Chicago Botanic Garden & Skokie Lagoons From Forest Way Drive Friday 3-5-21

[Al Stokie]

Hello Bird People,

Needed to do a short driving location today so I went to the Chicago
Botanic Garden. Haven't been there for 3 weeks & bird wise it hasn't
changed much but additions were over 20 singing Red Winged Blackbirds
& one Common Grackle. Also singing loudly were Cardinals & House
Finches.
All the lakes/ponds are still frozen except for the mud flats & the
stream by the Rt 68/Dundee Rd bridge. Saw David A & he had a Bald
Eagle in a tree but it was gone by the time I got there.
Here's my fairly short day list:

Chicago Botanic Garden (8:05-11:50 a.m,)

Canada Goose (16 on the ground & 20 fly-bys)
Mallard (22, mud flats)
Red Breasted/Common Merganser (1-F, David A thought this was a Common
Merg but it was too far for me & was blocked by branches so I couldn't
say for sure)
KILLDEER (2 fly-bys & 1 on the mud flat)
Herring Gull (4 fly-bys)
Mourning Dove (2)
Downy Woodpecker (1)
Blue Jay (H-1)
Crow (2)
Chickadee (6)
White Breasted Nuthatch (H-1)
Robin (6)
Cardinal (5, all singing males)
Red Winged Blackbird (~22, singing)
COMMON GRACKLE (1) (FOY)
House Finch (3, all singing)
Goldfinch (4)
House Sparrow (16)

Skokie Lagoons Along Forest Way Drive

Drove this road from Dundee Rd to Willow Rd but almost all the Lagoons
are still frozen
except for 2 small areas of open water which only had 6 Mallards & 9
Goldeneye.

Since I missed David's Bald Eagle Bird-Of-The-Day will have to be the
Killdeer which I was
glad to see walking around on the muddy stream bank. Runner-Up to my
FOY Common Grackle. We need to melt more ice so ducks can start to
arrive.

Al Stokie
In Cook County today