ML645739953

Observation details

Details *Rare. Third November record for the Cook County lakefront, following a mid-November, 1965 record from Evanston (James Ware and Robert Russell) and another from November 18, 1972 in Chicago (Larry Balch and Jerry Rosenband) - both published in Bohlen's Birds of Illinois (1989). It's possible this is the first ever record for Rainbow Beach, though we'd need to determine where the 1972 bird was seen. Seen immediately offshore near the breakwalls as we were chumming the gulls, spotted by Tarik Shahzad. An immature bird molting into adult-plumage, with brown upper wings, jet black primaries and greater primary coverts, black secondaries with a white trailing edge, gray back, white upper tail, black band around the base of the tail, black hooded appearance with a white head, with two thinner white eye-arcs, a long, drooping all black bill, and grayish/dusky underparts and underwings on a white base. Many photos taken, bird was originally seen off Rainbow Beach, then chummed over to Park 566 waters, then finally over the Indiana state line marking the third and final list it appears on during our trip today. A great end to a wonderful day on the water.