I determined it too cold to go for a walk today, so the best I could manage was to go out in the yard to hang feeders and then return a bit later to take a few photos if the birds would put up with me standing there. As it turns out, the American Goldfinches are most used to this.
I did spot one of the Dark-eyed Juncos that’s been hanging out for months under the sunflower seed feeder in the middle of the yard. Earlier through the kitchen windows I saw a male Northern Cardinal and later, a Blue Jay, but they were no longer available. I’ll have to wait for better weather.
I discovered some older photos on the card that I had taken with that camera, but they weren’t fit for publishing, except for some captures from August 16, 2025, that remind me of what’s possible come summer.
Google identifies this as a Red-legged Grasshopper. I was delighted to find it on the stalk of a Common Milkweed in the front yard.
The bees were crazy for the Cup Plant flowers last summer.
Two flies caught my attention that day: a Common Flesh Fly and a Common Green Bottle Fly. They were both on unopened blooms of the Tall Ironweed.
The Tall Ironweed was just starting to bloom along with the goldenrod by the back porch steps (photo below). Although this is one of my favorite color combinations in late August and September, I will have to tame the patch this year if I want to grow any chiles. I’ve already pre-ordered my chile plants, so I will have my work cut out for me.
The idea of digging in the yard was very attractive while sitting here on the futon writing this earlier in long underwear and heavy socks. The birds encouraged me to get up and play piano and serve them an evening snack. I’m warmer now, but the day is gone. Does it feel different yet, this 2026? Somewhere, something is turning over.
With only a day left in the year, I thought I could at least get back to what was left from November, starting on 11-5 in Riverside. A view of the swinging bridge, a Belted Kingfisher in flight over the Des Plaines River, and an American Robin near the shore.
Looking in the other direction on 11-7 in Riverside, when the leaves finally got around to changing on the trees, they turned mostly yellow. It was a sunny day for a Great Blue Heron and some Mallards.
Still in Riverside on 11-12, I saw a Red-tailed Hawk perched on a branch overlooking the river, and a lone Yellow-rumped Warbler.
Yellow-rumped Warbler
On 11-18 at the Chicago Portage, I found a young-looking Red-shouldered Hawk. I just noticed the House Finches directly behind it in the first photo.
A European Starling caught my eye. It was a very overcast day and I had to lighten these photos up considerably.
On 11-19 in Riverside, the bird of note was a Golden-crowned Kinglet.
Back at the Chicago Portage on 11-20, more fall-colored birds: an American Tree Sparrow, a Fox Sparrow and a Red-shouldered Hawk.
Then on 11-22 at the Chicago Portage, I had better light but obscured views of the Red-shouldered Hawk who also appears at the top of the post.
And another look at an American Tree Sparrow. I am accustomed to seeing greater numbers of these birds in the winter than I have so far.
On 11-24 in Riverside, I found a friendly White-throated Sparrow.
And yesterday morning, 12-30 at the Chicago Portage, I first watched the water trickling off the ice melt under the bridge near Harlem, walked all the way around the dirt trail to enjoy the distant view of the other bridge which always invites me to reflect on how it is totally obscured by vegetation from this distance in the summer months… and then as I approached that bridge, I found two Northern Cardinals, a Dark-eyed Junco and a White-throated Sparrow sampling grit on that bridge.
And then it seemed like American Robins were coming in from everywhere. Here are two of about 30 that I counted.
We had snow overnight, so I got up and did a little shoveling this morning, hung feeders in the backyard, came in to feed the indoor crowd, and then went for my Wednesday swim before the pool closed early. More snow is in the forecast this afternoon and early evening, although I don’t think we will have a lot of it. I haven’t decided yet whether I will go out for a walk on New Year’s Day. The forecast is for very cold and cloudy. But if the wind isn’t too awful, a walk might be just the thing to start another year.
And now, for something more completely different… it occurs to me that I haven’t posted any music in quite a while, so here is yesterday’s Evening Snack Music, warts and all, which, for all its flubs was at least a rather enthusiastic version, complete with participation from the birds who have now grown so used to it as they know their evening snack will soon follow. It’s a dressed-up or taken-down, depending on your point of view, version of the Prelude to J.S. Bach’s A Minor English Suite. Suffice it to say that it changes every day.
