One Week of Ospreys, One Week of Sabine's Gulls - Lake Springfield Birding

Welcome to the grand week of Ospreys (Pandion haliaetus).  Every other day during this particular week in the latter days of September, I had an Osprey, which is unusually regular for this bird on Lake Springfield.  (The photo above is at the abandoned Beach house.) I've had a LOT of birds lately, in addition to the Ospreys, so this will be a bit long.  I've decided to organize this not by date, but by location, starting near the middle of the lake and going up to its end.  

First is the illustrious birdwatching spot of Lincoln Land Community College's parking lot, where I spotted these twenty-five American White Pelicans (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos) flying southwest.  If there is any bird in Illinois that bears a slight resemblance to a pterodactyl, it is surely this one.

From the great to the small, we come to the Yellow-Rumped Warbler (Setophaga coronata).  Evidently, at this time of year, birds flock to poison ivy vines to eat the poison ivy berries, especially, it seems, woodpeckers and warblers.  The poison ivy appreciates this, as the seeds pass through the bird's digestive tract and are deposited wherever the bird leaves them.

Out on Macoupin Lake, the college's small pond just north of the main halls, I found a Spiny Softshell (Apalone spinifera) and a Pied-billed Grebe (Podilymbus podiceps), both seen above, more or less:  (I know it's a Spiny Softshell turtle because I've seen it here several times previously.)

In the crabapple trees north of the lake, meanwhile,  I spotted a substantial number of warblers, which excited me right up until I realized they were ALL Palm Warblers (Setophaga palmarum):

However, despite being all one species, these were still warblers, feasting upon crabapples. Speaking of which, the local crabapples, as you can see below, occasionally flower in the fall.  I assume it's because they are genetic hybrids and some genetic error is causing this, but I have no idea.

Continuing onward, I spotted a young Eastern Bluebird (Sialia sialis) in the grass:

Just on the edge of the crabapple trees, I spotted this Empidonax flycatcher, which is in a confusing group of North America's hardest to identify birds.  There are five Illinois species in the genus Empidonax, almost impossible to distinguish without hearing a call.  I would like an exact identification, but for now, I'll just call it a flycatcher and thank it for its services in removing flies.

Just south of Lincoln Land was my next stop, Marina Point.  Here, an interesting assortment of Pokemon Go players, potheads (more on that later), joggers, lovers, fishermen, pedestrians, boaters and occasionally birdwatchers spend their time.  It's amazing what a strip of gravel in the middle of a lake attracts, both animal-wise and people-wise.  I spotted an American Golden-Plover here, for instance, only to have it scared off by an unwitting Pokemon Go player.  As I didn't have my good camera, there is no photo to accompany that bird.

Flying overhead, for instance, was a group of seventy-eight Blue-winged Teal (Anas discors) heading south for the winter, among our first ducks to do so.

Every morning and evening, around a hundred Turkey Vultures (Cathartes aura) fly over Marina Point, coming in and out of their roost at this end of the lake.  On this particular day (September 20) something else appeared, the aforementioned Osprey (left above, centered in both shots below).

I haven't seen it in quite awhile, so it has probably left.  Still, the Osprey isn't a common bird here by any means, and as it is State-Endangered here in Illinois, it's quite impressive to see one, even if it is during migration when they're far more common.

Below, you can see a small subset of the Turkey Vultures.  I always wonder how many of these vultures other people see.  It's quite impressive to me to see hundreds of vultures circling overhead., and I feel as if most of the people here never see this, so glued are they to their phones.  I understand why, as from what I've been told the easiest way to get the strongest Pokemon in Pokemon Go is to go to places near water, like Marina Point, and level up the Pokemon found there.  Still, while you're leveling up your Pokemon, you're missing most of what's going on around you in nature.  I miss much of what's going on around me in nature, and I'm looking for it!

Also out at the lake a flotilla of American Coots (Fulica americana) came across the lake:

 On a later day, I spotted a pair of Bald Eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus). The juvenile is below:

And of course,  I also found more Palm Warblers on the same day I found all the other Palm Warblers.  I sometimes wonder how many Palm Warblers came through the Lake Springfield area that day, because I saw about twenty-five on my own while looking at only two spots.

More recently, three Sabine's Gulls were seen in the area shown below.  Sabine's Gulls are the sort of birds that provide frustration in spades.  Only serious birdwatchers will even try to find them, considering they are small gulls that live in the middle of the lake, well out of range for even the best unaided eyes.  Even with a scope or binoculars (or a camera with fairly good zoom) if the Sabine's Gulls are resting on the water, they are nearly invisible.  Ordinarily, Sabine's Gulls live on the ocean, and thus are a rarity to find inland. Thus, finding one is fairly worth it, but it's a struggle.  And then, when you get very excited about finding the bird, your non-birdwatcher friends and family don't understand your enthusiasm.  To them, it's just a gull.  They understand that it makes you happy to find, but it's still hard for them to be very enthusiastic about a gull.

The week after the Ospreys, I  began to hunt for Sabine's Gulls, but the weather decided to actually act like it was fall, and began to sputter a bit of mist every so often, mixed with partially-cloudy open skies.  I got my first fall Ruddy Duck (Oxyura jamaicensis) (furthest left in the picture below), as well as a few coots and Loch Ness monsters, but it was abysmally misty and I just stayed in my car until the weather began to clear.

