Right in My Own Backyard

Ruby-Crowned Kinglet, LaBagh Woods

Ruby-Crowned Kinglet, LaBagh Woods

Thanks to all for the good wishes as I set out for Texas with the rest of the Four Elles. I am back, but still succumbing to Migration Madness.

The weather was too good this weekend to sit around in front of the computer, so I paid attention to spring migration and went birding Saturday and Sunday…only to spend hours Sunday evening clearing space on my hard drive so I could download the weekend’s pictures. I will get back to the pictures from the Texas trip which will fill several posts, but it will take a little while longer.

Chicago Portage 5-3-14

Chicago Portage 5-3-14

In this brief post I am featuring what seem to be the most numerous species this spring. Every year is different, and you never know which species will seem omnipresent. So I began Saturday morning at the Chicago Portage.

Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher, Chicago Portage

Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher, Chicago Portage

Blue-Gray Gnatcatchers seemed to be everywhere. There were also numerous Ruby-Crowned Kinglets, Palm Warblers and more predictably, Yellow-Rumped Warblers. I then moved on to Ottawa Trail Woods. (More about that experience in a subsequent post.)

Ottawa Trail Woods

Ottawa Trail Woods

Very much the same situation there bird-wise, at least with Palm Warblers and American Goldfinches. These pictures are individuals from the Portage, but the two areas are right next to each other, and I had plenty of these birds at Ottawa Trail too. More about that experience in a later post, perhaps.

Palm Warbler

Palm Warbler

American Goldfinch

American Goldfinch

Yesterday morning I went to LaBagh Woods, which is a little over half an hour away. I am determined to drive more now that I have the new car, in part because the car needs its exercise too. Noticed yesterday that it is so quiet I have to be sure squirrels in the road see me…

LaBagh Woods

LaBagh Woods

LaBagh was covered with little yellow flowers underfoot. I have to figure these out as I have some in my backyard too. Whatever it is, this year’s crazy weather seems to have provided perfect conditions for it.

Black-Throated Green Warbler

Black-Throated Green Warbler

In addition to scores of Ruby-Crowned Kinglets and Blue-Gray Gnatcatchers, LaBagh had incredible numbers of Black-Throated Green and Black-and-White Warblers.

Black-and-White Warbler

Black-and-White Warbler

There was a Clay-Colored Sparrow at LaBagh hanging out with three Chipping Sparrows, but I did not get the camera on it. Then later in the afternoon I looked out the kitchen window and saw a Clay-Colored Sparrow foraging in my not-yet-planted vegetable patch. I grabbed the camera and took some awful pictures through the windows, then went outside a few moments later and sat for half an hour or so, until I managed to get a few clearer photos, like the one below. This is a new bird for my yard!

Clay-Colored Sparrow

Clay-Colored Sparrow

The week promises to be insane but I will try to be back soon. More to come from destinations both near and far.

11 thoughts on “Right in My Own Backyard

  1. love them all. especially the Ruby-crowned Kinglet..and the comp on the Clay Colored Sparrow..you did so well with all of them…Nature at its best..

    • Why thank you, Syl! The Clay-Colored picked his own composition, funny, that’s my disorganized backyard. But I’ll take credit if you insist. 🙂

    • Thanks! Yeah, I rarely see the ruby crown on these guys but I think safety in numbers came into play, this guy loosened up a bit and I got lucky. As for the black-and-white, the New York Times featured a picture of the same bird for a little story on migration in the city parks.

  2. You’ve probably figured out by now, but your photo came up in a google search, so: the little yellow flowers are the invasive species lesser celandine, Ficaria verna. It is actively being managed along the north branch.

    • Hi, and thanks for your comment and for finding my blog. After much searching I did determine it was lesser celadine and it’s monstrous to remove, I feel like I’m likely spreading it around, but I can’t do a controlled burn in my yard so it gives me an outlet for my repressed aggression…and this past weekend gave me an opportunity to hang out with the White-Crowned Sparrows in my yard.

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