I started the day at Wadsworth Wetlands in northern Lake County, a narrow strip of forest 
preserve along the Des Plaines River. It is often a good place for shorebirds and a variety of other stuff. Today it was just good for other stuff. I should have stuck around longer, but I was anxious to get to the lake. (The birds marked in red were new for the year.)
I saw: Red-winged Blackbird; American Robin; Canada Goose; American Goldfinch; White-crowned Sparrow; Common Yellowthroat; Song Sparrow; Tree Swallow; Common Grackle; American Coot; Mallard; Yellow-rumped Warbler; Palm Warbler; Blue-gray Gnatcatcher; Great Blue Heron; Ruby-crowned Kinglet; Blue Jay; Mourning Dove; Yellow Warbler; Blue-winged Teal; Rock Dove; Barn Swallow; Savannah Sparrow; Warbling Vireo; Black-throated Green Warbler; Northern Rough-winged Swallow; Swamp Sparrow; Rose-breasted Grosbeak; Magnolia Warbler; Black-and-white Warbler; Downy Woodpecker; Blackburnian Warbler; Brown-headed Cowbird; Red-bellied Woodpecker; Northern Cardinal; Yellow-throated Vireo; Downy Woodpecker; Wood Duck; Nashville Warbler; Blue-headed Vireo; European Starling; White-breasted Nuthatch; Chimney Swift.
From there I drove east to Illinois Beach State Park where I walked the Dead River Trail to Lake Michigan. It was immediately apparent that things weren’t as lively, due probably to strong wings off the lake.
I added: Eastern Bluebird; Black-capped Chickadee; Eastern Towhee; Brown Thrasher; Northern Harrier; Baltimore Oriole; American Kestrel; Chipping Sparrow; Caspian Tern; Common Tern; Ring-billed Gull; Red-breasted Merganser; American Crow; Field Sparrow; Hairy Woodpecker; Gray Catbird.
I drove a few miles south to Waukegan Municipal Beach. Years ago, this was a fantastic place for migrants, but the area has been built up a lot and now it’s reliable only for gulls and terns.
I added: Cooper’s Hawk; Bonaparte’s Gull; Herring Gull.
It was evident that the lake shore wasn’t productive, so I headed back west and spent a couple hours at Chain-o’-Lakes State Park. It was warm (although the humidity was a remarkably -low 21%) and sunny, and I had the trail almost to myself — no other people and very few birds.
I added: Red-tailed Hawk; Orange-crowned Warbler; House Wren; Northern Flicker; Mute Swan; Sharp-shinned Hawk.
I was home by 3:30. I saw 68 birds (10 warblers) — not awful, but not great either. None of them were unexpected, but a day that includes a Blackburnian Warbler and a Northern Harrier can’t be a bad day. I walked seven miles and had a great time.