At 11:30 am, there was a Rough-legged Hawk flying over Busse Woods just
southeast of Higgins and 53.

Dawn Keller
Lake County
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

During a chilly afternoon walk my hiking companions and I were treated to two
(and maybe three?) Great-horned owls hooting up a storm from the wooded areas on
the eastern side of the Paul Douglas preserve (Hoffman Estates, Cook County.

Dave Coulter
Oak Park, IL
Cook County

As my wife and I were driving through Lakemoor yesterday I saw a very
large raptor over Lilly Lake. I didn't have time to pull over & grab
my binoculars, but the bird was quite low, very large and 'heavy'. My
first thought was 'eagle!', but I couldn't pin it as an immature Bald
or Golden. It was very dark all over, except for thin white 'C' shapes
under each wing. This seems closer to guide photos of juvenile
Goldens, but this bird didn't have any white on the tail. I know birds
in the field don't always match the books exactly, & I can't find any
other raptor that's all dark with these wing markings, so this one has
me stumped.

Any thoughts??

Thanks!

The Varied Thrush was feeding on the ground this morning around 7:30a.m. in
the back, under the last pine on right.  The Cooper's came in about 7:45am
and just left.

Anne Straight
Forreston, IL (Ogle County)

I was able to join Dick Riner's group (which included Kim Ramirez and Julie
Arvia-naturalist at Island Prairie Nature Center) Saturday to cover a section of
the Will County Christmas Bird Count in and near Frankfort.



We started at Island Prairie Nature Center, Frankfort, where we had 13 species
including one SWAMP SPARROW and 69 MOURNING DOVE.   Two other first-time
CBCers joined us for this part.



Then the four of us drove a northwest section of the count, between
Monee-Manhatten Road and Sauk Trail, west of I-57.   



Best birds in this section were:

- female NORTHERN HARRIER (near Steger Road and 88th)

- 30 HORNED LARKS (two groups) on 80th south of Steger (both on the sides of the
road and in the street)

- male AMERICAN KESTREL.

- we had a total of 102 AMERICAN TREE SPARROWS in this area



Alan Anderson, casresearch@... , Des Plaines, Cook Co.




[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

That was Al Stokie who nicely informed us of the swan in the harbor, not Andy
Siegler. Not sure what was going on in my brain why I typed that. My apologies
to both.

Michael L. P. Retter

---------------------------------

W. Lafayette, Tippecanoe Co., IN

mlretter AT yahoo.com

home:  765.838.3152

cell:  309.824.7317

http://xenospiza.com/



Tour Leader, Tropical Birding

http://www.tropicalbirding.com/

-----------------------------------

--- On Sat, 1/2/10, Michael L. P. Retter <mlretter@...> wrote:

From: Michael L. P. Retter <mlretter@...>
Subject: IBET Winthrop Harbor 1/2/10
To: "IBET" <ILbirds@yahoogroups.com>
Date: Saturday, January 2, 2010, 8:19 PM
















 









       Matt Hale and I joined Amar Ayyash, Alex Cruz, and Geoff and Christine
Williamson for some gulling at Winthrop Harbor today. We also ran into Adam
Sell, Brian Harriot, and Andy Siegler.



Best bird was the previously reported Glaucous-winged- like gull. It's either an
advanced 1st-cycle (my guess) or a 2nd-cycle bird. It's a bit darker than I'd
like for a pure GWGU, but the light was quite harsh. Here are some photos:



http://www.flickr. com/photos/ mlretter/ sets/72157623000 110431/



Complete list of birds below.



Good birding,



Michael L. P. Retter

------------ --------- --------- ---

W. Lafayette, Tippecanoe Co., IN

mlretter AT yahoo.com

home:  765.838.3152

cell:  309.824.7317

http://xenospiza. com/



Tour Leader, Tropical Birding

http://www.tropical birding.com/

------------ --------- --------- -----



Location:     Winthrop Harbor--Harbor and beaches (Lake Co.)

Observation date:     1/2/10

Notes:     1st/2nd-cycle GWGU-like bird; photos (listed as gull sp.) Photos of
all interesting gulls and the swan.

