with nice yellow feet)
Green Heron (1 fly-by)
Black Crowned Night Heron (1 & 2 fly-bys)
Canada Geese (12-AD with 2 groups of young, one group had an amazing
total of 17 young)
Mallard (26)
Killdeer (6)
SEMIPALMATED PLOVER (1, getting late)
Spotted Sandpiper (5)
Semipalmated Sandpiper (2-3)
Ring Billed & Herring Gulls (1 each flying by)
Rock Pigeons (12, on the dam)
Mourning Dove (1)
Kingfisher (1)
Tree (4), Rough Winged (3), Cliff (2) & Barn (6) Swallows
Willow Flycatcher (H-1)
Robin (4)
Starling (1 fly-by)
Warbling Vireo (H-1)
Savannah Sparrow (2)
Eastern Meadowlark (2)
Red Wings (6), Grackles (3) & Cowbird (H-1)
House Sparrow (2)

That's 30 species at Techny North & I did not go elsewhere as I was
still somewhat tired out from yesterday's 3 mile plus walk at Goose
Lake Prairie. But it was a relaxing day chatting with Matthew, the
Tolzmanns, Audrey C, Jayne L & John L. among other birders.

Bird-Of-The-Day to the here again, gone again Snowy Egret. Runners-Up
to the Semipalmated Plover & all the other Heron/Egrets.

Al Stokie
In Cook County today but only for a short time