Life Bird #710: White-winged Scoter!

Saturday 28 March 2015 32 °F

Last night, Friday March 27, my birding aunt and uncle drove to Oak Park and stayed overnight with my family. Tomorrow my family and my aunt and uncle will all fly to southeast Arizona for my spring break, so stay tuned for that! I am SO excited because SE Arizona is THE best place in the entire country for birding!

Today after my choir rehearsal, my uncle and I went birding at Montrose Point Bird Sanctuary north of Chicago in search of White-winged Scoters (an uncommon type of duck), which would be a life bird for both of us.

As soon as we arrived, I spotted this HORNED GREBE in breeding plumage in the harbor:

After a bit of walking on "Fishook Pier," which juts out into Lake Michigan from the bird sanctuary, in the frigid conditions (32-degree temps with blustery winds), we found a beautiful male WHITE-WINGED SCOTER bobbing up and down in the choppy waters of Lake Michigan! Life bird 710!

We soon found another Scoter, a female this time:

Two more White-winged Scoters made a grand total of four of them for the day. The full list of bird species seen can be found below my signature.

Stay tuned, because tomorrow I will fly out to SE Arizona (AKA birder's paradise), and I will be posting in the evening for probably the next 7 days or so!

Good birding,

Henry
World Life List: 710 Species (1 life bird today: White-winged Scoter)

27 species today:

Canada Goose 8
Mallard 3
Redhead 3
Ring-necked Duck 15
Lesser Scaup 1
White-winged Scoter 4
Common Goldeneye 2
Red-breasted Merganser 20
Horned Grebe 1
Ring-billed Gull 20
Herring Gull 2
Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) 3
Downy Woodpecker 1
American Crow 3
Black-capped Chickadee 1
Brown Creeper 1
American Robin 10
European Starling 5
Song Sparrow 1
Dark-eyed Junco 1
Northern Cardinal 1
Red-winged Blackbird 2
Common Grackle 2
Brown-headed Cowbird 2
House Finch 1
American Goldfinch 1
House Sparrow 10