Number of species:     17



Canada Goose     450

Tundra Swan     1

Mallard     40

Redhead     25

Greater Scaup     70

Lesser Scaup     6

Common Goldeneye     12

Hooded Merganser     4

Common Merganser     20

Ring-billed Gull     7

Herring Gull (American)     650

Thayer's Gull     4

Iceland Gull (Kumlien's)     3

Lesser Black-backed Gull (graellsii)     2

Glaucous Gull     3

gull sp.     1

Black-capped Chickadee     1

Snow Bunting     2



This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird. org)






























[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Here are the preliminary results of the Freeport area Christmas Bird Count
for those that are interested:

December 19, 2009   18 Field Counters   6 Feeder Counters

Total Species:  47    Total Birds:  7288

Canada Geese  618
Mallard  73
Ring-necked Pheasant  6
Wild Turkey  26
Bald Eagle  7  (A. 5   I. 2)
Sharp-shinned Hawk  1
Cooper's Hawk  3
Red-tailed Hawk  36 (1 Dark Morph)
Rough-legged Hawk  4
American Kestrel  12
Rock Pigeon  181
Mourning Dove  302
Eastern Screech-Owl  1
Barred Owl  1
Belted Kingfisher  1
Red-bellied Woodpecker  31
Downy Woodpecker  59
Hairy Woodpecker  8
Northern Flicker  1
Blue Jay  61
American Crow  212
Horned Lark  592
Black-capped Chickadee  87
Tufted Titmouse  6
Red-breasted Nuthatch  1
White-breasted Nuthatch  50
Brown Creeper  5
American Robin  3
European Starling  1701
Cedar Waxwing  71
American Tree Sparrow  50
Fox Sparrow  2
Song Sparrow  9
Swamp Sparrow  1
Dark-eyed Junco  698
Lapland Longspur  406
Snow Bunting  830
Northern Cardinal  137
Red-winged Blackbird  5
Meadowlark Sp.  1
Brown-headed Cowbird  1
Purple Finch  5
House Finch 63
Pine Siskin  3
American Goldfinch  88
House Sparrow  828

Merlin   1  (documented)

Anne Straight - Compiler
Forreston, IL (Ogle County)
astraight4@...

Matt Hale and I joined Amar Ayyash, Alex Cruz, and Geoff and Christine
Williamson for some gulling at Winthrop Harbor today. We also ran into Adam
Sell, Brian Harriot, and Andy Siegler.

Best bird was the previously reported Glaucous-winged-like gull. It's either an
advanced 1st-cycle (my guess) or a 2nd-cycle bird. It's a bit darker than I'd
like for a pure GWGU, but the light was quite harsh. Here are some photos:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mlretter/sets/72157623000110431/

Complete list of birds below.

Good birding,

Michael L. P. Retter
---------------------------------
W. Lafayette, Tippecanoe Co., IN
mlretter AT yahoo.com
home:  765.838.3152
cell:  309.824.7317
http://xenospiza.com/

Tour Leader, Tropical Birding
http://www.tropicalbirding.com/
-----------------------------------

Location:     Winthrop Harbor--Harbor and beaches (Lake Co.)
Observation date:     1/2/10
Notes:     1st/2nd-cycle GWGU-like bird; photos (listed as gull sp.) Photos of
all interesting gulls and the swan.
Number of species:     17

Canada Goose     450
Tundra Swan     1
Mallard     40
Redhead     25
Greater Scaup     70
Lesser Scaup     6
Common Goldeneye     12
Hooded Merganser     4
Common Merganser     20
Ring-billed Gull     7
Herring Gull (American)     650
Thayer's Gull     4
Iceland Gull (Kumlien's)     3
Lesser Black-backed Gull (graellsii)     2
Glaucous Gull     3
gull sp.     1
Black-capped Chickadee     1
Snow Bunting     2

This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org)

Christine and I were out at North Point Marina (in Winthrop Harbor,
Lake County) with Matt Hale, Michael Retter, their friend Alex, and
Brian Herriott from mid-morning to early afternoon today (Saturday, 2
Jan 2010), and were joined by Amar Ayyash, Carolyn Fields, and Adam Sell.

Wes and Amar posted earlier about the most interesting gull, which is
likely a 2nd cycle HERRING x GLAUCOUS-WINGED GULL.  What was
distinctive about it was that it had an all-black bill that was
noticeably more massive than a Herring Gull bill, size slightly
larger than many/most of the nearby Herring Gulls with a bulkier look
and a deep belly, and a plumage-pattern roughly like that of a 2nd
cycle Thayer's Gull, though in places darker in some respects and
with a more blotchy, overall brown coloration to the body.  Michael
captured a lot of images so maybe these will help to secure an
identification.  To me it did not look like a bird within the center
of the range of appearance of Glaucous-winged Gull, but I don't know
right now how to rule out that species as a possibility.

