Field trip recap: Montrose Dunes and Point Beginner Bird Walk

 
Ten people with binoculars and cameras looking up into the sky below a wooden sign reading Montrose Point Bird Sanctuary

words and photos by trip leaders Christine and Geoff Williamson

Eleven birders gathered shortly after dawn on Oct. 11 at the beach house next to Montrose Beach with Chicago providing some of its characteristically comfortable October weather. The field trip that brought us to this great birding location was part of a series organized by trip co-leader Christine Williamson for the Chicago Ornithological Society to cater to people early in their birding journey.

As we walked Montrose Beach to see what birds the northerly winds had brought in, the group discussed bird watching in general along with tips for finding, identifying, and appreciating birds.

Bird flying low over sand and sedges, wings down in mid-flap, facing slightly right. Head is brown with a thick cream streak above the dark eye. Wings are grayish black, as is the short sharp beak.

Rusty Blackbird. Montrose Dunes, Oct. 11, 2025.

Highlights from the beach included a confiding Rusty Blackbird and a foraging Horned Lark that allowed nice scope views. We also enjoyed a half dozen American Coots nestled in the sheltered water of Montrose’s fishhook pier.

Our group then entered the Montrose Point Bird Sanctuary, with its range of vegetative structures attracting a variety of songbirds. The kinglets, Red-breasted Nuthatches, Brown Creepers, and warblers we saw were also the focus of several Cooper’s Hawks that were hunting the area.

Large bird of prey perched on a branch with leaves behind, in profile facing left. The bird has a dark hooked beak, yellow eye, brown cap, wings and tail, and white throat, shoulders and greast with reddish diamond-shaped patterns.

Cooper’s Hawk. Montrose Point Bird Sanctuary, Oct. 11, 2025.

A nice variety of sparrows—seven species—was dominated by Dark-eyed Juncos and White-throated Sparrows. A highlight was seeing several Fox Sparrows scratching in the leaf litter. A relaxing walk through other areas on Montrose Point, concluding with Golf Course Pond, helped bring our species total to 41.

All in all it was a nice morning enjoying the birdlife in one of Chicago’s great lakefront parks. One participant noted that, “It’s a bit intimidating starting out as a beginner, but you made the activity so much more approachable. Thank you!”

 
Field TripKris HansenMontrose Point