I keep trying to get through all the pictures from Colombia and identify everybody who’s recognizable, but life keeps getting in the way…further complicated by signs of spring. Like the Belted Kingfisher above. He seems to have made the stripped-down Chicago Portage his summer home. I have seen him two weekends in a row.
These pictures were all taken last weekend. I went to McGinnis Slough and the Chicago Portage on Sunday because the weather was reasonable. We’ve been otherwise chilled by northerly wind blasts all week, even going down to freezing one night, I forget which, I only remember having to dump the ice out of the bird baths because I had already unplugged them.

Gadwall – check out the one that’s dabbling – if this is the only part of the bird I see next time I’ll know it’s a Gadwall!
Not a lot to photograph at the Slough, most everyone was too far away in the water, but it was nice to hear Soras calling, and to count eleven Great Blue Herons and a lot of Gadwall.
Also nice to see a Caspian Tern. But perhaps the biggest surprise was a deer making its way across the smaller part of the slough, which I guess gives an idea of how not very deep it is. Below the deer is a Double-Crested Cormorant drying out after a dive.
Something else I don’t know if I’ve ever seen well before – the “ring” on a Ring-Necked Duck’s neck. Click on the picture to see what I mean.
Not a lot different happening at the Portage yet… I could have had a substantial turtle count.
Brown Creepers are always a surprise for some reason.
And this Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher was cooperative as long as he felt hidden behind the twigs, which he certainly was.
Caught the Kingfisher taking a break.
Female Red-Winged Blackbirds are starting to arrive, but I don’t have a picture of one from last weekend, so I’m just including this guy-bird again.
As far as the Life List Project goes (this proved to be a Major Distraction!), I still have a few more checklists to locate, but at the moment the count is 1,942. I’m trying to count only birds I have seen, so a lot of those Tinamous, Tapaculos and Rails aren’t making it onto my list. But there are also a few species that are not on the app, as hard as I have tried to find them under other common names, so I don’t know if that’s because they’ve been reclassified or split or lumped or what, but in general having the list will probably come in handy on my next far-flung trip and maybe even motivate me to pay more attention. Who knows, if I had time to go through all my pictures from all my trips again I might find even more species… I guess I save that distraction for when I can’t travel anymore. 🙂
A bunch of great photos, Lisa. I am still looking for a Wood Duck to get a nice shot. I love your shot of the in-flight Belted Kingfisher. I have difficulty with getting those birds in flight also.
Thanks Bob! I was still using my setup from Colombia but I might have to abandon it, I don’t know if it’s the extender or if my camera needs tweaking or what. So I felt really lucky to get the little guy. 🙂
Nice photos Lisa! You’re multitasking to the extreme! 🙂
Thanks for your encouraging words, H.J.! I was having some technical difficulties Sunday but they didn’t stop me. 🙂
How lovely to be able to catch a kingfisher in flight. I have hardly ever seen one in flight or at rest.
Thank you. Yes, it was serendipitous to have him close enough and I am sure related to the lack of foliage and sparser tree coverage. I think he’s claimed his territory.
The fly so fast that any shot in flight is really good.
Flattery will get you everywhere (to quote my mother).
Haha, you have quite the to-do list for all that spare time you have! Glad you’ve been getting out, picture sorting and photo posting can always wait for those 90+ degree weekends!
Funny. Cold dreary weather didn’t seem to do the trick! It was 80 degrees yesterday. I nearly died from the shock of it. Hastily planted a victory garden with seeds…