Other interesting birds in the area included the following.

TUNDRA SWAN - 1.  Al Stokie, who had been at the opposite side of the
harbor, let us know about this bird. It was with the goose flock in
the middle of the marina's east side.

HERRING GULL - lots, including an adult whose right eye was entirely
dark, while its left eye was pale yellow.

THAYER'S GULL - 3+, including 2 adults and a 2nd cycle bird, plus one
Thayer's/Kumlien's "tweener"

KUMLIEN'S (ICELAND) GULL - 3,  two different adults (one paler eyed,
with slightly more and darker blackish gray on the wingtips; and one
darker eyed with very little dark on the wingtip) and a 2nd cycle bird

LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL - I think it was 2 or 3 adult or
just-sub-adult birds.  I can't remember mainly because I didn't see
any of them.

GLAUCOUS GULL - 3, one adult and one 2nd cycle, plus a different
immature bird seen only at a distance that was likely 1st cycle

NORTHERN SHRIKE - the Spring Bluff F.P. bird, since by various of the
above folks (but not by me)

SAVANNAH SPARROW - one hanging around the plantings around the
perimeter of the yacht club parking lots

SNOW BUNTING - two foraging on the ground southeast of the marina

Also seen in the vicinity was a Red Fox.

Good birding,
Geoff




Geoffrey A. Williamson
Chicago, Cook County, Illinois
geoffrey.williamson@...

IOS: http://www.illinoisbirds.org
COS: http://www.chicagobirder.org

Only five Bald Eagles at L&D #13 today, over 30 at L&D #14 and approximately 30
at L&D #15.



Frank Angileri

Downers Grove, IL

DuPage County



----- Original Message -----
From: "bikefifty" <bikefifty@...>
To: ILbirds@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Saturday, January 2, 2010 10:17:44 AM GMT -06:00 US/Canada Central
Subject: IBET Dam 13 - no sighting

 




Has any one bee to Dam 13 in Fulton in the last few days? How many eagles were
there?




[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

The Varied Thrush was viewed by 5 Birders today.  I don't know if anyone
else was here.  2 from Rockford, 2 from Mendota, and 1 (I didn't catch where
he was from).

He was seen at 10:15 a.m. and again around 1p.m.  I was gone part of the
time so didn't see him later.  You are still welcome to come and hopefully
see him. He was seen left of the garage in the spruce and  in the Lilac bush
(behind the garage) and the spruce next to it and in the last spruce in the
back on the right.You can go around the front of the house and view the
Lilac and the spruces there from the edge of the deck.  The Cooper's visited
2 or three times.  I flushed him out of the front bushes around 2p.m. and he
left a few feathers of his catch (looked like maybe a Tree Sparrow).

Anne Straight
Forreston, IL (Ogle County)
astraight4@...

This essay describes what a typical winter morning commute can be like living in
Havana, where overwintering bald eagles are quite common.  The River Landing
weblog can be found at

http://theriverlanding.typepad.com

Tom Lerczak
Havana
Mason County, Illinois

Ruddy duck (f) on North Pond this afternoon (1/2/10, 2:15 pm).  In the
west-side open water with the mallards.

Am Wigeon (m) is still there also, plus the two Am. black ducks and two
Wood ducks.


North Pond is in Lincoln Park, just north of zoo across Fullerton.


Joan Norek
Chicago




Intellectual Property
_www.noreklaw.com_ (http://www.noreklaw.com/)



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

At about 11:00 a.m. this morning, a group of birders at the yacht club in
Winthrop Harbor spotted a strong candidate for
Glaucous-winged Gull in 2nd cycle. Some discussion about a possible
Glaucous-winged X Herring Gull arose when the bird landed in the water. Michael
Retter should be posting photos later.
The bird was last seen joining a large group of gulls on the ice a few hundered
yards south of the yacht club. This group of gulls is situated between the
harbor and the breakwall.

Thanks for posting to the group Wes.

Good gulling,
Amar Ayyash
Frankfort IL

--- In ILbirds@yahoogroups.com, "Wes Serafin" <w.serafin@...> wrote:
>
> Amar just called from the yacht club at  Windsor Harbor. He, Michael Retter
> and Geoff Williamson believe they spotted a second cycle Glaucous-Winged
> Gull. Another possibility is that it could be a hybrid Glaucous-Herring
> Gull.
>
>
>
> Wes Serafin
>
> Orland Pk
>
> Sw Cook County
>
>
>
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>

Amar just called from the yacht club at  Windsor Harbor. He, Michael Retter
and Geoff Williamson believe they spotted a second cycle Glaucous-Winged
Gull. Another possibility is that it could be a hybrid Glaucous-Herring
Gull.



