(White) Winging It In Kane County

It has been a crazy and hectic time recently, and this is the first blog post I have been able to do in a while. So, with that said, I'd like to quickly update where I am at with my Kane County big year list. When last I wrote, I had just found species #57 for the year earlier this month, being White-Winged Scoter. Since then, I have added ten more species. Below is the list in order of finding. Each species listed had been seen, not just heard.

58- Lesser Scaup
59- Eastern Screech Owl
60- Long-Eared Owl
61- Barred Owl
62- Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker
63- Short-Eared Owl
64- Bufflehead
65- Northern Flicker
66- Purple Finch
67- Long-Tailed Duck (extremely difficult in Kane County)

The best bird on the above list is most certainly the most recent one, a female Long-Tailed Duck, found by a fellow Kane County birder, Marion Miller. It has been an unbelievable year for waterfowl in Kane so far, I hope it keeps up!

Anyways, on to a story from today (February 19th). I had one target bird for the day, a pair of Sandhill Cranes had been reported the last couple of days in northern Kane County, so I went up that way to look for them. Unfortunately, they did not show for me, so no #68 in Kane just yet. After that, I had no specific targets, but I thought since it was gorgeous outside (first time I've said that this year) and because I need gulls, I should try for gulls. Gulls were absolutely the least abundant species type on the Fox River today. Starting in Carpentersville, the top of the dam was still frozen solid, and I really didn't expect anything different. A couple of Bald Eagles were the highlight here. Next up, the Dundee area.

For the most part, the Dundee area of the Fox was also frozen solid, but a sliver of shoreline on the east side remained open. It was here that I found a lovely pair of adult Mute Swans, as they glided past and up-river. Nothing else was notable here, so it was off to South Elgin.

South Elgin Dam is my favorite stopover on the Fox River for gulls and waterfowl. Gull highlights here in the past include my lifer Iceland Gull and a Bonaparte's Gull. My waterfowl highlights here included my lifer White-Winged Scoter last spring and the Canvasbacks which show up annually, starting in mid-February. This year has been a brutal winter, and so thawing hasn't happened yet. The last couple of days however, have been above freezing. That being said, the top of the dam, where everything likes to congregate, was still frozen, but getting softer. Another two days and there would have been a considerable opening in the ice, but alas, we are destined for cold weather by early next week. No waterfowl or gulls were present other than the typical Common Goldeneye and Mallards.

After this, I wanted to see if maybe the Island Park area in Geneva still had a little magic left over, even after hosting as many as 7(!) White-Winged Scoters in the past two weeks or so. A Greater Scaup or a Ring-Necked Duck couldn't possibly be too much to ask for right? Wrong, but it was nice to see two White-Winged Scoters almost immediately after walking down to where they had been hanging out. I enjoyed some relatively close views, and then kept going south. When I came to the pedestrian bridge that went under the railroad tracks, I had another White-Winged Scoter fly past headed north. I watched it land, and then my attention was drawn to a mess of feathers on the snow and trail ahead. I discovered that a Mallard had been the unfortunate victim of an unknown predator. No tracks in the snow left me to wonder what might have gotten it. Those who wish not to see this, scroll down quickly to the next group of words.

Deceased Mallard

After taking the above photo, I noticed that the Scoter that had flown past was now booking south on the current of the river. I realized it would pass directly underneath the pedestrian bridge, so I briskly walked back to the bridge so I could photograph it as it went by. But, it did not go by, it stopped. Pulling a u-turn, seemingly skating on top of the water, all progress ceased as it paddled only enough to stay in place against the current. I was not far away at this time. The bird began diving, but it was all happening in the shadows. There was one patch of the river where the sunlight was making it through a gap in the bridge enough to illuminate an area about 10 feet long by 30 feet wide. I could not believe my luck, as the Scoter swam into the sunlit portion, which was at most 25 feet away at any time from where I was. By far, it was the best looks I'd ever had at a Scoter. This bird was a poser!

White-Winged Scoter

White-Winged Scoter

The Scoter then began diving again, and it was even better this time. I was above the bird on a bridge, and so I had an amazing vantage point that actually allowed me to see the bird while it was completely submerged!! The feet of the bird were brought out to each of its sides, paddling vigorously as it motored about underwater effortlessly, all the while working the bottom with its bill in much the same fashion as a Mallard does on the surface. What was most unexpected, was the way that the bird stood out underwater. Obviously, the bright white wing patches would stick out, but the whole bird actually had a faint whitish glow to it while it was underwater. I watched as the bird resurfaced time and time again, each time I knew exactly where it would come up before it did so. What an experience! And the photos weren't too bad either! Here are some photos showing the bird underwater, including a black and white photo.