It’s been a long week or two, or so it seems, with this end of the year business. I have been obsessed with baking enough Cinnamon Oatmeal Raisin Breads to give to people who make me happy all year long, and after all the baking was done and most of the breads delivered, it’s kind of a letdown to not have any more to bake, although now that I am making progress eating my own loaf and receiving appreciative reviews, I look forward to doing it all over again next year.
Here’s the rest of what the end of December has been looking like, when I have managed to get out and walk. There are still a few days left in the year, but so far the weather forecast is not too promising. We are drenched in rain and fog today and anticipate a sprinkling of snow and a lot of wind tomorrow.
Going back to 12-16 at the Chicago Portage, when the snow was still on the ground…
A pair of Northern Cardinals can always light up the gloom.
An American Goldfinch and a Dark-eyed Junco, two birds I expect to see, and a Fox Sparrow which is a less-frequent visitor.
The camera spotted an American Robin flying away over the snow.
On 12-17 in Riverside, two Mallards were fighting over what I will never know.
I found another American Robin in flight by the edge of the water, and then European Starlings bathing.
Here’s another view of a Dark-eyed Junco that pretty much gives away its identity this time of year: the splash of white in the tail.
And I saw a Muskrat on the river near the swinging bridge, which makes me think I may have mistaken it for a beaver the week before.
I joined Steve and Joann for the Christmas Bird Count on 12/21 in Columbus Park. There weren’t a lot of birds to photograph by the time I got there, but right before we left, four crows drew our attention to a Red-tailed Hawk. I managed the photos below and the one at the top of the post just as we got close enough to confirm the hawk’s identity.
The next morning in Riverside I encountered a rather large flock of House Finches buried in the bushy growth by the river bank. They soon took off after I managed to zoom in on a couple.
Downy Woodpeckers have been pretty consistent.
The two Mallards below were peaceful enough.
I am always drawn to Common Milkweed seedpods in winter.
And yesterday at the Portage, the snow was gone, but ice was returning.
I was pleased to see a Brown Creeper, even though I couldn’t get a very good picture of it,
I thought this little scene sums it up: an American Robin looking on as I was looking at two Downy Woodpeckers.
I am evaluating my options for a stuck-inside day. I’m thinking of cooking if my indoor crowd will let me monopolize the kitchen. They seemed to be rather active earlier, in between downpours, but it just got very dark in here and we’ve had a burst of thunder and lightning. I will reluctantly turn on the lights after receiving my latest electric bill this morning. I hope your holidays are going well, and I wish you a calm and loving start to the New Year.
Poking around in the snow, Monday morning in Riverside, Tuesday morning at the Chicago Portage, back to Riverside on Thursday and Friday back at the Chicago Portage…enveloped in silence with very few humans and hardly any birds… so every individual stood out as extraordinary. Before I take us further back in time to when everything was livelier, I am reporting the week’s creatures.
Downy Woodpecker
This is always a good time of year to see woodpeckers, when they stand out against the stark tree trunks and branches. Red-bellied Woodpeckers are quite consistent. Here’s a few more photos of the individual at the top of the post.
Tuesday at the Chicago Portage, I decided to only walk the paved trail as the snow and ice was too much of a slog. In spite of the short distance, I managed to see a few birds.
American Tree Sparrow
I saw a couple White-throated Sparrows.
A Red Squirrel and two White-tailed Deer were available.
And I managed to get a distant view of the Red-shouldered Hawk that I’ve seen here lately.
Wednesday’s forecast for a walk was prohibitive, so I only went swimming. Then on Thursday, I decided to visit Riverside, where the only creature of note was a beaver I saw swimming in the river while I was standing on the swinging bridge. It swam to the shore line and had a bite to eat before swimming back out again. For what it’s worth, there have been some Mallards and Canada Geese in the river, but no other ducks yet, and the water level is still rather low.
On Friday at the Chicago Portage, I saw a few American Robins.
An American Tree Sparrow perched over the trail.
I saw a Fox Sparrow, but it stayed well-hidden from my lens.
This time of year is also a great opportunity to see Northern Cardinals in the snow.
And there were three deer down the trail.
