2025 date(s) will become available in Spring 2025!
2024 Trip: September 28th 2-6pm
Some of the best pelagic birding in the Midwest outside of the Great Lakes can be found in Southern Illinois, on Carlyle Lake! Over the last 4 years of our pelagic trips, numerous 'pelagic species' have been seen including Eared Grebe, Red-necked Phalaropes, Parasitic Jaegers, Sabine's, Laughing, Franklins, California and Lesser Black-backed among the usual species. Most years we can at least see a phalarope, Laughing Gull, and all terns but usually have some other goodies most trips, or some that we are still hoping to find including Red Phalarope, Long-tailed Jaeger, or even rarer species! In 2020 we saw Parasitic Jaeger on multiple trips, and also some goodies like Laughing and Franklin's Gulls as well as Red-necked Phalarope. In 2021, we saw Parasitic Jaeger on one, 3 Sabine's Gulls and Eared Grebe on the other, along with Red-necked Phalaropes on both, large numbers of terns, and Laughing Gull! In 2022 we saw a Sabine's Gull on one and Red-necked Phalaropes, CALIFORNIA GULL, and five other gull species on another! In 2023 only one trip was ran and we saw 3 Red-necked Phalaropes, a Franklin's Gull, 4 Lesser Black-backed Gulls, 3 Common Terns, and hundreds of Bonaparte's Gulls and Forster's Terns.
2024 Info:
A slight change this year, we will be out on the lake for four as opposed to three hours like in years past, so we will depart the West Access Marina around 2pm and arrive back to the marina by 6pm on Saturday, September 28th. This is to offer slightly more time on the water to view the birds we find, provide more photography opportunities, and to have a more relaxing afternoon on the water! Similar to last year, we will have two tritoons out at the same time, allowing for more coverage of the lake to ensure birds are looked through thoroughly and to maximize our chances of seeing rare species! PLEASE arrive by 1:45 in order to get everyone on the boats by 2:00!
The cost for each person is $50, and you can either bring cash or checks day of, or you can venmo me (provided privately). The rentals, gas, and 'chum' will all be covered! You can email me at [email protected] in order to secure your spot! This trip is always a blast and no matter what we have a great time on the water! Typically a few of us will grab dinner following the trip at Los Amigos only a mile from the marina!
Below are the pelagic trip reports from during trips in 2020, 2021, and 2022 along with a couple pictures from 2022!
2024 Trip: September 28th 2-6pm
Some of the best pelagic birding in the Midwest outside of the Great Lakes can be found in Southern Illinois, on Carlyle Lake! Over the last 4 years of our pelagic trips, numerous 'pelagic species' have been seen including Eared Grebe, Red-necked Phalaropes, Parasitic Jaegers, Sabine's, Laughing, Franklins, California and Lesser Black-backed among the usual species. Most years we can at least see a phalarope, Laughing Gull, and all terns but usually have some other goodies most trips, or some that we are still hoping to find including Red Phalarope, Long-tailed Jaeger, or even rarer species! In 2020 we saw Parasitic Jaeger on multiple trips, and also some goodies like Laughing and Franklin's Gulls as well as Red-necked Phalarope. In 2021, we saw Parasitic Jaeger on one, 3 Sabine's Gulls and Eared Grebe on the other, along with Red-necked Phalaropes on both, large numbers of terns, and Laughing Gull! In 2022 we saw a Sabine's Gull on one and Red-necked Phalaropes, CALIFORNIA GULL, and five other gull species on another! In 2023 only one trip was ran and we saw 3 Red-necked Phalaropes, a Franklin's Gull, 4 Lesser Black-backed Gulls, 3 Common Terns, and hundreds of Bonaparte's Gulls and Forster's Terns.
2024 Info:
A slight change this year, we will be out on the lake for four as opposed to three hours like in years past, so we will depart the West Access Marina around 2pm and arrive back to the marina by 6pm on Saturday, September 28th. This is to offer slightly more time on the water to view the birds we find, provide more photography opportunities, and to have a more relaxing afternoon on the water! Similar to last year, we will have two tritoons out at the same time, allowing for more coverage of the lake to ensure birds are looked through thoroughly and to maximize our chances of seeing rare species! PLEASE arrive by 1:45 in order to get everyone on the boats by 2:00!
The cost for each person is $50, and you can either bring cash or checks day of, or you can venmo me (provided privately). The rentals, gas, and 'chum' will all be covered! You can email me at [email protected] in order to secure your spot! This trip is always a blast and no matter what we have a great time on the water! Typically a few of us will grab dinner following the trip at Los Amigos only a mile from the marina!
Below are the pelagic trip reports from during trips in 2020, 2021, and 2022 along with a couple pictures from 2022!
Sabine’s Gull, Fall 2022
California Gull, Fall 2022