Back to Chicago, again!
Chicago, IL
Tuesday 26 November 2019
48 °F
Today, I birded the Chicago lakefront in search of waterfowl and any other goodies I might happen to find.
Starting at Canal Shores Golf Course & Park in Wilmette, fellow birder Dan G & I didn’t find much anything of note, so I headed over to Gillson Park on the lakefront to see if there was any waterfowl there. I was disappointed because a Saw-whet Owl was seen at the golf course just yesterday! I immediately noticed a flock of far-away ducks flying over the lake which turned out to be locally-uncommon WHITE-WINGED SCOTERS, and 17 of them! Very cool!
There were plenty of HOODED MERGANSERS in the harbor:
And their relative the RED-BREASTED MERGANSER was also in good numbers offshore:
I was surprised to see yet another Black Squirrel — I seem to be finding these guys everywhere I go!
Next stop was a lakefront park in Evanston where there wasn’t anything of note except for this very cooperative HORNED GREBE:
After an unsuccessful stop at Loyola Beach, I tried my luck at Montrose Point but it also turned out to be impressively quiet! Disappointing, considering goodies such as Short-eared Owls and Black Scoters had been seen there recently. In fact, the only bird I managed a photo of there was my first-of-the-season AMERICAN TREE SPARROW:
Bird-of-the-day to the uncommon White-winged Scoters, with runner-up to the Horned Grebe. A slower day, but still enjoyable to be out in nature!
Good birding,
Henry
World Life List: 978 Species
