The Search for the Needle in the Haystack

  It's October so it's peak time for Sparrows, the beginning of waterfowl migration, and peak migration for most raptors and owls. Having checked reports from Wisconsin, and seen large numbers of geese moving, I decided that my best chance for a new bird would be to scan flocks of Canada Geese for a Snow Goose or a Greater White-fronted Goose, both of which I still need for the year.
  Scanning goose flocks is a painstaking and potentially dangerous activity. Most of the time you only see hundreds of Canadas and usually the flocks are adjacent to busy roads, so getting hit by someone is a real possibility. Once in a while, though, you get lucky and find that diamond in the rough...that needle in a haystack, so the risk pays exciting dividends.
  Last Sunday was one such day. I had finished checking out the lakefront and was on my way home. I usually take 9th Ave. to 173 when I'm returning from North Point Marina as I was today. On the corner of 9th and Lewis is a small church with a small pond. This pond often has geese in it. This day was no exception. As I passed by and glanced at the flock, something white caught my attention. I quickly pulled into the church parking area and glassed the pond with my bins. Walla! Right in front of me was #254, a SNOW GOOSE!

  Another benefit to searching through the goose flocks is that you may find some other good birds. Tuesday I was at Independence Grove for lunch and happened to see a large group of loafing Canadas on the swimming beach. I went down to take a look at them and again saw something white. I figured it was another Snow Goose, but after I got my scope on it, I saw that it was actually the much rarer ROSS' GOOSE! Not a new bird for me, since I had Steve Bailey's bird in the spring, but a great bird nonetheless, and the first time I had ever seen two Ross' in one year in Lake County.

                                                      internet photo

    The main difference, aside from the fact that the Ross' is Smaller, is the bill. The Ross' Goose has a small, cute, pink bill with an obviously purple base to it while the Snow Goose has a big honker of a bill with a black "grin" or line separating the upper and lower mandibles. Pretty sweet bird!
  Since I still need A GWF goose, I continue to search through more flocks. Yesterday I saw a sizeable group on the east side of Rt. 45 in Lindenhurst, so I pulled off the road, which fortunately has a large shoulder, and scoped out the birds. Off to the left, at the top of a ridge, I again saw something white. I trained the scope on the birds and was treated to the sight of my 2nd TRUMPETER SWAN of the year.

There were actually 4 birds. So I, once again, find a nice bird but miss my target. Such is birding. Today the weather is pretty horrible, so hopefully I will be able to find something nice tomorrow. Good Birding!