After going out in the yard yesterday morning to fill and hang feeders, I determined it was too cold and gloomy to go for a walk. While I missed taking the walk for mental and physical clarity, I had enough things to do indoors to keep me busy. I’m now gearing up for this morning’s challenge of getting to choir at 0 degrees Fahrenheit. I just came in from hanging feeders in the backyard. There is no noticeable wind, but the forecast says it feels like -18.
Tomorrow I will likely start baking loaves of Cinnamon Oatmeal Raisin Bread, which I can easily store on the porch. I can bake four loaves at a time, and between the inclement weather and a growing bread list, I can’t think of a finer way to close out the year.
I don’t have much to show for the last week, but since snow seems to be the dominant feature this winter and will be continuing, I may as well pay a little attention to it. I went for a walk after the first accumulation in Riverside. A Downy Woodpecker was on the paved trail, investigating some sort of nut that he couldn’t crack open. I think he was hoping I could help out, but I was useless when I tried stepping on it and nothing happened…
I noticed two Mourning Doves and started to take their picture when an American Robin tried to get in as well.
The Song Sparrow at the top of the post was foraging in the snow.
Canada Geese were gathering in the Des Plaines River, which is still pretty low.
On December 2, I took a walk around the Chicago Portage, sticking to the paved trail areas.
I found a white-breasted Nuthatch and a White-throated Sparrow.
A Red-shouldered Hawk flew by.
And a Northern Cardinal showed up at the parking lot.
The next day in Riverside I saw the tagged Canada Goose 21N.
A female Northern Cardinal blended in with her surroundings.
A distant Merlin flew over the river.
And a White-throated Sparrow foraged in a thicket.
Snow and cold continues. I had to shovel and unbury my car yesterday morning before driving off to Unity Temple to sing in the choir. It was so cold in the sanctuary, many of us were wearing coats when not performing. But it was a service so worth doing. We sang “Song of the Earth” by Craig Hella Johnson and it was a moving experience to be part of. It was a service welcoming new members, which is always a happy occasion. Conversely, the theme this week was how hard it is to find and hold onto hope. It’s as if we are in the cold and dark spiritually as well as physically. We have to continue poking around, shoveling the snow and stirring up the leaves.
Two parting shots from a cold, snow-filled walk in Jackson Park Saturday morning. I will try to show up more often…now that I’m snow-broken.
It seemed only fitting to usher in our first snowstorm in years with a Snowy Owl. A couple of these enigmatic creatures have been gracing the Chicago lakefront the past few weeks, and I hoped to see them last Wednesday when I joined my friends on a Chicago Bird Alliance walk at the Montrose Bird Sanctuary.
We first walked out toward the pier where the owls had been seen frequently. Eventually we located one owl sitting distantly on the sand in a corner of the beach. We walked back around to see it closer from the other side. It turned out to be a young female, who tolerated our binoculars and lenses from a more reasonable distance for us.
Some of the other birds seen that morning were Red-breasted Mergansers.
A female American Kestrel struggled to keep her balance in the wind.
A Northern Harrier flew by.
On Thursday, Thanksgiving Day, I first heard Sandhill Cranes flying over when I went out on my back porch briefly, but did not see them until I stepped out later in the afternoon. A small group flew overhead, then joined two or three other groups as I saw them disappear into the distance.
Then on Friday, in Riverside, I saw only a few birds. House Sparrows were in the vegetation by the Hofmann Tower.
Mallards have been on the Des Plaines River, to be expected. But it’s sometimes hard to resist the shiny green head of a drake in the sunlight.
I encountered a couple active Golden-crowned Kinglets.
American Robins have been abundant by the river. I decided to engage with this one.
This morning, after it snowed all day and overnight – I am estimating a foot if not more – this was the view from my back porch with my cell phone after I hung a couple feeders. There must have been 150 House Sparrows, if not more.
I decided to roast the purple sweet potatoes I had purchased last week with red onions, mint and some Rogan Josh seasoning. Perhaps it resembles fallen leaves… I’m looking forward to having some for dinner later. The colder weather makes it a lot easier to spend time in the kitchen.
I shoveled snow three times yesterday and went to bed pretty sore, but I woke up feeling fine this morning and did a little more snow cleanup, including unburying my car. There is more snow in the forecast this week. I shouldn’t complain, after the drought conditions we have endured. But we’re in for some single-digit cold. Time for us all to fluff out our down feathers.
