Long-tailed jaeger photographed at Miller (Gary) Indiana on August 22, 2009 by John Kendall.

Last Saturday (August 22) I was able to do two of my favorite things: joining Ken Brock’s crew (thing 1) in a lake watch at Miller (Gary), Indiana (thing 2). No one in the Chicago region, and possibly in the Midwest, birds quite like Ken and his group. Ken is a retired geology professor at Indiana University- Northwest and the author of works on the birds of the Indiana Dunes and the state of Indiana. Over the years, a number of absolutely first rate birders have coalesced around him for Saturday bird outings. When the weather is propitious, many of them go out on weekdays as well. This Saturday the ensemble consisted of Jeff McCoy, Randy Pals, Michael Topp, Susan Bagby, John Kendall, and for some of the day Brendan Grube. Everyone has a walky-talky so they can report what they are seeing to Ken who records it all on a clipboard. And it is not just species and numbers they record, but ages as well. (“Two juvey sanderlings.” “Copy that.”) Though birds dominate the conversations, there is room for politics, popular culture, and just about every other topic, all laced with hilarity. And finally, despite their years of birding together and the expertise they possess, anyone is welcome to join them, even rank beginners (everyone is willing to share their knowledge with the lucky newcomer). 

Lake watches (and hawk watches) appeal to me so much because they offer more than just birds (as wonderful as birds are): they offer migration- a primeval force, locked deep within the avian genetic code, is enacted before your eyes.  And Miller is an extraordinary place to witness this grand event. To understand what is so special about Miller consider that Lake Michigan is the only Great Lake on a north south axis and that the southern most point of the lake is Miller. Any bird flying south over or along the shoreline of Lake Michigan literally runs out of water at Miller. I will never forget the flock of Bonaparte gulls happily winging their way south until just off shore when, realizing that the lake was about to end,  they suddenly put on the breaks: ‘Oh, s***, what do we do now?” In the case of the gulls they milled around a bit, ascended high overhead, and headed straight south. The lake, in other words, acts as a funnel.

But the weather has to be right, or you can sit for hours and see almost nothing. (Actually, that was the case yesterday, hot and sultry, when a few us including Ken and Jeff had that very experience.) The ideal weather involves the passage of a front from the north or northwest that brings with it high winds. There is a local saying: “The more horrific the weather, the more terrific the birding.” (Come late November, the best days can be downright brutal but as this was only August, a jacket or flannel shirt sufficed.)

 Strong northerly winds were in the forecast for Saturday- perfect conditions for jaegers, the group of birds most sought after by the cognoscenti of Miller. Related to gulls, jaegers are, in the words of Kenn Kauffman’s Lives of North American Birds,   “fast-flying seabirds, predatory and piratical.” The three species breed on the tundra and spend the rest of the year at sea. Some of them, however, do wind up on the Great Lakes or on even smaller bodies. (Miller is the best place in inland North America to see jaegers.) By far the most common species on Lake Michigan is the parasitic, which can be seen from August through early December. The other two species are much rarer and it is a close call as to which of them is the next most common. Long-tailed records are concentrated in late August and early September, while the pomarine is a late season bird, usually encountered in late October or November. Most of the time jaegers stay far off-shore and identification as to species is often impossible but even the possibility of  glimpsing birds that ought to be kiting over breaching whales is a powerful lure.

After hearing me go on and on about Miller and Ken’s group, Sulli Gibson wanted to give it a try. Sulli lives about 45 minutes north of me while Miller is the same distance to the south.  We arranged for Sulli’s dad to drop him off at a meeting spot between us; Sulli would spend the night at my house and then I would take him home when we were done birding. Driving towards Miller via I-80 and I-94 is to marvel at the industries that have seemingly replaced steel as the backbone of northwest Indiana’s economy: most every billboard trumpets the joys of either fireworks (Krazy Kaplan offers the best deal: buy one and get five free), casinos, or gentleman clubs (someday I will have to visit “Industrial Strip”). 

Early in the season, birders usually gather atop a sand pile at Lake Street Beach because of the view, but when conditions are rough they seek the shelter of the concession stand at Marquette Park. We arrived at Lake Street the same time as Michael Topp.  But the swirling wind, and the sand in its grasp, promised a tough day of watching. This conclusion had already been reached by Ken’s squad and they set up at Marquette. Fortunately for us, Ken came to retrieve us, only to learn from the others that while he was on his mission of mercy a parasitic jaeger had been identified.

Many eyes focused towards the Chicago skyline as we scoped the horizon. At one point I spotted a bird at the limits of vision that looked like a jaeger. The problem is that as the bird headed west it would move up and down- visible when against the sky only to disappear against the dark of the lake. A few minutes after I called everyone’s attention to it, Jeff picked it up and also thought it a jaeger. More people found it by which time I lost it. The bird was joined by a second jaeger briefly but kept going west and then did something truly remarkable. It headed towards shore and people ran out to the beach to get a better view. I could not relocate it until I heard shouts, “You can see it with your naked eye.” And by god, heading right over us was a stunning adult long-tailed jaeger, with its streaming rectrices still intact. Sulli gained the distinction of being the first person, among the many billions who have ever inhabited this planet, to have his first Indiana jaeger be a long-tailed. It was a lifer for him but even the veterans all agreed that it was the best view of such a magnificent example of this rare species they ever had at Miller.

Miller time with the Hoosier gang.