Field trip recap: Sunrise walk at Montrose Bird Sanctuary

Nine people in winter jackets smiling at camera with green grass behind them and Lake Michigan and the Chicago Skyline in the background.

words by Kris Hansen

As the sun edged up over the horizon, nine birders gathered at the entrance to Montrose Point Bird Sanctuary on Monday, April 20, to seek the early birds catching the worms. American Robins, usually the first to begin singing in the morning, certainly made their presence known.

White-throated Sparrows and a lone Dark-eyed Junco hopped along the beginning of the path as our guide, Sammy Cabindol, led us through introductions. We each shared our Bird of the Day on the app Merlin, ranging from the ubiquitous House Sparrow to a Wilson’s Snipe, challenging for this location.

Medium-sized bird seen in profile, facing left, perched on a stump. Black head, breast, back and tail, orange flanks and white belly. The bill is short, thick and black.

Eastern Towhee. Photo by Scott Judd, private yard, March 26, 2022.

A Brown Thrasher and an Eastern Towhee joined the Common Grackles foraging among the leaf litter as we began our walk. A Golden-crowned Sparrow joined the party, making it easy to compare headgear with its White-throated cousin. Brown Creepers and Ruby-crowned Kinglets made their first of several appearances for the day.

Perched on a tree top, a Northern Cardinal absolutely glowed in the early morning light, just as several American Goldfinches did further down the trail. We spotted a Northern House Wren and, just a few feet further, a Winter Wren, allowing us to compare coloration. A Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, first of the year for several of us, sang its buzzy song in a treetop.

As we approached the dunes, the Downy Woodpecker who had been calling and drilling all morning finally appeared. Moving out into the dune grasses, we kept our eyes open for foraging sparrows, and were soon rewarded with Field, American Tree, Chipping, Swamp and Song Sparrows. Iridescent blue Tree Swallows soared overhead and perched for photos on branches and wires.

Small bird with a long tail seen in profile, perched on a twig, facing right. Breast is unmarked gray. Crown of hed is reddish and the short, stubby beak is pink. Brown face and feathers on back and tail.

Field Sparrow. Photo by Jeff Bilsky, Skokie Lagoons, March 28, 2022.

Retreating to the relative warmth of the sanctuary, we found two Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers. Sammy pointed out the rows of horizontal holes they drilled into tree trucks. A half a dozen female Red-winged Blackbirds pecked through the fallen leaves for breakfast, leading one participant to quip, “The girls are back in town.”

Circling back out of the sanctuary toward the fishhook pier, we spotted a Killdeer standing tall against the Chicago skyline. As we approached the lake, several pairs of Red-breasted Mergansers glided in for a landing. Sammy pointed out the distinctive white breast patch and spiky head feathers that make this species easy to identify.

Small bird with white belly, chin and face with black band around neck and a black headband between eyes. Cap and back are gray. The bird's bill and legs are orange. Standing on sand.

Piping Plover, Imani. Photo courtesy of Chicago Piping Plovers.

With fingers crossed, we proceeded out on the pier and were rewarded with distant views of not one but two Piping Plovers, most likely resident males Imani and Pippin.

Returning to the entrance, we congratulated each other on finding our Birds of the Day (except for that pesky snipe). All told we saw 47 species.

Field TripKris HansenMontrose Point