Chicago Portage 3-23-2014
Not quite “As The World Turns” — but the passage of time lately seems about as slowly evolving as a soap opera. And it did snow last night. But there are still signs of spring,
Song Sparrow on the sidewalk at 155 N. Wacker on 3-20-14
Not all the signs of spring are inspiring, such as finding my first dead migrant, the Song Sparrow above, on the sidewalk, but for the most part, there is cause for celebration.
Northern Cardinal, Millennium Park
The first fragile days of spring are upon us and while winter has not yet loosened its grip, the birds are arriving and getting down to business, claiming their territories for nesting. The days are getting longer and the wait for warmer weather is nearly over. I hope.
Red-Winged Blackbird
My first-of-year (FOY) Red-Winged Blackbird (in Illinois) was last Thursday, the same day I found the Song Sparrow, and the same location, 155 N. Wacker. But the bird was backlit and light was poor, so I waited until I went out Sunday to photograph this RWBB at the Portage, where he was joined by at least a dozen more males setting up their territories. A song sample is below.
Chicago Portage 3-23-14
All I could see was frozen water, but several pair of Canada Geese saw nesting spots. The pair below, in particular, proclaimed their territory quite loudly. You can hear them by clicking the arrow below the picture.
Canada Geese
Red-Bellied Woodpecker
Common Grackle
Adding to predictable spring arrivals, the Red-Bellied Woodpecker (although Red-Bellieds have wintered here for the most part) at the Portage on Sunday and the Common Grackle at Millennium Park on Friday.
American Crow
Crows have been here all winter too, of course, but they seem to have a little more spring in their flight.
American Crow with peanut
Even the commonest Rock Pigeon is all decked out for rebirth. I learned to tell Blue Bars from other color morphs years ago when I tried to monitor Chicago Loop Pigeons for Cornell’s citizen science project. But I found it hard to keep up with them, and then the crows distracted me…
Blue Bar Rock Pigeon
Here’s our noisiest goose couple again. I like the way everything seems to be leaning to the right…
I hope to be back with more from Belize very soon.
It’s amazing the rebirth of the new Season, isn’t it? The cycle of Nature continues. Nice shots Lisa! 🙂
You sure made that Common Grackle look good. 🙂
All birds look good this time of year. Thanks. 🙂
You are right about that. 🙂
Love the Geese..we have them nesting near our house..also the Red-bellied Woodpecker adds just the touch of color to remind us spring is here..great job…
Thanks, Syl! It’s been hard to find color almost anywhere, even the Little Brown Jobs look a little drabber than they’d like to, but I think we will appreciate spring more this year than usual when it finally gets here (and to think we were complaining because it was too soon last year…).
The noisy geese shot was a treat.
Thank you. I just got a kick of them announcing themselves like that. The pair that shows up on the Chicago River every year put in the same performance last week so I guess it’s tradition.
Delightful sights and sounds.