Little Birder: February 2014

Tuesday, February 25, 2014

Odds and Ends

After an amazing, rather intense President's Day weekend full of birding, I've taken it a little bit easier for the past week. I have still been out a decent number of times, but for shorter spans. In the process, I have filled in a few county gaps and tacked on a couple more year birds.

Last week, it seemed that Spring was upon us. And by "Spring," I simply mean that temperatures rose above freezing for the first time in what felt like aeons. As evidence of the deep freeze we've been under in these parts, temperatures up into the 40s actually registered at something more like 60 with me. Naturally, I found several opportunities to soak up the beauty and feel the warmth of the sun on my skin.

One local area I've been hitting is Blackwell Forest Preserve, which has some of the only open water in DuPage. A pair of Great-horned Owls calling back and forth there in the middle of the day last Wednesday was a clear sign that the birds had welcomed the shift in weather as much as I had. My first Belted Kingfisher for DuPage this year rattled away and landed in a nearby tree.

Belted Kingfisher

Blackwell Forest Preserve, DuPage Co, IL

February 19, 2014

Then this little guy posed nicely for me, rich blue sky as a background.

White-breasted Nuthatch

Blackwell Forest Preserve, DuPage Co, IL

February 19, 2014

The Lockport Canal drew a lot of attention last week as a revolving door of inland rarities. On one trip there I had 58 White-winged Scoters! Greater Scaup was a nice county year bird, the Red-throated Loon stuck around for a few days, and I finally managed to get my first Canvasback of the year.

Canvasback

Lockport Canal, Will Co, IL

February 21, 2014

Gadwall

Lockport Canal, Will Co, IL

February 21, 2014

Red-throated Loon

Lockport Canal, Will Co, IL

February 21, 2014

Other than that, the only thing of note last week was my DuPage County lifer Peregrine Falcon at FermiLab on Friday. It was a quick fly by, and a rather unexpected bird on this blustery day. And, a long overdo county bird, #226!

I laid low over the weekend as Saturday brought a day-long meeting for me and a doctor's appointment for Jen, and we both felt on the verge of getting sick. Good times. Then yesterday morning rolled around, and I realized it would likely be my last chance to get out for the next few days. Work and school are ramping up; thankfully Spring Break is less than two weeks away now.

So, I headed back down to the Des Plaines River with the hopes of picking up a couple year birds, and I did just that! The conditions were sunny, but the firm breeze was a stern reminder that Winter is not about to let go. Let's be real, people. It's the end of February. A 10-day forecast full of lows in the single digits and below zero temps is not out of the ordinary. If your expectations include blooming flowers and comfortable temps at this time of year, Chicago isn't the place for you. It's going to be OK, I promise Spring will indeed come.

Back to the birds. Waterfowl numbers were impressive, a clear sign that things are on the move. All three swans were present again at the widewaters area, including the two Trumpeters pictured below. A male White-winged Scoter was near the bridge, along with a nice assortment of Common and Hooded Mergansers and a Pied-billed Grebe.

Trumpeter Swans

Des Plaines Widewaters, Will Co, IL

February 24, 2014

White-winged Scoter

Des Plaines Widewaters, Will Co, IL

February 24, 2014

Common Mergansers

Des Plaines Widewaters, Will Co, IL

February 24, 2014

Hooded Mergansers

Des Plaines Widewaters, Will Co, IL

February 24, 2014

Here's a good reminder of the notable size difference between the two:

Common and Hooded Merganser

Des Plaines Widewaters, Will Co, IL

February 24, 2014

Many Canvasback were present, along with a good contingent of Redhead, both scaup, American Black Duck, Gadwall, and the other usual suspects. As for passerines, the "Peter! Peter! Peter!" of a Tufted Titmouse rang out as I scoped, several Brown Creepers scurried along tree trunks, and I had my first Red-winged Blackbird in well over a month.

