On September 11, I called Matthew Winks to find out if he had seen anything new. Les Allen and he had seen Caspian Terns and a lot of warblers at Evergreen Lake in McLean County. When I arrived at Evergreen, the warbler activity had slowed down, but I hiked the Deer Island trail and found four Caspian Terns on the sand bar with a Ring-billed Gull and a larger number of Killdeer. It was so hot, the Caspian Terns were panting. This heat was quite a contrast to the cool weather we had had the previous day.
I returned to Evergreen on September 13 hoping to see some warblers in the picnic area at Comlara Park. I had a mid-sized flock that I followed for about 20 minutes. Several of them came down to eye level in a low hedge next to the lake. I had seven warbler species: Black-and-white, American Redstart, Magnolia, Bay-breasted, Blackburnian, Chestnut-sided, and Black-throated Green.
One of the Chestnut-sided Warblers gave some great, but nappy looks while it was preening.
Also present amid the flock of Warblers were juvenile Chipping Sparrows, Eastern Phoebes, an Empidonax flycather, and a Red-eyed Vireo.
A couple of days later on September 15, I returned to the lake. A mudflat had just started forming about a week earlier on the South end as water had been let out of the lake. The mudflat had gotten bigger when I arrived that Thursday and there was a small variety of shorebirds: Killdeer, Pectoral Sandpiper, Lesser Yellowlegs, and this juvenile Black-bellied Plover, which I mistook for a juvenile Sanderling. Later that day Matthew Winks went to the mudflat to see the "Sanderling," but correctly identified the bird I had seen as a Black-bellied Plover. At the time he thought he had a different bird than the one I had seen. Later, however, when I looked at my pictures taking his sighting into account, I realized that I had photographed Matthew's Black-bellied Plover and wrongly assumed it to be a Sanderling. Both birds are very white and have similar patterns on their backs. At the distance I was at without a scope it was difficult to judge size, but after looking at the pictures on my computer, the shape and posture of the bird made it clear that it could not be a Sanderling. While I was photographing the Black-bellied "Sanderling," a Sharp-shinned Hawk flew over and flushed all of the shorebirds. Most of them returned, but this bird did not while I was there.
After I photographed the Black-bellied Plover which I thought was a Sanderling, I realized that I needed an outhouse. The nearest one I could think of was in the parking lot between White Pines Cove and the handicapped dock on the West side of the lake just East of the county line and South of the main boat dock. After making use of the facilities, I decided to check the cove. At first glance I thought I had seen a Great Egret, but I decided to look closely and get my guide book out. I then realized, based on the pinkish lores, black-tipped bill, and pale legs, that I was observing a juvenile Little Blue Heron. At first the bird seemed to be fishing. Then it flew back to the shore of the cove to rest.
I called or texted several people to let them know including Dale Birkenholz and Les Allen, who decided they would come right over to see the bird. While I was waiting for them, I went to the Comlara Park picnic area. I did not see any warblers, but had a couple of Eastern Bluebirds and several Chipping Sparrows.
When Dale and Les arrived, the Little Blue Heron was still in the cove and had begun fishing again. I followed them back to the mudflat after they saw the Little Blue, but the bird I thought to be a Sanderling was nowhere to be found. However, there were still several Lesser Yellowlegs and Pectoral Sandpipers around.
On September 17, Les and I returned to Evergreen and saw a Caspian Tern and what we thought might have been a Forster's Tern, but we could not be sure.
Also present was my first of the Fall Palm Warbler and two Ospreys. We saw one of the Ospreys in McLean County and the other in Woodford County.
While I was trying to get closer to the Osprey perched on the East side of the lake, I saw this tattered but beautiful Mourning Cloak, which was a lifer butterfly for me.
When I returned to Evergreen on September 20, there were four to seven Caspian Terns feeding in the lake. Tonight I did not see the Caspians, but enjoyed viewing a Yellow-bellied Flycatcher and a small group of Blue-winged Teal.
