Chicago Region's Dunes: A Forgotten Treasure: Different Directions (Part 4 of 4)

Welcome to the lake front you never knew!

Lake Michigan. One of the largest fresh water lakes in the world and an engine that has driven, and in some cases still does, the growth of its many surrounding communities. Lake Michigan is also home to a tremendous diversity of wildlife both within its waters and on its coasts. For most of us in the Chicago region a free and public lake front has more or less always been there and we tend to take it for granted. On top of this the dominant habitat type, dunes, are popularly percieved as just big heaps of sand. This blog is about that slice of Chicago Wilderness which is Lake Michigan and the wonderful gifts of nature it contains both just beyond the waterfront and beneath the surf.

If you've been to any of these locations or would like to recommend/request a location for me to go and check out, please do speak up and comment on any post!

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Different Directions (Part 4 of 4)

7/2/11

Before long, you approach the final dune which is built on a foundation of willows creating a fence along the ridge of the dune forcing you to walk around. But once they are crossed, you emerge on the beach, home of Sea Rocket (Cakile edentula) and Pig Weed (Amaranthus sp.) our own native tumble weed! In the fall you can see this pink plant break off at the base and bounce along the tops of the dune vegetation.

This is also the place where any shorebird that's possible to see in the Chicago region, can be seen whether it’s the increasingly rare Red Knot (Calidris canutus), a striking American Avocet (Recurvirostra americana), the rebounding Piping Plover (Charadrius melodus), or a Willet (Tringa semipalmata). You will always have a guaranteed Killdeer (Charadrius vociferous) or Spotted sandpiper (Actitis macularia) on any day. I also neglect to mention that just beyond the beach are phalaropes, huge rafts of ducks during winter such as both Mergus mergansers and all Athya ducks that when viewed through a telescope literally blacken the already dark and treacherous looking lake. Occasional Bald Eagles (Haliaetus leucocephalus) and Osprey (Pandion halietus), plus a wide range of gulls/terns and rails also grace our shores in cameo sightings (excepting herring and ring-billed gulls which are always present).

So half of this was bits of the adventure I did take on the above date and the other half is shameless promotion of a site I’ve come to love deeply. Whether you’re a nature person of any kind it doesn’t really matter; it’d be a shame for this treasure to be unknown to you and not be visited at least once.

There has been one thing running consistent through this blog, beauty, and Montrose Point has it. It may not be the same as some of these larger and natural state places I’ve been to thus far but for the distance and for a place that was birthed by a few committed bird watchers and stewards, Montrose is a miracle…“A Forgotten Treasure.”

Thanks for reading. See you in the field!

Edward Warden