White-Winged Scoter Underwater

White-Winged Scoter Underwater Black and White

Another thing I noticed was when a train would pass by on the railroad bridge above us. Every time it seemed the bird was underwater when a train passed by, and every time I watched as all of the sudden the bird took off as quickly as a torpedo underwater, headed north. It would resurface about 30 feet away from where it was previously, but it always made its way back in close. All of this happened in about a half an hour of observation time, and the memories will last me for the rest of my life!! I left the bird in peace, quietly celebrating my experience and asking myself over and over. "Did that really happen for me?!" Unbelievable, and I also managed a great photo of a Common Goldeneye. That's also hard to do.

Common Goldeneye Banking

I wrapped up my birding excursion in Batavia, where in 45 minutes of searching, I could not re-locate the female Long-Tailed Duck. All in all, great weather, great birds and great photos, add up to a satisfying day!

Common Goldeneye Drake

Brendon Lake

Snowy Week In Illinois (Part 2)

Even after great success at finding Snowy Owls on Wednesday, Sunday was probably going to be about finding them again. The winter blues had struck our household hard, and so I needed to find a way to cheer my mom up. What better way to do that than to watch Snowy Owls, which she loves? So, it was off to a new location this time, one that was a little further. It was however, worth every second!

We ended up arriving in the location shortly after 10 a.m. We continued along a road slowly, scanning near and far for lumps sitting on top of the snow. Not too long after getting to the area, a car was coming up behind us. We pulled over, completely expecting it to blow past us as cars normally do on these journeys. But this car stopped next to us, as if they wanted to talk. It was a friend of ours, Tina! She was out to look for the same thing we were, and so we decided that we would lead the way, and tell her if we found one.

Well, that took all of a couple of minutes! Continuing down the road slowly, a large bump emerged in a corn field atop a pile of snow. No doubt, Snowy Owl #1! We stopped just long enough to take a look, and snap some photos, then kept moving on our way as Tina stayed a bit longer to enjoy it.

Snowy Owl #1

Coming up to the end of the road, we stopped at the stop sign, wondering if we should take a right or a left. Something at the top of a tall pine answered that question for us! Snowy Owl #2 was waiting for us up ahead, and boy was she beautiful!

Snowy Owl #2

From there, we continued along to the next crossroad, and then jumped over to the crossroad for a little bit. Coming up on a stand of trees, we could see a driveway up ahead, and instinctively, I turned to see the house. I saw that and more as we cleared the trees!

Snowy Owl #3

That was just incredible, like opening a present on Christmas! The next crossroad had a corn crib visible along it, and so I used my binoculars to check the rooftop from afar. Yep, there it was! Owl #4 was there, so we went that way to get a photo.

Snowy Owl #4

Another pass around where we had already been confirmed that owls 1, 2 and 3, were still at least very close to where we originally saw them. Then it was on to a new section that we hadn't checked. Coming up to an intersection, we saw a couple of vehicles pulled over on the left, and so we went to see what they saw. It was Snowy Owl #5!

Snowy Owl #5

From here, we went back to see if we could find our friend Tina, who had apparently gotten a bit lost in an area to the west of us. Try as we might, all we found were the Snowies we had already seen, so we decided to just continue our search for more. I spotted some cars, the same ones from before, lined along a road to our right, and quickly spotted why they were there sitting on a fence post. Snowy Owl #6, which was the most active one up until that point!

Snowy Owl #6

The other cars turned around and left, but we were also joined by Tina, who managed to find her way back to the area. In all of their excitement, the photographers forgot to do something a birder/birdwatcher should never forget to do, and that is check the other side of the road. Right across the road from Snowy #6 was Snowy #7!

Snowy Owl #7

From here, we didn't know where to go. We had checked most of the area, and came up with seven Snowy Owls! But as we back-tracked, right behind those photographers again, a large bird flushed from a tree on the roadside. The photographers missed it again, as Snowy #8 gave a spectacular flight show while it tried and failed to re-perch in the tree. It later settled on landing on a nearby farm structure.

Snowy Owl #8

Snowy Owl #8

And so, we had seen 8 Snowy Owls in a little more than 2 hours time! It was after this encounter, that I received a text from a fellow birder about 5 White-Winged Scoters that had shown up on the Fox River, which is in Kane County. My big year in Kane had been struggling for the past two weeks, so we booked it all the way in to Geneva, and got them! That was species #57 for my big year! Here is a photo of the lone adult male present.

White-Winged Scoter Adult Male

A female Common Merganser allowed for better shots up at the dam, as it swam past.

Female Common Merganser

And that concluded what was a great day of birding and photography! It also concluded what was a VERY Snowy week in Illinois indeed!

