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
We found ourselves downtown on the very pleasant early-Spring afternoon of March 8th, so we walked by Lake Michigan for 45 minutes or so. There weren’t many birds in the trees, but we saw a bunch of cuties in the water.
New Lifer:
Lesser Scaup
Common Goldeneye, Lake Michigan near Grant Park, 8 March 2025Common Goldeneye, Lake Michigan near Grant Park, 8 March 2025Common Goldeneye dives for food, Lake Michigan near Grant Park, Chicago, IL; 8 March 2025Three female Lesser Scaup ducks and one male Lesser Scaup duck swim in the lake, Lake Michigan near Grant Park, Chicago, IL; 8 March 2025A Male Red-Breasted Merganser swims in Lake Michigan near Grant Park, Chicago, IL; 8 March 2025A Female Red-Breasted Merganser swims in Lake Michigan near Grant Park, Chicago, IL; 8 March 2025Five Redheads swim in Lake Michigan, shot at distance near Grant Park, Chicago, IL; 8 March 2025Ring Billed Gull stands on concrete, Lake Michigan shore near Grant Park, 8 March 2025
We ventured into the snowy wastes for a couple quick outings. Some fun sightings, but no amazing pics. It’s hard to be nimble as a photog when gloved up, and it’s even harder to be nimble when your fingers ice up or your eyes water from the cold. That said, it was still fun to see what feathered friends we could. Here are some highlights:
Rock Run Rookery, 11 Jan 2025
Wicked cold outing with our friends at Will County Audubon. We saw some songbirds in the bushes — American Robin, Downy Woodpecker, and a Song Sparrow. But the real show stoppers were the waterfowl, which we peeped with Jenny’s new scope. These shots are with my camera, which gives a much less dramatic view. No major winners here, but gives you an idea what we saw.
Diagram of birds spotted, 11 Jan 25, Rock Run Rookery
In the water, we spotted Canada Geese, Common Goldeneye, Common Mergansers, Redheads, and Mallards. We also spotted, but didn’t get good pics of, a Hooded Merganser, a Ring-billed Gull, and a Ring-Necked Duck.
Great Blue Herons on the ice, Rock Run Rookery, 11 Jan 25American Coot, 11 Jan ’25, Rock Run Rookery
McKee Marsh at Blackwell Forest Preserve, 18 January 2025
This walk was kind of a bust, from a photo and bird-watching perspective. The Marsh was almost completely frozen over, and for a while it seemed like we weren’t going to see any birds at all. We did spot two Northern Harriers on the hunt, and I got one good photo of a Black-Capped Chickadee, but otherwise we didn’t see too many of our feathered friends. Additional sightings: Bald Eagle, Canada Geese, Downy Woodpecker, Northern Cardinal, and a White-Breasted Nuthatch.
Black-capped Chickadee, McKee Marsh, Black-capped Chickadee, 18 Jan ’25Northern Harrier, McKee Marsh, 18 Jan ’25Northern Harrier 2, McKee Marsh, 18 Jan ’25
Little Red School House Nature Center, 25 January 2025
It was a bit nicer on this late-January morning, so we ventured out to see if any feathered friends might say hello. We expected not to see too many, but the bursting feeders at the Little Red School House brought out a bunch of friends.
European Starlings, Little Red Schoolhouse Nature Center, 25 Jan 25House Sparrows in a tree, Little Red Schoolhouse, 25 Jan 25American Tree Sparrow, Little Red Schoolhouse, 25 Jan 25Blue Jay in a tree, Little Red Schoolhouse, 25 Jan 25Dark-eyed Junco, Little Red Schoolhouse, 25 Jan 25Female Northern Cardinal hides among the branches, Little Red Schoolhouse Nature Center, 25 Jan 25Red-bellied Woodpecker in a tree, Little Red Schoolhouse Nature Center, 25 Jan 25Red-bellied flies at the camera, Little Red Schoolhouse Nature Center, 25 Jan 25Tufted titmouse in a tree, lookin’ cute! Little Red Schoolhouse Nature Center, 25 Jan 25
We also saw American Goldfinches, Downy Woodpeckers, Mourning Doves, and a White-Breasted Nuthatch. After our visit to the Little Red School House area, we drove over to Consumer’s Quarry.
Consumer’s Quarry, 25 January 2025
There were almost more people than birds at the quarry. This isn’t to say it was crowded, but rather that it felt pretty avian free. Casual sightings aside, we did spot some Canada Geese, American Coots, and a couple Gadwall, which was a new bird for us! A juvenile Bald Eagle and a chilly-looking Great Blue Heron also put in a appearances.
Gadwall, Consumer Quarry, 25 Jan 25Juvenile Bald Eagle soars overhead, Consumer Quarry, 25 Jan 25
