anthus (bird) spinoletta (titlark)
Thursday, April 3, 1980 — 4:45 pm
Evanston, Illinois — Northwestern University
Once again, I drove east to Lake Michigan after work, this time by myself. As I got closer to the lake, the sky got more overcast. By the time I got to Northwestern, things looked like the inside of a sauna. There was clearly (?) no point in birding in that weather, but since I was there, I decided to take a walk. I headed around the path that circles the lagoon and runs along the shore. Visibility was nil.
To my surprise, I spotted a bird foraging on the grass and rocks near the edge of the lake. As I approached, it walked ahead of me and disappeared into the gray. I followed, and in time I got enough close looks to identify it as an American Pipit. For a short time, a Song Sparrow was also poking around in the area.
I took this photo a few years later. It shows the location of the pipit sighting, but definitely not the weather conditions.