Brendon Lake

Snowy Week In Illinois (Part 1)

Winter doesn't seem to want to even loosen its tight grip on Illinois ever so slightly. Snowfall after snowfall, and temperatures that never exceed 20 degrees, or feels like temperatures below zero, day in and day out. Finally, a small break this week, and I decided, I HAD to get out! There would be a few opportunities between snowfalls, during cold weather. I can deal with the cold much better than slick roads. So, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday, I was out and about. This week would be very eventful, and full of thrills, and I still had no idea as of Monday morning.

It was early in the week when I decided to shoot a message over to a good friend and fellow photographer, Chris M. I had helped a few people see their first ever Snowy Owl this winter, taking full advantage of the huge irruption that the U.S. is currently in the midst of. Chris however, was the one friend that I had promised I would help, and I still hadn't gotten him to his first Snowy. I knew of a location not far from my house, where multiple owls had been seen within the past two weeks, and had a few other locations to check as well if it didn't work out. All that was required was a little bit of travel and time on Chris's part, and I was glad he was able to do so.

Wednesday morning he stopped by my house, and I loaded up all of my gear into his vehicle, and we headed towards our destination for the day. If all went according to plan, Chris and I would get to see at least one Snowy Owl. We made good time, all the while discussing the behaviors of the animals we most loved to photograph, and catching up on some personal stories. When we arrived in the general area, we pulled over near a farm and began to scan the surrounding corn fields. It wasn't long after we saw the farmer pull out of his driveway and come pull up behind us. He knew exactly what we were looking for, and was more than obliging and helpful with his assistance. He told us that earlier in the morning he had seen one, then went to where he saw it. He was going to come find us and lead us to the spot if he was able to re-locate it. We pressed on, searching for others in the area.

It had been maybe 15-20 minutes at the most, before he came up behind us again on another road, and told us he had found the owl. We decided to follow him in the car to the spot, and so he led us down the road, when ahead of us, a large white bird flushed up from a tall snow pile on the roadside as the farmer passed by. Game on!!

The bird did not fly too far away, and Chris was ecstatic to have his first Snowy Owl under his belt. We took the time to photograph it, and talking to the farmer found out that it was definitely not the bird he was talking about. So, he gave us rough directions to where the other one was, and went on his way. We were unable to follow his directions (to our knowledge) and so ended up just cruising the area I had mapped out. Here is the first Snowy of the day from Wednesday.

Snowy Owl #1, Wednesday

Cruising along, we come across a road that was a little ways east of where we thought we should be, but we decided to head up the road anyways, and just stop so I could scan the fields around us with my binoculars. I started with the fencerow on the left, and didn't have to look any further, there was Snowy #2, a ways out but still there nonetheless!

Snowy Owl #2, Wednesday (dead center)

As I continued to watch this owl, something else caught my attention in the sky. Two large birds were flying by, and were a good surprise in late January, a pair of Sandhill Cranes! Chris and I decided to go back towards the first owl to see if it had moved much, as it was very active. As we turned off of the road we were on to head back, Chris and I almost simultaneously spotted a rounded shape peering over a hill at us, Snowy #3 in all of her snowman head-like glory! Photos eluded us due to lighting. We continued on, and went back to the spot of the first owl, and almost immediately spotted an owl on the left. But something was amiss here... This one looks to be heavily marked, like a young female. Wasn't the first one a lightly marked young male type? You bet! Owl #4 was confirmed when a Red-Tailed Hawk flushed owl #1 up from the opposite side of the road! The owl flew to the back end of the field owl #4 was in, and is barely visible in this photo of the two.

Snowy #4 (bottom left) and Snowy #1 (top right)

Chris and I had now seen four Snowy Owls! We went back to the farmer's house to let him know of the find, and also to enjoy the Eurasian Collared-Doves he had in his front yard again. He was stunned and ecstatic to hear of a 4th in the area, as he and his friends had known of only three for weeks. We continued to speak of this and many other wildlife phenomena and occurrences (this guy really enjoyed his PBS nature programs). Always great to get to speak with the people who have been in these areas for so long!

We decided to take one more loop around, to try for a 5th owl, and thought we were successful when we found a young female waaaaaay out in a corn field. But alas, this one was most likely the same one peering over the hill at us earlier. Still cool to see!

Snowy Owl #3

I was very happy to help a friend find his first(s), and I always love to see a Snowy or two!

Friday afternoon was designated for finding a new year bird for my Kane County big year, which I desperately needed after nearly two weeks without finding anything new. Time spent at Tyler Creek was altogether very quiet and non-productive. A stop over at the Carpenter Dam in Carpentersville was also nothing new, but presented me with good photo-opps with a Bald Eagle and a Brown Creeper.

Bald Eagle

Brown Creeper

Part two will be up tomorrow, telling all there is to know about Superb Owl Sunday! (Yes, I did that pun too!)

Brendon Lake