We went out on this lovely, slightly chilly March morning to see what we could find. McGinnis Slough near Orland Park was quite fruitful, while Tampier Lake was fine, but was mostly birds we’d seen earlier that morning or yesterday in Chicago.
New Lifers:
American Wigeon
Trumpeter Swan
Four Lesser Scaup swim in McGinnis Slough, Cook County, IL; 9 March 2025Four Red-Breasted Mergansers swim in Tampier Lake, Palos area, IL; 9 March 2025A Ring-Billed Gull in flight against a blue sky; Tampier Lake, Palos Area, IL; 9 March 2025
We got a new lifer, the American Wigeon, and it’s the first time we got really good looks at the Bufflehead (though the pic is meh) and the Northern Shoveler.
Four American Wigeon ducks in flight; McGinnis Slough, Cook County, IL; 9 March 2025A Bufflehead duck among a bunch of other ducks on a lake; McGinnis Slough, Cook County, IL; 9 March 2025A Northern Shoveler flies against a blue sky, McGinnis Slough, Cook County, IL; 9 March 2025
The highlight of the day was the Sandhill Cranes. When we were back on the trail, one of the cranes landed in the pond right near us, so we were able to see it pretty close (we stayed back, though). It got into a bit of a kerfuffle with some mallards who wanted to hang out nearby.
Two Sandhill Cranes in a shallow lake, calling; McGinnis Slough, Cook County, IL; 9 March 2025Two large Sandhill Cranes take flight; McGinnis Slough, Cook County, IL; 9 March 2025A Sandhill Crane in flight; McGinnis Slough, Cook County, IL; 9 March 2025A Sandhill Crane stands among the reeds; McGinnis Slough, Cook County, IL; 9 March 2025A Sandhill Crane calls among the reeds; McGinnis Slough, Cook County, IL; 9 March 2025A Sandhill Crane moves among the reeds; McGinnis Slough, Cook County, IL; 9 March 2025A Sandhill Crane stands among the reeds; McGinnis Slough, Cook County, IL; 9 March 2025A Sandhill Crane eyes the photographer from among the reeds; McGinnis Slough, Cook County, IL; 9 March 2025
