Southern il trip 1-10/11-2021

1/12/2021

Southern il trip 1-10/11-2021

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Bird list: Snow Goose, Ross's Goose, Greater White-fronted Goose, Canada Goose, Trumpeter Swan, Tundra Swan, Northern Shoveler, Gadwall, American Wigeon, Mallard, American Black Duck, Green-winged Teal, Canvasback, Redhead, Ring-necked Duck, Greater Scaup, Lesser Scaup, Bufflehead, Common Goldeneye, Hooded Merganser, Common Merganser, Red-breasted Merganser, Ruddy Duck, Wild Turkey, Pied-billed Grebe, Horned Grebe, Rock Pigeon, Eurasian Collared-Dove, Mourning Dove, American Coot, SANDHILL CRANE, WHOOPING CRANE, Killdeer, DUNLIN, Wilson's Snipe, Bonaparte's Gull, Ring-billed Gull, Herring Gull, Common Loon, Great Blue Heron, Turkey Vulture, Black Vulture, GOLDEN EAGLE, Northern Harrier, Cooper's Hawk, Bald Eagle, Red-shouldered Hawk, Red-tailed Hawk, BARN OWL, Great Horned Owl, SNOWY OWL, Short-eared Owl, NORTHERN SAW-WHET OWL, Belted Kingfisher, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Red-headed Woodpecker, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker, Hairy Woodpecker, Pileated Woodpecker, Northern Flicker, American Kestrel, Blue Jay, American Crow, Carolina Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse, Horned Lark, Golden-crowned Kinglet, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Red-breasted Nuthatch, White-breasted Nuthatch, Brown Creeper, Carolina Wren,, European Starling, Northern Mockingbird, Eastern Bluebird, American Robin, Cedar Waxwing, House Sparrow, EVENING GROSBEAK, House Sparrow, Purple Finch, RED CROSSBILL, Pine Siskin, American Goldfinch, Lapland Longspur, Field Sparrow, American Tree Sparrow, Fox Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco, White-crowned Sparrow, White-throated Sparrow, Savannah Sparrow, Song Sparrow, Swamp Sparrow, SPOTTED TOWHEE, Eastern Towhee, Eastern Meadowlark, Red-winged Blackbird, Brown-headed Cowbird, Rusty Blackbird, BREWER'S BLACKBIRD, Common Grackle, Pine Warbler, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Northern Cardinal

Species: 105

Counties birded: Marion, Clinton, Jefferson, Franklin, Saline, Gallatin, Hardin, White, Wabash, Lawrence, Crawford, Clark, Edgar, Vermillion, and Champaign

Grandma, Tony, and myself decided to take a small adventures to Southern IL for a couple days to see all the goodies that are currently being seen. We started off leaving Champaign at around 7am Sunday and went straight to Carlyle. Although it did take awhile, both SPOTTED TOWHEES made an appearance and were being very cooperative!

Then we made some stopped at Rend Lake. The best spot by far was the north Sandusky area, where I pulled out an adult GOLDEN EAGLE flying across the lake to the south and ended up going into the Marcum Access area. Also 3 Common Loons and a Horned Grebe were new year birds for me.

We then finished the rest of the day in Saline and Gallatin counties. I ended up being able to spot at least a couple BARN OWLS in a box! Just before then we were delighted to see a large flock (55) of Black Vultures, some of the most I've ever seen in IL at one location. We then ended the evening around the ponds around Equality in Gallatin county. I was able to pick out a young male Greater Scaup just to the west of the town and it is the first ebird record for the county! Also, perhaps the best bird after the afternoon was a DUNLIN that I picked out flying around with the Killdeer. Also the 12+ Short-eared Owls were a sight to see!

The next morning we showed up at the DeNeal's around 7am. The first EVENING GROSBEAKS showed up at around 7:18 and we watched them for 40 minutes. The largest number I saw was 25 and about 18 at once were at the feeders. The 125+ Siskins and the Pine Warbler were other highlights at the property.

We then traveled south to Hardin county in search of Red Crossbills, in which we saw one and heard a few more!

We then worked our way back to Champaign from there. We ended up seeing a flock of tens of thousands of blackbirds, mostly Grackles, but a flock of mostly BREWER'S BLACKBIRDS in front of them was a pleasant surprise in Gallatin county! We made quick stops after this including views both WHOOPING and SANDILL CRANES in Lawrence county and looking at thousands of waterfowl at Universal Mines in Edgar county.

After a quick stop at Lake Vermillion, we preceded over to Champaign county to finish the day. The NORTHERN SAW-WHET OWL was at the usual location and we we lucky to find the SNOWY OWL sitting on top of a telephone pole!

Overall a great trip and can't wait for the next adventure! Pictures are below!