Wes Serafin

Orland Pk

Sw Cook County





[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Dear birders,

Gate One Travel has excellent deals for 6 night Fly and Drive trips in Costa
Rica.  It looks like December, January and February are the driest months, with
several other months (May to October) producing average rainfalls of 9-11
inches.  I assume some IBETers have birded Costa Rica.  What advice do you have
about timing a trip?  Are the roads navigable during the wet season?  Are the
birds plentiful throughout the year?  Any feedback or advice is welcome.

Please respond back channel, and thanks in advance.

For the birds,

Dave Antieau
dkantieau@...
Chicago



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Two birders from Rockford saw the Varied Thrush around 10:15 this morning on
the south side of the Garage on the pine next to it.

I had to take my daughter and grandson to Rockford Airport so did not see it
this morning.  Will post tonight when I see it or someone else does.

Happy New Year!
Anne Straight
Forreston, IL (Ogle County)
astraight4@...

This morning there was an adult bald eagle at McHenry Dam.  It flew in at 8:45,
circled the area for a few minutes and then perched on the west side of the
river.  He was still perched when I left at 9:45.

Karen Lund
Genoa, DeKalb County
catbirder@...


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Has any one bee to Dam 13 in Fulton in the last few days?  How many eagles were
there?

We had an excellent Illini State Park CBC on January 1. This was the first
bird count I've ever done when there was a nice Blue Moon as we headed to
our meeting place.  Bob Carper, Tom Williams, and I covered an area north of
the Illinois River centered around Seneca. We contributed 47 species to the
count total (up to 64 species when we split up Sunday night). Highlights
included



1 male Hooded Merganser in the Illinois River

2 male Redheads in the Illinois River



Other waterfowl in the Illinois River included



1 Gadwall

4 American Black Ducks

3 Common Merganser

15 Common Merganser

~50 Mallards

~100 Canada Geese



The country roads north of Seneca were not particularly productive. We found
a WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW feeding with some juncos and American Tree Sparrows
in a farm yard. A few SNOW BUNITNGS were in the eastern part of the circle.
HORNED LARKS were scattered around the country roads. The town of Stavanger
had a few EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVES.



Seneca was loaded with blackbirds. Hundreds of BROWN-HEADED COWBIRDS,
RED-WINGED BLACKBIRDS, and COMMON GRACKLES were around the town.



Our best birding was on the I & M Canal. We hiked from the Potash
Corporation phosphate plant between Marseilles and Seneca east to Seneca,
about three miles, in the morning. We saw



1 female Purple Finch eating some red berries

7 Eastern Bluebirds in two groups of 4 and 3.

Red-bellied and Downy Woodpeckers were all along the towpath. A Northern
Flicker was just west of Seneca.

Tufted Titmouse, Black-capped chickadee, Song Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco,
American Tree Sparrow, Mourning Dove, Red-tailed hawks, Ring-billed Gulls,
and Herring Gulls were some of the other birds along the canal.

At least 9 RUSTY BLACKBIRDS were among the grackles and Red-winged
Blackbirds.

A COOPER'S HAWK at the west edge of Seneca flew past us carrying a
Red-winged Blackbird. From what we could tell, the blackbird was already
dead, so we didn't include it on our list:-)



I the afternoon we hiked east from Seneca for about a mile and a half and
then returned. Highlights were:



1 PILEATED WOODPECKER, Bob first saw this bird in the Grundy County portion
of our area. When we came back it was in LaSalle County.

We also found a HAIRY WOODPECKER,  giving us five woodpeckers for the day.

4 BROWN CREEPERS

1 male NORTHERN HARRIER

4 more EASTERN BLUEBIRDS

2 adult BALD EAGLES flying around

3 RING-NECKED PHEASANTS, 2 by the Seneca high school.

1 fly-over COOPER'S HAWK



Our misses included White-throated and Swamp Sparrows, Carolina Wren, Winter
Wren, and American Robins. There wasn't as much open water along the I & M
Canal as there usually is, which kept the sparrow away.



Darrell Shambaugh

Somonauk, DeKalb County





[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

 
Yesterday Joe Lill said:
 
"Just a reminder, there will be two new BIGBY (Big Green) lists: the Big Green
Big Year and the Big Green Life List. For most people (farmers using tractors
excluded), your BIGBY life list would include your yard list."
 