On the south side of the river, I scoped from the Harborside Marina where I found more of the same in the waterfowl department, with the exception that all five aythya species were present in two rafts: Canvasback were by far the most numerous, followed by Ring-necked Ducks, then Lesser Scaup, then Redheads, and I eventually picked out a couple Greater Scaup. Two Double-crested Cormorants sat among 15 Great-blue Herons roosting on the bank; nine Bald Eagles circled overhead. But, no pelicans, as had been reported over the weekend. After checking my Delorme, I realized that from my vantage point, I could easily see a significant portion of the river on the Grundy County side, so I added a handful of county ticks. This brought my Grundy life list up to 101, not bad considering I've only stepped foot in the county three times. It's my ninth Illinois county to break the century mark.

I headed south on the county line road, Grundy on my right, Will on my left. A large permanent yellow roadside stating "FOG AHEAD" struck me as a little odd. How do they know? I discovered the validity of the sign shortly thereafter as I came upon the Dresden Cooling Lake. Fog swept across the road, greatly diminishing visibility, but as I peered to my left a pocket of it peeled back to reveal a lone bird resting on a rocky shore: American White Pelican! Obviously not a bird I was concerned about getting for the year, but I figured I had missed them for the day by that point, so this was a fun surprise. I lingered for a little while, and as the fog hesitantly permitted, I found a couple groups of Gadwall, a few Greater Scaup in with Lessers, a Pied-billed Grebe, and a Double-crested Cormorant.

American White Pelican

Dresden Cooling Lake, Will Co, IL

February 24, 2014

I wondered what else was sitting out on that huge body of water, concealed under the highly localized mirky sky. While I didn't receive a full answer to that query, I did get a partial reply as thousands of geese flew back and forth over the road when I headed back east. A train crossing slowed me down enough to help me realize that a flock landing right next to the road had a decent number of Greater-white Fronted Geese mixed in. I turned around to investigate.

Large mixed flocks of geese provide some of my favorite birding moments. I'm not sure exactly what it is, but as I sat there and watched the flock grow as more and more groups of geese were landing, I felt like the outing had been worth it. I had a really hard time pulling myself away - I could have been content to just sit there all day, but alas, with a meeting to get back for, twenty minutes was all I could afford. I did manage some fun shots though:

Greater White-fronted Goose

Will Co, IL

February 24, 2014

Greater White-fronted Geese

Will Co, IL

February 24, 2014

I captured three species in flight together, too!

Canada, Cackling, and Greater White-fronted Goose

Will Co, IL

February 24, 2014

I only observed the flock from the road for a short while because traffic was surprisingly busy, which was unfortunate because it gave me a better, elevated vantage point. While there, I snapped this picture, only to get home that my first Northern Pintail of the year had snuck into the far right corner, ha!

Canada and Greater White-fronted Geese, and Northern Pintail

Will Co, IL

February 24, 2014

And with that, I sit at 108 as the final days of February slip away. I'm happy with the start I've had, but I definitely feel the pressure to get another winter rarity on the list before Spring hits. Prairie Falcon, anybody? Here are the numbers:

ABA: 136

Illinois: 108
Illinois County Ticks: 2,618 (all time)

Will, IL: 67
Cook, IL:62
Kane, IL: 56
DuPage, IL: 49

Monday, February 17, 2014

County Lifers Galore!

I came into this weekend with a great deal of anticipation, knowing I would have several opportunities to get out birding. After hitting 100 on Friday and getting an amazing lifer on Saturday, I was already quite content. Yet, a few reports of some nice birds in the inland counties drew me out early this morning, and man am I glad I decided to go!

I began in Batavia at sunrise. Looking north from the Wilson Street bridge, I had some Common Mergansers and Goldeneyes. After just a couple minutes, the target bird popped up briefly: Long-tailed Duck. A great find by Marion Miller from a couple days prior, and a sweet Kane County lifer (178)!

Long-tailed Duck

Batavia, Kane Co, IL

February 17, 2014

With one bird in the bag, I headed to Will County to meet Andrew. On the way, the sky turned from a simple cloud cover to an all out snow storm. The first flakes that fell were the size of sand dollars, unreal! I can't recall ever seeing a snow storm come on so quickly. It kept me from getting a Rough-legged Hawk, oh well.

