Tag Archives: Northern Pintail

Carl & Myrna Nygren Wetland

January 16, 2017 Dan Williams Leave a comment

This property is owned by the Natural Land Institute (NLI) of Rockford. It is open to the public 365 days per year. A parking lot is located at the intersection of Rockton Road and Hansberry Road west of Rockton. The parking lot is owned by Rockton Township, not NLI, and the township locks the gate in winter, because it doesn’t plow the snow in the lot. But, you can park by the gate if there is room to stay off of the highway, which is difficult with all of the heavy snow this winter. A loop trail (The Dianne Nora Nature Trail) runs 2.5 miles around the marsh and along Raccoon Creek. Cross-country skiing is good here in the winter.

The Natural Land Institute is restoring prairies, woodlands and wetlands to this beautiful land west of Rockton along Raccoon Creek and the Rock and Pecatonica rivers. In the summer, blossoms of wild bergamot, sunflowers and gray-headed coneflower create a purple and yellow ocean of color stretching from the scenic bluff in the north to the rivers in the south. Wildlife species, including migrating waterfowl and songbirds, are returning in abundance. NLI purchased the 721-acre preserve in 2000 using a generous gift left to us in Carl Nygrens will.

Both migrating and dabbling ducks are found here like Northern Shoveler, Blue- and Green-winged Teal, and Northern Pintail.

Game birds Ring-necked Pheasant and Wild Turkey can both be found here.

A variety of wetland birds are present in spring and summer including American White Pelican, Pied-billed Grebe, Great Egret, Green Heron, and Sandhill Crane. A Tri-colored Heron spent a few days here in June 2013.

Red-headed Woodpeckers can be seen in the area of restored oak savannah, which is about 500 feet to the east of the parking lot along the trail.

Cook County

Bend of the Little Calumet River

March 25, 2013 Walter Marcisz Leave a comment

This large bend in the Little Calumet River is located roughly between 127th & 130th Streets just to the west of Indiana Avenue in southeast Chicago. Its strategic location (adjacent to clean water outflow from the Calumet Water Reclamation Plant, as well as warm water outflow from steel industry across the river in Riverdale) makes it a magnet for wintering waterfowl and wintering waterbirds in general. When other rivers and lakes freeze up during cold winters, the Bend invariably remains open due to warm water outflow, and waterfowl concentrate here in large numbers.

The Bend is best birded from the MWRD SEPA Station #2, located on the south side of 127th Street about a block west of State Street in Chicago. This area is private property, but MWRD has no objection to birders observing from this location if certain protocols and restrictions are observed. Birders who accept the risks of birding from the SEPA Station #2 viewing platform must notify the MWRD Police Section at 708-588-4035 prior to their visit. Birders are required to park across 127th Street and walk to the SEPA Station grounds (parking is not allowed at the SEPA Station). Keep an eye on your vehicle, as this is not the best of neighborhoods.

Birds found at the Bend from 2002 – 2013 include 25 waterfowl species (22 ducks). Regularly wintering waterfowl include Mute Swan, Gadwall, American Black Duck, Redhead, Ring-necked Duck, Greater Scaup, Lesser Scaup (hundreds), Bufflehead, Common Goldeneye, and Common Merganser. In addition, Tundra Swan, Wood Duck, American Wigeon, Northern Shoveler, Northern Pintail, Canvasback, Ruddy Duck, and all three scoters have also occasionally appeared at the Bend during the winter months. An immature male King Eider found on February 17, 2010 was by far the rarest waterfowl species recorded at this location. Duck hybrids found here have included Gadwall X Mallard, American Black Duck X Mallard, and Mallard X Northern Pintail.

Other regularly wintering waterbirds include Pied-billed Grebe, Double-crested Cormorant, Great Blue Heron, American Coot, and Belted Kingfisher. Black-crowned Night-Herons are far less reliable in winter, but they occasionally do occur. Bald Eagles are occasional during winter (a pair of Bald Eagles built a nest at nearby Mittal Woods in 2004).

