WhenToBird

Birding spot · Lake County, Illinois

Birding at Sand Pond: What You'll See Each Week

In November, the birds most often reported at Sand Pond are American Tree Sparrow (50%), Red-breasted Merganser (48%), and Blue Jay (46%). It is busiest in spring, when 117 species turn up on at least 1 in 20 checklists, and species counts peak in the second week of May (115 species). 253 species have been reported here across 2,598 complete checklists from 494 birders.

Species by week

0255075100125Jan 1-7: 22 species on 5%+ of 43 checklistsJan 8-14: 31 species on 5%+ of 14 checklistsJan 15-21: low data (7 checklists)Jan 22-31: 36 species on 5%+ of 14 checklistsFeb 1-7: 32 species on 5%+ of 13 checklistsFeb 8-14: 30 species on 5%+ of 19 checklistsFeb 15-21: 19 species on 5%+ of 30 checklistsFeb 22-28: 33 species on 5%+ of 28 checklistsMar 1-7: 25 species on 5%+ of 22 checklistsMar 8-14: 48 species on 5%+ of 35 checklistsMar 15-21: 42 species on 5%+ of 27 checklistsMar 22-31: 58 species on 5%+ of 66 checklistsApr 1-7: 60 species on 5%+ of 29 checklistsApr 8-14: 67 species on 5%+ of 43 checklistsApr 15-21: 82 species on 5%+ of 65 checklistsApr 22-30: 81 species on 5%+ of 122 checklistsMay 1-7: 104 species on 5%+ of 145 checklistsMay 8-14: 115 species on 5%+ of 185 checklistsMay 15-21: 114 species on 5%+ of 168 checklistsMay 22-31: 108 species on 5%+ of 231 checklistsJun 1-7: 80 species on 5%+ of 88 checklistsJun 8-14: 77 species on 5%+ of 67 checklistsJun 15-21: 76 species on 5%+ of 33 checklistsJun 22-30: 71 species on 5%+ of 51 checklistsJul 1-7: 80 species on 5%+ of 54 checklistsJul 8-14: 71 species on 5%+ of 41 checklistsJul 15-21: 72 species on 5%+ of 27 checklistsJul 22-31: 77 species on 5%+ of 36 checklistsAug 1-7: 73 species on 5%+ of 29 checklistsAug 8-14: 72 species on 5%+ of 35 checklistsAug 15-21: 70 species on 5%+ of 50 checklistsAug 22-31: 90 species on 5%+ of 85 checklistsSep 1-7: 83 species on 5%+ of 30 checklistsSep 8-14: 94 species on 5%+ of 37 checklistsSep 15-21: 87 species on 5%+ of 31 checklistsSep 22-30: 93 species on 5%+ of 58 checklistsOct 1-7: 79 species on 5%+ of 37 checklistsOct 8-14: 76 species on 5%+ of 37 checklistsOct 15-21: 62 species on 5%+ of 61 checklistsOct 22-31: 65 species on 5%+ of 75 checklistsNov 1-7: 48 species on 5%+ of 52 checklistsNov 8-14: 45 species on 5%+ of 42 checklistsNov 15-21: 35 species on 5%+ of 47 checklistsNov 22-30: 36 species on 5%+ of 65 checklistsDec 1-7: 31 species on 5%+ of 27 checklistsDec 8-14: 32 species on 5%+ of 31 checklistsDec 15-21: 26 species on 5%+ of 26 checklistsDec 22-31: 35 species on 5%+ of 40 checklistsJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Number of species reported on at least 5% of complete checklists, by week (4 per month). Grey bars: fewer than 10 checklists, not counted.

In November: what to expect

  1. 1American Tree Sparrow50%
  2. 2Red-breasted Merganser48%
  3. 3Blue Jay46%
  4. 4American Herring Gull46%
  5. 5Canada Goose38%
  6. 6Dark-eyed Junco36%
  7. 7American Goldfinch35%
  8. 8Black-capped Chickadee35%
  9. 9Hooded Merganser29%
  10. 10Ring-billed Gull26%
  11. 11Red-bellied Woodpecker25%
  12. 12Red-tailed Hawk25%
  13. 13Mallard24%
  14. 14Northern Cardinal21%
  15. 15Downy Woodpecker20%

Share of complete checklists at this spot that reported the bird in November. The sparkline is the whole year, with this month highlighted.

Season by season

Winter 30 species

  1. Red-breasted Merganser50%
  2. American Herring Gull43%
  3. Common Goldeneye43%
  4. American Tree Sparrow42%
  5. Canada Goose38%

Spring 117 species

  1. Red-winged Blackbird88%
  2. American Robin83%
  3. Canada Goose75%
  4. Song Sparrow69%
  5. Tree Swallow67%

Summer 79 species

  1. American Goldfinch85%
  2. Barn Swallow80%
  3. Red-winged Blackbird77%
  4. Mourning Dove76%
  5. American Robin75%

Fall 82 species

  1. Blue Jay64%
  2. American Goldfinch62%
  3. Black-capped Chickadee51%
  4. American Herring Gull43%
  5. Canada Goose42%

Specialties

Birds reported far more often here than across Illinois.

  • Virginia Rail5.5% of checklists here vs 0.4% statewide: 14.6×
  • Sedge Wren12% of checklists here vs 1.0% statewide: 12.0×
  • Orchard Oriole18% of checklists here vs 2.4% statewide: 7.5×
  • Willow Flycatcher15% of checklists here vs 2.0% statewide: 7.5×
  • Sora8.6% of checklists here vs 1.2% statewide: 7.0×
  • Merlin5.1% of checklists here vs 0.7% statewide: 7.0×
  • Sandhill Crane30% of checklists here vs 4.4% statewide: 6.9×
  • Marsh Wren11% of checklists here vs 1.7% statewide: 6.7×

Nearby spots

Frequency is the share of complete checklists at this location that listed the bird, 2016–2025. Busy places report more of everything, and the weekly chart counts species on at least 5% of checklists so a few stray reports do not inflate it. How to read it.