We headed to the Lockport Canal, where two county lifers were incredibly easy. 29 White-winged Scoters were present, and after scoping for just a few moments, the Red-throated Loon came up out of the water (151 and 152)!

White-winged Scoter

Lockport Canal, Will Co, IL

February 17, 2014

In its winter plumage, the Red-throated Loon is a subtle bi-colored beauty. Like the entirety of its chilled surroundings, its plumage is comprised of white and gray and nothing else. And for that very reason, I think it perfectly encapsulates the beauty of winter. Though its colors are rather drab, their arrangement is striking. The soft white speckle upon the grey back mirrors the flakes I had watched fall upon empty sidewalks just minutes earlier. As Spring rolls around, that white throat will be replaced with a little patch of brilliant red, and it'll be a whole new kind of gorgeous. But today, as I viewed this guy through the scope at a close distance, I was taken aback by its wintertime elegance.

Red-throated Loon

Lockport Canal, Will Co, IL

February 17, 2014

A killer inland duo:

Red-throated Loon and White-winged Scoter
Lockport Canal, Will Co, IL

February 17, 2014

After that, we headed to the Cook/DuPage County line along the Lemont Canal, where we ran into Andy Sigler and Nathan Goldberg and birded with them for a while. After some discussion of the county line and checking the map, Nathan and I made our way to the brushy west side of the river, craning our necks and looking north for this county lifer. It took a few minutes, but eventually this White-winged Scoter swam into view! A bit of a milestone for me as it was my 225th bird for DuPage County.

White-winged Scoter

Lemont Canal, DuPage Co, IL

February 17, 2014

In a matter of hours I had found all my targets for the day. Andrew was heading to the Lemont Quarry area in Cook, so I tagged along because I had never been there before and had been wanting to learn the area. I was rewarded with yet another county lifer which also happened to be an Illinois year bird for me. Wait for it: Northern Shoveler. Yeah, not that exciting. But, with that find, I had managed at least one county tick in my four nearest counties, quite the accomplishment for one morning!

Northern Shoveler

Lemont Quarry, Cook Co, IL

February 17, 2014

What a way to end an already outstanding weekend.

ABA: 134

Illinois: 105

Will, IL: 62 (152)

Cook, IL: 62 (194)

Kane, IL: 56 (178)

DuPage, IL: 44 (225)

Illinois Total County Ticks: 2,604

SLATY-BACKED GULL And So Much More!

Caution: if you're averse to mega rarities and pictures of White-winged Scoters and Long-tailed Ducks, this will be a very boring post for you.

Some days are memorable because of the quantity of birds seen. Others because of the quality. Saturday was definitely the latter for Andrew and me. We birded sunrise to sundown and only managed 35 species. But, the day was overflowing with outstanding experiences, most of which would have made the day worth it on their own. Instead, they all came together for us.

I picked up Andrew a little after 6 am, and we quickly made our first good choice of the day: Starbucks. The peppy barista in the drive-thru asked if we were off to go running. Running? Who goes outside in these kinds of conditions? Oh wait, us. That's not the point. Who gets coffee before running? That's the real question.

"Mmm, no, we're going birding."

"Doing what?"

Refusing to say "birdwatching," I replied "Um, we're going to go look for birds."

"Huh."

And we were off, coffee in hand.

The plan was to hit a couple spots along the lake in Cook County and make it to the fairgrounds by mid morning, hoping for a positive report of the Slaty-back along the way. Turned out to be a great plan.

Reports of all three scoters drew us to Montrose, which ended up being the bookends of our long day. We arrived as the sun peeked over the horizon and began shining on Lake Michigan's icy lid. White-winged Scoters were everywhere (copy and paste this comment under every location mentioned for the rest of the post), providing close looks as they dominated flocks of Common Goldeneyes, Common and Red-breasted Mergansers. Walking along the lake toward the fishhook pier provided more of the same.

