Wildcat Birding: April 1.....No Foolin!

Well, reality has set in. Michelle and I returned from our haven in the Keys yesterday so we could gather ourselves and get ready to go back to work next week. Needless to say, I took the opportunity that I had in the morning to do some birding after my small group meeting with Brent and Matt. I wasn't expecting a lot. I mean it's only April 1. I did have some early migrant target birds, but nothing out of the ordinary. Rarely do I get my target birds for the day, but today was one of those days. I had 6 birds I was hoping to see, and I got all of them plus a couple of other nice additions.
The day started off pretty nicely with a Jim Solum sighting in the parking lot of Waukegan Beach at 8:40am. A Purple Sandpiper had been seen the day before, so we checked out the pier and the beach but didn't see anything noteworthy. Jim didn't have as much time as I did, so he was in a hurry to go to IBSP which was opening today for the first time in about 10 months. I was also looking forward to checking the park trails out, but I thought that the pines area would be good to check before we left. It turned out to be a pretty good spot. We both added RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET, BROWN THRASHER, and YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER to our Lake County Year lists, and we also had nice looks at 2 Fox Sparrows and a Brown Creeper.

Ruby-crowned Kinglet

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker

Brown Thrasher

On the way out I saw some birds moving in the vacant lot west of Seahorse Dr., so I pulled over to check out the action. It was mostly Dark-eyed Juncos but mixed in with the group was my first look at a male PURPLE FINCH. Nice! Love those birds.

Jim and I then headed to IBSP South. We started at the deciduous woods lot just inside the entrance. This proved to be the best spot of the day by far. We added great looks here at a WINTER WREN, and singing EASTERN TOWHEE as well as more Ruby-crowned Kinglets and a couple of Golden-crowned Kinglets. We then parked in the visitor center lot and checked out the path behind the lodge. Lots of Fox Sparrows and a Field Sparrow were found here but no Vespers. We ran into Paul and Janice Sweet and Al Stokie who said that they didn't see much, so Jim and I parted ways. I stopped back at the deciduous woods on the way out and checked the east side of the road. Another good call. I picked up my FOY HERMIT THRUSH!