(I'm joking about the Loch Ness monsters.  For one thing, this is Lake Springfield, not Loch Ness.  For another, that head in the back right of the photograph below is that of a Double-crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus), but it looks like Nessie in the fog to me.)

Soon, in the middle of this mist, a beaten-up beige sedan and a large brown van with a busted window arrived and parked in the middle of Marina Point.  The drivers then proceeded to blast out some rather offensive, profanity-laden rap, complete with earth-shaking base.  I got out of my car to complain, and from thirty feet away was made sick from the stench of marijuana emanating from their vehicles.  I made my complaints, which they ignored, and while walking around for a minute, concluding my observations, ran into a fellow birder,  Jim M.  He and I decided to make our way up to the old beach house and look for any unusual gulls there.  Before leaving, I snapped this photo  of a Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis) in the clouds, which had begun to break.

 Jim M. and I, found little of interest besides a single Franklin's Gull (Leucophaeus pipixcan) trying to rest on the beach.  However, as soon as it saw us, it departed for other lands, leaving us with dozens of Ring-billed Gulls and...

... a Great Egret (Ardea alba), busily swallowing a fish.  It amazes me what large fish these birds eat.

Jim M. and I didn't find any Sabine's Gulls, however, and he had to leave, so I remained alone by the beach.  I'll return to that story in a bit.  Here's the view of the beach, currently fenced off to keep out trespassers, which, as I've said before, makes it a fine habitat for resting gulls and other waterbirds.

The Caspian Terns (Hydroprogne caspia) finally left, with none, to my knowledge, having been seen since September 27.  They will be missed.

Another bird species that has finally left is the Least Sandpiper (Calidris minutilla),  and the very last one which I saw is below, seen on September 22.  Only a few Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus) remain, and even those are beginning to migrate south.

To be fair, I'm assuming this IS a Least Sandpiper, but if it isn't, let me know.

Also having departed is this Forster's Tern (Sterna forsteri), the little bird in the photograph below.

In arrivals on September 26, meanwhile (I sound like an airport announcer), we have the Northern Shoveler (Anas clypeata), a favorite of mine, simply for the oversized bill.

Moving on from that, I'll get back to the Sabine's Gull.  I went from the beach house to the boat launch south of the marina.  This sheltered lakeshore is often a great spot for birds trying to evade the north winds, or which just like being on the widest part of the lake, like these pelicans:

I went down to the edge of the lakeshore looking for warblers, and I came across these Yellow-rumped Warblers, about thirty of them:

Going back up to the top, I spotted a birdwatcher with a scope trained southwards.  I introduced myself to this man, who turned out to be the renowned birder Dave B., likely the finest birdwatcher in Sangamon County.  Prevailing upon his generosity, I got to look through his scope and after a minute's effort, I found the Sabine's Gull, too far away for photography.  It took me three locations and two birdwatchers, but I got my Sabine's Gull.  Now I just need a photo...

Thankfully, these two Osprey were far more photogenic when I'd photographed them.  If you're wondering whether this is going to be a collection of Osprey photos in the midst of a muddled expedition to find Sabine's Gulls, you'd be right only partially.  There's still half the lake to discuss.

(I've run out of transitions at this  point.  If you are getting temporal whiplash, that's understandable, as I'm cramming together half a month's birdwatching into one post.) The Yellow-rumped Warbler is also known as the Butterbutt, for its bright-yellow rump.  Here in this photo taken at Center Park, you can see that perfectly:

Speaking of butts, this Fox Squirrel (Sciurus niger) was in an interesting position as it buried its acorns.  It's not particularly a fox, but more or less a camel...

In the trees above, I spotted several Cedar Waxwings (Bombycilla cedrorum), which are among my favorite birds.  They love berries, and with their little black masks will rob you of any and all berries.

Continuing down the lakeshore, I stopped in Lincoln Memorial Gardens some days previously.

There wasn't much birdwise, but I did find something far more interesting on the forest floor...

It's in the lower center part of the photo.  Can you see it?  No?  Well, here it is:

I've been to Lincoln Memorial Gardens dozens of times, and this is my first discovery of an Eastern Box Turtle (Terrapene carolina)here.  A day is 17.2% better when you find a box turtle, in my opinion.  (Also, I've heard 85.37% of statistics on blogs are made up.)

From there, I went onwards to the Springfield Marina, where there was very little but Ring-billed Gulls on the nearby roofs... and a few Turkey Vultures on the nearby radio towers!

Last but not least, I visited the Chatham Wildlife Sanctuary, where the local White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus) herd recognized me and promptly ran off:

Up in the trees above, meanwhile, I spotted about sixty Cedar Waxwings, only a few of which were close enough for a good photo:

The final stop of the day was at the pelican spot, the mouth of Sugar Creek where it feeds into Lake Springfield.  Here, dozens of pelicans gather during migration:

In one night, I counted fifty-two pelicans here, in one tiny pool of the lake:

Behind the pelicans, in the gathering twilight, about a dozen Great Egrets foraged on the shallows.  I stayed here until just after sunset, and then departed, having circled all around the lake for birds.

By the way, in a day or so I'll have a few birds that I REALLY want identified.  So, get ready for that.

Bonus picture for Cherry Hills Baptist Church members; Here's what the intersection looked like the night we had our Fall Celebration.  I'm throwing it in here because that's when most of the pelicans and about a third of the birds pictured above were seen.