Larry Balch, Barbara and I spent 4 hours in northwest Winnebago County this morning.  Highlights included:  7 Trumpeter Swans at the Howard Farm on IL 70 between Rockford and Durand (1 had a yellow neck band with black letters, which, I believe, is from the Wisconsin project);  over 600 White-fronted Geese and 1 Ross’s Goose at the same place (only 75 or so were hanging out with the swans when we first arrived, but a Bald Eagle flew over in the distant south and put hundreds of waterfowl and Sandhill Cranes into the air–many of the White-fronts came toward us and landed with the swans–the Ross’s Goose and about half of the White-fronts went further east). Howard Farm also had 17 Hooded Mergansers in a farm pond behind the white barn at the red gate.
 
More White-fronted Geese (73) and several Cackling Geese were in a flooded field at the very east end of Moody Road, which is east of the Moody/Blodgett road intersection, west of Rockton;  that area including Nygren Wetlands, also had 5 Black Ducks along Meridian Road north of IL 75, 35 Hooded Mergansers, Common Mergansers (21) and Red-breasted Merganser (1) (all 3 species of mergs at Nygren Wetlands), and a smattering of puddle ducks (Am. Wigeon, N. Pintail, N. Shoveler, Wood Ducks) here and there.  

A Red-shouldered Hawk was calling and flying just west of the bridge over the Sugar River on Winslow Road.