Baker's Lake & Younghusband Prairie Tuesday 7-14-26

[Al Stokie]

Hello Bird People,

Another short visit in the early morning to beat the heat. For a
moment I thought I had a rare bird as I thought there was a big
shorebird with a long bill but it was so far away & no other birds
were near to compare sizes. But then the Killdeer arrived & the big
shorebird didn't look so big any more. And the bill was down curved &
not up curved so my Godwit had turned into a Short Billed Dowitcher. I
was a victim of wishful thinking & distant views.

Baker's Lake (8:30-9:50 am)

WHITE PELICAN (1 on the distant mudflats & 2 swimming nearby)
D.C. Cormorant (~250)
Great Blue Heron (7)
Great Egret (~45)
Canada Goose (24)
Mallard (6)
Killdeer (11)
Spotted Sandpiper (4)
Least Sandpiper (2)
SHORT BILLED DOWITCHER (1)
Ring Billed Gull (2)
Herring Gull (1)
Caspian Tern (27)
FORSTER'S TERN (2)
BALD EAGLE (2-AD, resting on the Cormorant nest platforms)
Blue Jay, Crows, Robin & Red Wings

A short stop at the Younghusband Prairie Osprey platform found the
Ospreys doing well with
one adult & 2 large young on the platform.

So 23 species at my 2 locations plus 2 roadside additions for a total
of 25 for the day.
Bird-Of-The-Day will be the two Forster's Terns as they were not
expected today.
Runners-Up will be the 3 Pelicans, the 2 Bald Eagles & the Osprey family.

Al Stokie
In Cook County today