The forecast was promising for our annual Hawk Watch at Harrington Beach State Park (Sunday, Oct. 6), with sunny skies and fairly strong west to northwest winds predicted. The temperature was also fairly mild as our group gathered at 8:00 AM – right about 58 degrees.
There seemed to be fewer songbirds present this year in the area around the parking lot, but we found GOLDEN-CROWNED and RUBY-CROWNED KINGLETS, YELLOW-RUMPED and PALM WARBLERS, WHITE-THROATED and WHITE-CROWNED SPARROWS, and a DARK-EYED JUNCO in the nearby vegetation. A nice group of EASTERN BLUEBIRDS made an appearance, and we also had PILEATED, DOWNY, HAIRY and RED-BELLIED WOODPECKERS and a YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER. Two EASTERN PHOEBES also stopped by for a moment in a nearby crabapple tree.
WHITE-CROWNED SPARROWS - PHOTO BY TOM SCHULTZ
Passing overhead were small groups of CANADA GEESE and DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANTS, along with a few RING-BILLED GULLS, a single SHARP-SHINNED HAWK passed by. We were hopeful that this was the first of many migrating hawks. A couple groups of CEDAR WAXWINGS also came by.
A little before 9:30 we took a hike to the south, and as usual, found a few friendly BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEES that flew in to people’s hands to take sunflower seeds. Along the way we found a BROWN CREEPER, several more GOLDEN-CROWNED and RUBY-CROWNED KINGLETS, and a few TREE and BARN SWALLOWS passed overhead. Also sighted were several MERLINS that zipped over and gave good but brief looks. A couple of HERMIT THRUSHES were also spotted.
BROWN CREEPER - PHOTO BY TOM SCHULTZ
At one point we stopped along the shore to scan the waters of Lake Michigan, but not many birds were in view. A few HERRING and RING-BILLED GULLS were present, along with several DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANTS, but no ducks or other waterbirds were observed.
After returning to our starting point, we drove up to the upper parking lot (near Puckett’s Pond), and walked around a bit. There’s a great view to the north from there, so we scanned the skies and spotted a few more migrating raptors – including several TURKEY VULTURES and a SHARP-SHINNED HAWK.
TURKEY VULTURE - PHOTO BY TOM SCHULTZ
In the vegetation near the pond we found several WHITE-CROWNED SPARROWS, a nice group of DARK-EYED JUNCOS, as well as PALM and YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS. A few CEDAR WAXWINGS flew past, some AMERICAN GOLDFINCHES landed in a tree, and we spotted another YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER.
FOREST BEACH PRESERVE - PHOTO BY TOM SCHULTZ
From there, most of the group drove a few miles south to Forest Beach Preserve, where we hiked to the observation tower, where another birding group was doing a “Big Sit” bird count. We joined in with them for a while, and were able to spot a nice number of migrating RAPTORS – including RED-TAILED, COOPER’S and SHARP-SHINNED HAWKS, a couple of BALD EAGLES, a NORTHERN HARRIER, a PEREGRINE FALCON, and over a dozen MERLINS! Quite a few more TURKEY VULTURES, too.
COOPER'S HAWK - PHOTO BY TOM SCHULTZ
A couple of RED-HEADED WOODPECKERS were a nice surprise, along with BLUE JAYS, AMERICAN CROWS, CEDAR WAXWINGS and AMERICAN GOLDFINCHES. We were pleased to spot a group of five WILD TURKEYS that flushed in front of some walking hunters on an adjacent property, and an EASTERN PHOEBE was observed along a nearby pond.
The temperature when we wrapped up around 12:30 PM was about 70, and the winds were still quite strong from the northwest – gusting to 30 mph or more. Surprisingly, this had actually been TWO years in a row when we’ve had a decent hawk flight for this field trip! Thanks to everyone who participated, and to Jeff Baughman for co-leading this field trip. Our total bird list for the day was 44 species.
Tom Schultz, WSO Field Trips Committee
