March 26, 1994
The focus of this Audubon field trip led by Ken Brock was to visit a hawk watch site at the Indiana Dunes. Our first birds of the day were several Redhead and Lesser Scaup swimming in the Portage Marina.
From the top of the hill at the hawk watch site, we had a view of the Lake Michigan beach, where Kent spotted a lone Great Black-backed Gull in amongst the other gulls. We saw a Cooper’s Hawk, and one of the other field trip participants pointed out a Northern Goshawk as it flew overhead. I was unable to discern any identifying features, but I am trusting the expertise of my fellow birder.
My favorite sighting of the day: We spotted a Short-eared Owl near the beach, perched on a post near the edge of the sand dune scrub. The bird perched for several minutes, allowing us to view it with the spotting scope. Then it took flight, and flew in circles above us for several more minutes before moving on. What a perfect sighting of a really striking and attractive bird!
After we left the hawk watch site, we spotted a Red-breasted Merganser on Long Lake.
Species List
Northern Goshawk (Accipiter gentilis), Great Black-backed Gull (Larus marinus), Red-breasted Merganser (Mergus serrator), Lesser Scaup (Aythya affinis), Redhead (Aythya americana), Short-eared Owl (Northern) (Asio flammeus flammeus), Cooper’s Hawk (Accipiter cooperii)
Let me know what you think!