I spent yesterday putting together my Champaign County BIGBY life list and came
up with 189 species. The list represents 25 years of green birding, mostly in
Urbana. A large chunk of the species counts were yard birds, but I'm also an
inveterate walker who had the good luck to live within walking distance
of several major C-U birding spots:
 
* Meadowbrook Park - 80 acre restored prairie and wooded stream
* UI Forestry Plantation - 35 acre wooded plot immediately west of Meadowbrook
Park
* UI South Farms - especially a grassy/weedy area of about 80 acres with a few
ponds.
* Crystal Lake Park - a city park of about 40 acres, with a lake
* Busey Woods - a 60 acre wooded remnant of an old prairie grove, just north of
Crystal Lake Park
* UI central campus - surprisingly, you can get some shorebirds and several
waterfowl and swallow species where the Boneyard Creek cuts through the
Engineering Quad. And then there's the ever reliable campus Peregrine that
roosts on Sherman Hall.
 
If I had to pick one highlight from my BIGBY life list, it would have to be the
Wild Turkeys that hung out in southeast Urbana from 2005-2007 (see:
http://web-miner.com/turkeys.pdf). Those birds spent a lot of time in my yard,
also making them the coolest yard bird I've ever had. Then there's the Barn Owl
that would occasionally pass through my neighborhood in the 1980s, and the
Long-eared Owls that would show up in UI Forestry, and the two Chickadee species
in my yard on the same day (my yard rarely had one Chickadee species, let alone
two).
 
I'm curious to to hear what others' BIGBY life lists are like!
 
Bernie Sloan
Champaign County, IL
Monroe County, IN




[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Everyone-

I had the following highlights among 35 species while covering Lake Bluff and
the northern parts of Lake Forest yesterday for the Waukegan CBC.

Bald Eagle - 1 - Flying west from Sunrise Beach in Lake Bluff
Am. Pipit - 2 - visible from the Skokie River Preserve in Lake Bluff off Rte 176
in some warm water run off from the water treatment plant
Savannah Sparrow - 1 - north end of Lake Forest Beach
Rufous-sided Towhee - 1 - private residence in Lake Bluff
Fox Sparrow - 1 - private residence in Lake Bluff
Red-breasted Nuthatch - 2 - coming to a feeder at the end of Westminster Road,
west of Green Bay Road in Lake Forest
Red-headed Woodpecker - 1 - Shoreacres Glof Course
Hooded Merganser - 2 - Lake Michigan from Shoreacres Golf course

Eric
 Eric Lundquist
Mundelein, IL
brewbird1 [at] yahoo dot com

Mary,

Canada Geese, like other birds, can recover from certain wing injuries if
provided prompt medical care. Avian wings can be set or surgically repaired
depending on the location, severity and classification of the break.
Unfortunately, we often get calls on Canada Geese where the wing has been broken
for months so remember that you want to seek help when the injury first occurs
to give the animal the best chance of recovery.

Our contact information follow. Feel free to call us any time. We can also help
you locate the closest federally-licensed wildlife rehabilitation center to your
area.


Dawn Keller
Flint Creek Wildlife Rehabilitation
Barrington, Chicago and Itasca
www.flintcreekwildlife.org
847/842-8000
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

-----Original Message-----
From: "foxriverbirder" <birder2002@...>
Date: Sat, 02 Jan 2010 03:40:36
To: <ILbirds@yahoogroups.com>
Subject: IBET question about canada geese - No sighting

Hi!  I live on the Fox River in Oswego.  We feed the birds and I throw corn on
the bank of the river for the ducks and geese.  We sometimes see canada geese
with no wing/broken wings/partial wings.  Do they ever recover from this type of
injury? Just wondering because we see quite a number of them in the yard at this
time of year.  Thanks!

Mary Robbins
Oswego, Illinois
Kendall County




[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Hi all,

I got out for a bit on this frigid New Year's Day.  I hiked Kenyon for over an
hour and was rewarded with only one American Goldfinch.  I decided to drive the
country roads on the north side of the corridor and found some good birds.  The
best being an immature Northern Shrike.  I looked inside out for the Light Morph
Harlan's Hawk with no success.  I've included some notes below including a
Merlin from last year.

