Montrose Beach & Dunes plus Stoney Ford Canoe Launch Wednesday 8-12-26

[Al Stokie]

Hello Bird People,
Not much in the shorebird department but had a couple interesting
birds anyway at Montrose.

Montrose Beach & Dunes (6-9:30 am)

D.C. Cormorant (3)
Great Blue Heron (2, on the beach)
Canada Goose (66) & Mallard (3)
COMMON MERGANSER (4-F, in the lake just off the beach)
Chimney Swift (1)
Killdeer (6)
Semipalmated Plover (4)
Spotted Sandpiper (9, all young ones)
Least (2) & Semipalmated (3) Sandpipers
Ring Billed (~170) & Herring (9) Gulls
Caspian Tern (1 fly-by)
Cooper's Hawk (1)
Rock Pigeon (2)
MONK PARAKEET (1, on the fishing pier tower)
Purple Martin (2)
Barn Swallow (8)
Song Sparrow (2)
Cardinal (H-1)
House Finch (1)
House Sparrow (5)

Then in the afternoon Bob Erickson & I tried once again to find the
Swallow Tailed Kite at Stoney Ford Canoe Launch & once again failed to
find it.
Did see the following:
Great Blue Heron (1) & Great Egret (1)
Canada Goose (a family of 3)
Mallard (2-F)
Spotted Sandpiper (1)
Turkey Vulture (4)
Osprey (1 or 2)
Red Tailed Hawk (2, one was the rare version with all black under wing
linings but a red tail)
And 9 species of common land birds

So about 31 species at my 2 locations plus roadside Mourning Doves for
a total of 32.
Bird-Of-The-Day will be the dark Red Tailed Hawk & Runners-Up will be the
4 Common Mergansers & the Monk Parakeet.

Big day for license plates! At Montrose I saw an Indian Nation plate
for Kiowa Tribe & on the way home from the Kite search I saw a Mexican
plate from Guanajuato. The Kiowa plate was a lifer plate.

Al Stokie
In Cook County today