White-winged Scoter

Montrose, Cook Co, IL

February 15, 2014

Once at the pier, we set up the scopes and almost instantly got on our first target bird for the day: Surf Scoter. This was actually a state lifer for me (293) - took me long enough! It showed well for us right next to the pier.

Surf Scoter

Montrose, Cook Co, IL

February 15, 2014

We continued scanning, but missed the Black Scoters that had been there earlier in the week. However, we did get our first Long-tailed Ducks of the day flying by. Two buddy list lifers in quick succession, and a really solid first stop of the day.

We then hopped up to Loyola Park, where White-winged Scoters and Long-tailed Ducks were present again, along with a sizable flock of Greater Scaup. I managed a few distant shots of the Long-tails, including one male in flight, check out that tail!

Long-tailed Duck

Loyola Park, Cook Co, IL

February 15, 2014

These two females were hanging close together:

Long-tailed Duck

Loyola Park, Cook Co, IL

February 15, 2014

Right before we took off, Andrew spotted this Peregrine Falcon high atop one of the tall buildings along the lakeshore. Here it, standing guard over the city:

Peregrine Falcon

Loyola Park, Cook Co, IL

February 15, 2014

When we got back to the car, Andrew's phone rang. It was Jeff Smith. Andrew's countenance changed and he gave a subtle nod, and I knew enough to begin pulling out of the parking lot as quickly as possible - the Slaty-back was back at the fairgrounds. The next 45 minutes were spent trying to stay calm, stay reasonably within the speed limit, and not make ourselves sick with anticipation. We also sang the praises of Amar Ayyash about half the time.

It seemed like we hit every possible red light, yet we still managed to make pretty decent time. We pulled into the fairgrounds, happy to see a line of scopes pointed in one direction. After exchanging a few pleasantries with fellow birders, we made our way to the end of the line. Andy Sigler had the bird in his scope and let us both have a look, and a great sense of relief washed over me. I got back to my scope and just stared at the bird for a while, snapping a few pics here and there. Thankfully it was standing when we arrived, so the distinctive pink legs were easy to see. What an outstanding lifer, and an amazing bird to get on the Illinois year list!

Slaty-backed Gull

Lake County Fairgrounds, Lake Co, IL

February 15, 2014

Slaty-backed Gull

Lake County Fairgrounds, Lake Co, IL

February 15, 2014

The ever shifting flock of gulls dictated the shifting of the eager flock of birders, as everyone attempted to get a clear look at the bird. Matthew Cvetas hooked me up with this clear lane, providing some excellent looks at that pronounced secondary skirt and huge tertial crescent.

Slaty-backed Gull

Lake County Fairgrounds, Lake Co, IL

February 15, 2014

It was an honor to get to share this experience with so many other birders, some of whom I already knew, and many of whom I finally got to meet for the first time between stints of checking out this beauty - what a way to meet! Right before we left, the bird took off and circled right past us, giving us incredible looks at that striking underwing pattern and that ridiculous trailing edge on the wing. I will never forget that flyby. A huge thanks to Amar for this bird!

Slaty-backed Gull

Lake County Fairgrounds, Lake Co, IL

February 15, 2014

Slaty-backed Gull

Lake County Fairgrounds, Lake Co, IL

February 15, 2014

Mega rarity lifers are like major life events, much akin to a graduation or something. You were there. You know it happened. But that doesn't mean the magnitude of the event has sunk in. That usually takes a while. Between each of our stops for the rest of the day, we would bring up the fact that we actually saw a Slaty-backed Gull, then just shake our heads.

Oh, and there were some other birds there too. A random Horned Lark made a few passes, but it was a county bird for both of us. The same second cycle Iceland from the previous day was still there, and I was quite happy that there seemed to be unanimous consent on the ID. This adult Thayer's was also in the air with the Slaty-back right as we left:

Thayer's Gull

Lake County Fairgrounds, Lake Co, IL

February 15, 2014

After that, we decided to swing by North Point Marina and meet up with the frolic crew for a little while (check out the day they had, wow!). A nice adult male Long-tailed Duck was in the harbor right when we arrived, along with yet another flock of White-winged Scoters.