Herring Gulls and Ring-billed Gulls (hundreds) regularly winter at this location. Although not particularly noteworthy as a gull location during most years, Bonaparte’s, Thayer’s, Iceland, Glaucous, and Great Black-backed Gull have all been found here during the winter months since 2002.

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Mason County

Chautauqua NWR

February 19, 2013 Greg Neise Leave a comment

Chautauqua National Wildlife Refuge is well known to Illinois birders for waterfowl and shorebird concentrations. The water in the various pools is regulated, and if dropped at the right time of year the habitat can be outstanding for shorebirds. Even if the water levels are fairly high, there are usually mudflats in the SW corner of the upper pool (north of the crossdike). There is a small island and usually mudflats in the NE corner, viewable from the dike at Goofy Ridge. There are parking lots and trail access at the east end of each dike.

In season, and when proper habitat is present, this can be the best place in Illinois to find large shorebirds such as American Avocet, Marbled Godwit, Hudsonian Godwit. Red-necked Phalarope and Wilson’s Phalarope have been found here in numbers some years. Very rare vagrants that have been seen here include Ruff, Sharp-tailed Sandpiper and Curlew Sandpiper. Gulls also concentrate here, and Franklin’s, Sabines, Little, Lesser Black-backed have been recorded at Chautauqua. The south pool can have tens of thousands of waterfowl during migrations and is one of the best places in the state to see large numbers of Greater White-fronted Goose, Cackling Goose and Northern Pintail.

The area around the headquarters can be very good for migrating land birds, and there is an observation tower where you can get a good view of the south pool. The woods around the Goofy Ridge access can also be very good during migrations. Breeding birds here include Red-headed Woodpecker, Eastern Screech Owl, White-eyed Vireo, Yellow-billed Cuckoo and Eurasian Tree Sparrow.

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Lake County

Lake County Fairgrounds

December 13, 2012 Adam Sell Leave a comment

Though discovered years before, 2012 has seen a rise in interest in the Lake County Fairgrounds as a birding destination. With close proximity to a dump, it is easy to see what makes this spot stand out in the winter months.

The fairgrounds main parking lot is becoming a good destination for winter gulling in Lake County and one of the only reliable Lake County spots outside of Winthrop Harbor that hosts a wide range of species in the winter. As per usual, the dominant species in the parking lot are Herring Gull and Ring-billed Gull. Scattered amongst these species, there have been records of Lesser Black-backed Gull, Thayer’s Gull, Iceland (Kumlien’s) Gull, and California Gull.

Just north of the parking lot is a small ponds that many of the gulls travel to for preening and water. This pond in April had a beautiful pair of juvenile Bonaparte’s Gulls that spent the better part of a week feeding there. Besides the gulls, this pond can hold significant amounts of waterfowl. Recorded so far have been, Canada Goose, Cackling Goose, Mallard, Northern Shoveler, Green-winged Teal, Blue-winged Teal, Northern Pintail, Hooded Merganser, Wood Duck, and American Wigeon.

In summer, the pond dried significantly, revealing decent mud flats. Large numbers of Great Egret and Great Blue Heron congregated in late summer and shorebirds seen during fall migration included Lesser Yellowlegs, Greater Yellowlegs, Least Sandpiper, Pectoral Sandpiper, and Spotted Sandpiper. Sora’s have been heard and seen in the cattails.

The gravel parking lot to the west of the pond had summering Horned Larks. In winter, flocks of American Tree Sparrow are common, and on rare occasions, Snow Bunting have been seen and heard. The fairgrounds is also an easy spot to pick up American Kestrel, as a resident pair has been seen here for more than a year.

NOTE: It’s important to know that gull congregations are only great when the water at the pond adjacent to the parking lot is OPEN. If it is frozen, the gulls WON’T congregate in any significant number. The gulls need open water for bathing and preening. This most likely designates this as a great gulling spot early and late in the season.

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