After a stretch of sluggish lakewatches, the north wind finally kicked in yesterday and brought Miller Beach back to life. The first push in over a week lined up perfectly with a crew of watchers on hand, and the lake delivered.
Despite early rain, waterfowl were moving steadily. Blue-winged Teal staged a strong showing with 562 counted, joined by good numbers of Northern Shoveler (81), Gadwall (91), and Redhead (88). A smattering of scoters added variety, with 16 Surf Scoters cutting past the breakers. Classic October duck flight, but still hints at much more to come given the dabbler heavy flight still.
The real fireworks came from the gull and jaeger parade. Three Franklin’s Gulls and a sharp Sabine’s Gull kept things interesting. Even better, a very early Kumlien’s Iceland Gull made a surprise appearance—pale gray wings glowing against the steel-colored lake.
It’s worth noting that another Sabine’s Gull was seen down the road at Michigan City Harbor, with photos taken at point blank range!
And then came the pirates! At least four Parasitic Jaegers and a sleek adult Long-tailed Jaeger worked the shoreline. The Long-tailed trailed one of the Parasitics, showing off its two-toned wing pattern and those elegant streamers that make even the breakers feel a little more Arctic. Few inland birding spectacles beat watching multiple jaegers chase gulls over Lake Michigan!
With the first real north winds of October, lakewatch season has finally shifted gears. Yesterday brought 33 species in total, highlighted by strong duck movement and a gull-jaeger show worthy of the term “Miller Magic.” If the forecast holds, we could be in for more action in the coming days. You can check out yesterday’s full checklist here, and keep up to speed on the entire October eBird Trip Report Here.
Cover Photo: Blue-winged Teal by Ryan Sanderson.