While I have a big project restoring posts from 2016 – more about that later – I may as well get caught up a bit with the morning walks in November before the month is gone. These are a few observations from the Chicago Portage on November 4, 6 and 13.
There were still plenty of leaves on the trees on November 4, and the colors were muted at best. But I like to see how this view from the bridge near Harlem changes over the seasons.
Dark-eyed Juncos had definitely arrived for the winter.
It was still possible to see Red-winged Blackbirds.
European Starlings were starting to gather in numbers.
Black-capped Chickadees are with us all year round.
A Downy Woodpecker took off.
A White-throated Sparrow posed nicely.
On November 6, I first saw an American Goldfinch.
Then I encountered the Golden-crowned Kinglet at the top of the post.
The only other bird I managed to photograph that morning was a backlit White-breasted Nuthatch.
On November 13, this American Robin made me smile.
I took photos of some far-away birds and discovered later they were Rusty Blackbirds.
A couple Fox Sparrows showed up.
And a female Northern Cardinal negotiated the baring branches.
I am starting to see Fox Squirrels more this year. It seems to me that it’s been a while.
And the last bird I tried to see better was a distant American Tree Sparrow.
So now I am beginning to understand what happened to all those “Unattached” photos. They weren’t exactly unattached, but because I uploaded them all to my media library first and then put them into posts, they apparently assumed some kind of neither-here-nor-there and thus “unattached” limbo status. Suffice it to say that I enthusiastically removed way too many photos, rendering several posts from 2016 totally empty, except for a little text here and there. So my project is to locate the original attachments and replace them by uploading them directly into those posts using the newer software, of course, that I suspect caused this whole fiasco. I have determined what’s on my external hard drives. It’s sort of fun to revisit the photos, especially those I took in my more far-flung birding travels. After I’m done with reconstituting older posts, the space problem and the remaining unattached items will have to be addressed as well. A sobering thought, but maybe better to deal with during the winter months. Another good excuse for not writing my book.
As promised, here are a few photos previously unattached to any posts, although I seriously suspect that other versions appear in various earlier posts. I just found these worth repeating as I am now finding them again.
The bird at the top of the post is a Townsend’s Solitaire I saw it in New Mexico in 2012.
For all the Ruby-crowned Kinglets I have photographed without their ruby crowns, I felt it was worth sharing this one. This one from April 22, 2014 taken at Lake Shore East Park, which I used to frequent when I worked downtown in Chicago.
Then I took too many photos on October 16, 2014, of a Harris’s Sparrow that was in Lurie Garden.
I had a Kentucky Warbler in 2014, also likely at Lake Shore East Park.
I couldn’t resist adding this American Crow shot. I spent years hanging out with the Crows on my lunch hour.
This rainbow was somewhere in Central or South America on February 26, 2015. The bird is a Magnificent Frigatebird.
Then there was a Townsend’s Solitaire in Millennium Park on April 28, 2016.
And on June 26, 2016, I saw a Yellow-headed Blackbird at the Gooselake Natural Area when the water levels were better.
And last for now, a little video of some Leaf Cutter Ants from one of my tropical trips.
By publishing this post, these items are no longer “unattached.” I have many more such items to go through, which will likely inspire another post sometime in the not-too-distant future. If nothing else, I am now curious to find the original photos sometime wherever they reside on external hard drives. They might be worth looking at while I enter my old trip lists into eBird. It never ends…
Here’s a little roundup of a few places I’ve been the last couple of months that are only slightly off my beaten track.
The last Oak Park Migration Bird Walk in the fall was at Thatcher Woods on October 11. I didn’t get a lot of photos, but I am taking this opportunity to note the presence of a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker and an Eastern Bluebird.
The next day, I joined Steve and Joann on a Chicago Bird Alliance walk at Steelworkers Park on the south side of the lakefront. The land has been reclaimed from industry, thus the name. We soon found a Blue-headed Vireo.
A Red-breasted Nuthatch was also available.
And I took a look at a Swamp Sparrow.
There were other birds too far away to photograph adequately. Maybe next time… After Steelworkers, the three of us went to nearby Rainbow Beach, which I have heard about for years but never visited. I was immediately attracted to the grasses and flowering plants that grow in the sand dunes.
We saw a Common Buyckeye butterfly, which prefers this habitat. That could explain why I had never seen one up until now. I look forward to revisiting this place.
