Getting "Finched" and a Great Morning Skywatching!
Hey guys,
Please share this post if you know any birders in the east!
As many of you may know, the east is being invaded by all sorts of finches this fall. We're having the biggest movement of Evening Grosbeak in the last 25 years, thousands of White-winged Crossbills are making their way past hotspots in the north, Red Crossbills are finding every stand of Eastern White Pine in the midwest, and overall, the irruption is beginning fairly early. It was forecasted back in early October that we would be getting good movements of those species, but it wouldn't be known until this week and the last how good it would really be. One way to see the insane movement is to go on ebird.org and go to the Species Maps page, and compare the maps with the parameters of October-December 2019 and October-December 2020. It is pretty mind blowing. If you have bird feeders, keep them stocked! Both Crossbills and Evening Grosbeak will come to feeders. f you have a stand of Eastern White Pines in your area, check them for Red Crossbills. If you have a stand of Boxelder or Hackberry trees in your area, check them for Evening Grosbeak. Alders are also great for redpolls, both Common and Hoary.
Onto this morning's skywatch. I got up at about 8 o'clock, and went straight outside. After checking the winds last night, I knew it would be good for moving birds. As soon as I got out there I could feel the cold, strong winds from the NW. I hear an up-slurred "whit whit whit whit" call and I look up and bam, there they were, a flock of 13 Red Crossbills flying over! My first county lifer of the day, it was also a state bird too! 275 for county year, 292 Cook Life, and 321 for IL year. About a half hour later, I hear a loud "thirr" call and there it is, the biggest invader of them all, the Evening Grosbeak! That was my second new bird of the day. 276 for county year, 293 for county life, and 322 for state life. Then I went inside to eat breakfast, and I got a text saying that @whimbrelbirder had a Northern Goshawk and White-winged Crossbill at the Ft. Sheridan Hawkwatch. I finished eating really fast, threw my jacket on, grabbed my bins and set my eyes on the sky. Then he told me it was flying north, so I knew I wasn't going to get that bird. About a half hour after that, I spotted a large hawk flying up in the sky. I really hope it is what I think it is, a Northern Goshawk! If it ends up being one, It will be my third new bird for the day, and a lifer! 540 life, 277 county year, 294 county life and 323 for the state. I'll be out again, and I'll upload observations of the birds later.
All for now and stay safe,
Simon