Axehead Lake, Lake Opeka, Beck Lake & Big Bend Lake Saturday 4-4-26

[Al Stokie]

Hello Bird People,

Had to wait out the rain & then looked for loons, grebes & ducks at 4
small Des Plaines lakes.
I will only list waterbirds today.

Axehead Lake (11-11;35 am) (Open again after restocking, fishermen everywhere)

Common Loon (11)
Pied Billed (8) & Horned (3) Grebes
D.C. Cormorant (1)
Mallard (8)
Lesser Scaup (14), Bufflehead (3) & Red Breasted Merganser (37)
Coots & Herring Gull (2)

Lake Opeka (12:30-12:45 pm)

Common Loon (3)
Pied Billed Grebe (1)
D.C. Cormorant (4)
Canada Goose (8) & Mallard (32)
Lesser Scaup (36), Bufflehead (2) & Red Breasted Merganser (24)
Ruddy Duck (14)
Ring Billed (55) & Herring (6) Gulls

Beck Lake (1:05-1:30 pm)

Common Loon (5) & P.B. Grebe (2)
Canada Goose (38)
WHITE FRONTED GOOSE (1)
Mallard (7) & Shoveler (1-M)
Bufflehead (1-PR) & Red Breasted Merganser (1-M)
Tree Swallow (~30)
ROUGH WINGED SWALLOW (2)

Big Bend Lake (1:35-2:25 pm)

Common Loon (5)
P.B. (4) & Horned (2) Grebes
Canada Goose (3) & Mallard (5)
Green Winged Teal (2) & Shoveler (3-M)
Red Breasted Merganser (47)
Ring Billed (32) & Herring (1) Gulls
Tree Swallow (4)
BARN SWALLOW (1)

So 25 species at my 4 small lakes & no roadside additions.
Bird-Of-The-Day to the Beck Lake White Fronted Goose & Runners-Up to
all the Common Loons & the flock of colorful Ruddy Ducks. I had a
total of 24 Common Loons today.

Al Stokie
Local in Cook County today dodging rain & counting Loons