Then, on a whim, I visited McGinnis Slough on November 12. I arrived rather late in the morning and didn’t know what to expect. After taking ample time putting on my binoculars and strapping the camera on my shoulder for my usual perusal routine, I walked toward the center area that juts out from the parking lot and was immediately greeted by a small flock of Rusty Blackbirds. They didn’t stay long, but I managed a couple photos and I was glad, after having Rusties evade me for a couple weeks.
Out on the biggest stretch of the slough, a distant gathering of Great Egrets and Great Blue Herons was taking place. Notice they’re standing up in the middle of the deepest part. Water levels have been low for a long time.
Then on November 15, Chicago Bird Alliance hosted a walk at Thatcher Woods and we decided to attend. We walked in the opposite direction from where we normally conduct the Oak Park walks, so it was interesting to me to see more of Thatcher.
Des Plaines River
We saw a White-breasted Nuthatch well.
A Red-bellied Woodpecker took off from the tree where I had been watching it.
A beautiful Eastern Phoebe was busy still finding insects to catch and eat. This is the same bird at the top of the post.
A Black-capped Chickadee was busy cracking open a seed.
The Brown Creeper below was rather far away, but I got clear views.
We saw some White-throated Sparrows.
I liked the way this Dark-eyed Junco looked among the spent boneset seeds.
A Red-tailed Hawk flew overhead.
Toward the end of the walk, we parked by the river bank to watch Cedar Waxwings and other birds foraging and bathing on the other side.
The birds were rather far away and the light was poor, so I didn’t know until I got home that one of the birds we thought was a House Finch actually turned out to be a Pine Siskin.
Joanne spotted a Rusty Blackbird foraging along the river bank, and I finally located it after several tries to see the bird in the leaves.
In addition to more recent recaps, I will be back soon with the first of perhaps a few posts of previously “unattached” photos which I am now slowly but surely deleting from my media stash on WordPress. They date back to the earliest years of this blog project when I didn’t know what I was doing, uploaded photos randomly and gave no thought to how much space I was using… until I was politely threatened by WordPress a week or so ago that I was running out of space. Given the continuing saga of digital photography and what-do-you-do-with-all-those-photographs, I should not have been surprised. The positive side of freeing up some space is that I have been taking a trip down memory lane, so to speak. It has been entertaining to see a lot of the old photos, from trips I took to other countries to rare birds showing up on the lakefront. To be continued…
I had to make room for some photos from yesterday, so I am skipping back a bit to early October in Riverside before I banish these photos to external storage, which in the long run is likely nothing more than another type of clutter. But when you can’t see it piled up it’s easier to ignore. And some of these photos seemed just too pleasing to look at before I send them off to organized oblivion.
On October 1, it was still common to see Great Egrets and Great Blue Herons on the river.
A Bald Eagle was sitting perched south of the swinging bridge.
In Riverside Lawn, I found a Carolina Wren
A couple White-throated Sparrows emerged from the leaves.
And not surprisingly, I saw a Yellow-rumped Warbler. Perhaps the surprise was actually seeing its yellow rump.
I caught glimpses of a Black-throated Green Warbler.
It has been a good year to see Chestnut-sided Warblers.
I found a Tennessee Warbler as well.
And another Yellow-rumped Warbler.
Two days later, it was more of the same, but somewhat different. A Killdeer was bathing on the rocks by the no longer existent dam.
A Great Blue Heron was stretching by the wall.
I saw a Blue-headed Vireo that morning.
I also got some decent looks at a Northern Parula.
A Great Egret was still in the reflection of the water.
A Red-tailed Hawk flew in by the bridge and landed on a favorite raptor perch
In Riverside Lawn, I saw this Magnolia Warbler, which is also at the top of the post.
I got several looks at a Nashville Warbler.
And I found a Blackpoll Warbler as well.
I had an engaged Ruby-crowned Kinglet.
And a second Great Blue Heron gave me the eye.
After a very pleasant little warmup the last two days, the weather has returned to more seasonal temperatures. The leaves are falling off the trees at a more rapid rate, and winds are blowing from the north. I tried to stay out longer with hopes of catching some Sandhill Cranes migrating, but in spite of the sunshine, it was simply too chilly. It was a good day for baking another loaf of banana bread. I’ll be back soon with some more recent sightings.