Location:   Woodford County
Observation date:     1/1/10

Bald Eagle     2     One scavenging on unidentified carcass in corn field among
crows at 550 N and 2000 E.
Rough-legged Hawk     3
Northern Shrike     1     Immature; Brownish mantle, nape, and crown.  Limited
white in wings.  Flew over 700 N .4 miles west of 2000 E
Eastern Bluebird     2     Eating honeysuckle on private ground near Letcher
American Robin     5     Eating honeysuckle on private ground near Letcher
American Tree Sparrow     250     ~150 at Letcher
Savannah Sparrow     1     Feeding roadside among ATSP on 600 N near 2100 E
Fox Sparrow     3     Eating honeysuckle on private ground near Letcher
Song Sparrow     3     Feeding roadside 550 N and 2000 E
White-throated Sparrow     4     Private property near Letcher

Location:     Evergreen Lake - Woodford Co.
Observation date:     12/30/09

Merlin (Taiga)     1

Matthew Winks
El Paso, IL

_________________________________________________________________
Your E-mail and More On-the-Go. Get Windows Live Hotmail Free.
http://clk.atdmt.com/GBL/go/171222985/direct/01/

Hi Birders,

After not seeing one for a month or more, my third bird of the year, after House
Sparrows and Ring-billed Gulls, was a Peregrine Falcon who flow off the pier as
I was walking it today.
Really low grade falcon pictures, list of birds seen, and some better shots of
some of the others at the Illinois Birder's Forum link below.

http://www.ilbirds.com/index.php?topic=31189.0

Steve Spitzer,
Chcago, Cook


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Hi!  I live on the Fox River in Oswego.  We feed the birds and I throw corn on
the bank of the river for the ducks and geese.  We sometimes see canada geese
with no wing/broken wings/partial wings.  Do they ever recover from this type of
injury? Just wondering because we see quite a number of them in the yard at this
time of year.  Thanks!

Mary Robbins
Oswego, Illinois
Kendall County

Tim Kuesel and I are holed up at the Spillway Motel in Shelbyville tonight.  The
Lake Shelbbyville CBC  is tomorrow and promices to be c o l d.

The f Barrow's Goldeneye was present just N of the I - 74 bridge, viewed from
Tazewell Co behind the Wal-Mart.  It was with about 25 C. Goldeneye.  It was c o
l d. 

Bald Eagles in Mc Lean & Tazewell Counties were the other highlight.

And thanks to a certain couple in DG for allowing me to start the year once
again in their yard.

Craig Taylor
Shelbyville, IL

PS  Anne, see you Sunday?  :-)

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Farm and Fleet has low prices and a good selection.



Darrell Shambaugh

Somonauk, DeKalb County





[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

I visited several places in Lake County today, starting with Rollins Savannah,
then Waukegan beach, IBSP (south) and North Point Marina. I saw 28 species of
birds, including 5 species of raptors.

Rollins was quite, with Red-tailed Hawk and a very tame AMERICAN KESTREL, being
the only noteworthy birds.

Waukegan beach was much more interesting, with highlights being NORTHERN
HARRIER, cruising low over a piece of prairie (west of the parking lot),
PEREGRINE FALCON attacking a flock of pigeons, and GREAT BLUE HERON.

North Point Marina greeted me with NORTHERN SHRIKE (that was actually in Spring
Bluff F.P., on the way to the marina) and a totally unexpected adult BALD EAGLE,
which flew low over Spring Bluff, then over the marina and toward the lake.
There was few gulls, and I didn't found anything of note among them. Some
waterfowl was present, including 16 Redheads, 2 Hooded Mergansers, about 15
Common Mergansers, 4 Buffleheads, some Common Mergansers and scaups.

Michal Furmanek
Des Plaines, Cook Co.

I birded with Matthew C and his son Jake today from 11 to 12:30.  We picked up
some quick birds in 90 minutes....LE Owl in south loop, along with a Fox Sparrow
across the street.......relocated the female Black Scoter in Monroe Harbor and
had a surprise Turkey Vulture visit over Burnham Harbor.  We were able to get
excellent looks as it flew over us, wing pattern, bald head, and the large V
dihedral wing shape as it soared south.  We then fought the traffic at North Ave
Beach (some polar bear swim event) and had good looks at the Harlequin just
south of the Chess Pavilion (sorry David).  We then had a Red-tailed Hawk
sighting over our car driving home through Chicago.

The TV was probably our best bird, and imaging my surprise when I saw a 2nd
Turkey Vulture back home in Evanston this afternoon.  I don't think there are
many Jan sightings in NE IL, at least according to Bohlen.  I had great looks at
the Evanston bird also, as it was gliding up a thermal probably a block north of
my backyard, then floated right above me.

Could this be some very late migration?

Fran
Evanston IL, Cook Co.