Poking Around the Portage

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Several days ago, before the -20 F. windchills – it was possible to go for a walk and see a few birds or other creatures at the Chicago Portage. I returned this morning when it was a balmy 10 degrees. The sun was shining brightly and there was less wind than yesterday, but it was still awfully cold. Somehow the cold is making everything else worse, as difficult as that might be to comprehend. But here we are.

January 6 was the last time I saw a number of sparrows. Below: a Song Sparrow and an American Tree Sparrow.

I was delighted to see – and hear – a Winter Wren. Although the wren was quite far away, I managed to get a couple reasonable photos of such a small bird.

The Red-shouldered Hawk was around that day.

At least Northern Cardinals have been pretty consistent.

A muskrat made an appearance.

On the same day, the sun hid behind the clouds at one point.

American Goldfinches were about. As happy as I am to see them in my yard, I’m glad they were at the Portage too.

Two days later, no birds to photograph, but a muskrat and an opossum. I haven’t seen an opossum here before,

Then on January 11, only one bird stood out, however distantly, for a photograph: a male Belted Kingfisher.

On January 13, I photographed only a Dark-eyed Junco. But I was attracted to the water runoff underneath the bridge closer to Harlem. That day was particularly warm.

After that we started to get cold. And this morning, I heard and saw only a few species, and was able to capture just one male Northern Cardinal while I was wearing heavier gloves. We had some snow two nights ago. We are promised some more, and temperatures will be even colder this weekend.

So now we are warming up enough to fulfill tne snowy forecast overnight and into tomorrow morning. I will at least be getting some exercise shoveling my walks. I’m also starting to write a little music inspired by my indoor birds. Anything to take my mind off…

Last Week on the River

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It’s turned really quiet over the last few days with hardly any birds to see or hear anywhere. All the robins disappeared and seem to have taken nearly everybody else with them. So I am here with photos from last week on the Des Plaines River, when there were still birds to be found.

In Riverside on January 5, more ice sculpture. These resemble trivets to me.

A Northern Flicker and two Mourning Doves made brief, calm appearances.

I decided to walk further along the river from the paved trail. as it was a nice day and I had heard about some Common Goldeneye in that direction. A Herring Gull passed by me with something quite substantial in its bill that I can’t identify.

Then I saw a Bald Eagle across the river.

I did find six Common Goldeneye closer to the bridge at Ogden Avenue. Only five fit into the photo below, but the renegade who was swimming far in front of them is at the top of the post.

I found some fungus in the wooded area where I was now on a dirt trail.

I also found a Brown Creeper. I’m thinking this extended walk is definitely going to be on my agenda come spring migration.

I took a look back at the swinging bridge and decided it had definitely been worth the extra distance.

As it turned out, I encountered only a Downy Woodpecker on my way back through Riverside Lawn.

Two days later, back in Riverside, I was surprised to see a Great Blue Heron standing in the river. It was a few degrees warmer that day.

I decided not to walk all the way down, but instead took a view of the bridge at Ogden.

I did see a couple of Common Goldeneye close enough.

I’ll be back with a few observations from the Chicago Portage, again before everything got so quiet. We are enjoying a brief warmup today before we plunge into single digits and below by the end of the week. Thanks for stopping by.

January Two, Three and Four

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Three more days into the year, I embraced walking on icy trails, struggling to focus a heavy lens with gloves on. It wasn’t all bad. There were still birds.

On January 2, I was in Riverside. and I found myself attracted to an Ice chandelier hanging low over the water.

A Red-shouldered Hawk was sitting in a tree.

Northern Cardinals brightened up the bare branches.

And then that evening, I found the moon irresistible so I stepped outside to take a few photos.

On January 3, I went to the Chicago Portage. It was intensely quiet on the trail walking in, so I decided to check out the Des Plaines River and I found some Common Mergansers there.

I walked around to the train tracks and the railroad bridge to see if I could get a better look at the Mergansers, but the only photos I took were of the tracks themselves and of what looked like some burdock seedpods wedged in the rocks between the ballasts on the tracks.

On my way back to the trail, I saw two Bald Eagles flying in the distance.

Then, I started to find the birds, among them this Downy Woodpecker and a Red-winged Blackbird.

I have seen White-throated Sparrows fairly often this winter.

I spotted a Red-bellied Woodpecker. I’ve heard these birds more often than I’ve seen them. There were also an American Tree Sparrow and two American Goldfinches that were not in my backyard.

Here’s a White-breasted Nuthatch.

And there were also several Dark-eyed Juncos. I imagine it’s a good time of year to be a black and white or gray bird.

Jan 4 was.a Sunday that I didn’t have to sing, so I decided to do something a little different and visit the Little Red Schoolhouse Forest Preserve. I was delighted to see three Eastern Tufted Titmouse at the feeders, or Titmice if “three mouse” hurts your ears. One of these is also at the top of the post. I was so thrilled to see them, I didn’t manage to record their lovely vocalizations, some of which I don’t recall hearing before. I will have to try to go back again and record them.

Blue Jays were everywhere and not a bit shy about it. I guess the feeder birds in these locations are just used to the extra attention.

I walked the Black Oak Trail which is about a mile and three-quarters. The adjacent slough was frozen over, so there were no waterfowl. But in the woods, there were two, maybe three Red-headed Woodpeckers. The first one I saw still had a little juvenile plumage.

Just as I was finishing the trail, I spotted an Eastern Bluebird in the distance, and the Red-tailed Hawk that I had heard earlier.

I’ll finish with a handsome White-throated Sparrow.

I’ll try to be back soon. I had some nice surprises the past week, before the weather rolled the dice.

New Year’s Day – Briefly

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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.

November Leftovers and Yesterday

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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.

Evening Snack Music 12-30-25

Winding Down with the Holidays

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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.

More Winter Weather, Briefly

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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.

Snow and Cold

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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.

A distant beaver
Clarence Darrow Memorial Bridge

Prelude to a Snowstorm

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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.

November at the Chicago Portage – Part I

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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.