
Great Horned Owl on nest, Salt Creek Forest Preserve, Cook County
I started writing this post on March 1. WFMT’s Carl Grapentine kicked off March 1’s morning program by playing, what else? Various marches. I was just getting over February.
The end of February was sufficiently balmy to lock it into the record books with January as being the first time both months went without snow in Chicago.
I birded with my friend Susan last Sunday. We went to Bemis Woods South and the Salt Creek Forest Preserve. It was so quiet I didn’t bother to do a list. We were about to give up on the Salt Creek portion when a man walking in the opposite direction told us to look for an owl, so we continued. The Great Horned Owl at the top of this post made the day. Its nest was easily seen from the trail, and it sat and watched as people went by.
Two more birds from Bemis below, a White-Breasted Nuthatch and Red-Bellied Woodpecker.
March came in like the proverbial lion, returning to chilly, windy temperatures. My reward for venturing out of the office last week was to see my first Yellow-Rumped Warbler in Millennium Park. Nothing rare, but an earliest first for me.
It’s a busy time of year for the birds, as they prepare for spring. Today I visited the Chicago Portage, and although by the time I got there the sunny start was disappearing, and the number of Canada Geese and Mallards was increasing, and there were some more unusual visitors in the air, like the Bald Eagle below with nesting material and a small flock of Sandhill Cranes. The Sandhills were oddly quiet.

The Bald Eagle was flying east, but I have no idea where the nest might be. That direction was industrial, with the Sanitary and Ship Canal.
Saw and heard my first male Red-Winged Blackbirds today at the Portage, where they have come to establish territories.
There were maybe 40 Mallards spread out wherever there was water, and 5 pair of Canada Geese were checking out nesting spots. I haven’t seen any banded geese this year.
Other than the Red-Winged Blackbirds there were very few passerines, with the exception of a few American Robins and European Starlings. I heard a Song Sparrow, Chickadees, Killdeer, and a couple Downy Woodpeckers were flitting about.
The last Downy Woodpecker I photographed was last week in Millennium Park.
Also present that day, a couple Northern Cardinals and the White-Throated Sparrows who literally yelled their calls from the bushes when they saw me approach our favorite spot.
More Portage views…
I hope to be back once more if possible, with an update on my indoor crowd – before I leave for a quick trip to Panama. I’ve been planning this trip for months and unbelievably, all of a sudden it’s here.
Thanks to you all for checking in. Until next time… Peace and Think Spring.
Hello stranger! I imagined that you would be somewhere in Southern Madagascar or perhaps back to the Galapagos Island. I see that you have found the “usual suspects” in Salt Creek. Our weather is wacky also, we have days that are so bright and warm and others back to winter cold and gray. I have more birds to feed now since many are back from migration. It’s nice to hear from you Lisa! 🙂
Hi, H.J.! Sorry I’ve been distant, not trying to be strange, it’s just been a combination of things and I haven’t had time to blog on. It’s nice to hear from you too! Our weather is doing the same thing. This morning was chilly and then this afternoon although cloudy it was quite warm. Very weird. I imagine the birds are as confused as we are. 🙂
Watching the birds is better than TV, isn’t it Lisa? Such a sweet face at the end.
Precisely – it’s what I’ve been doing for the last 17 years. I don’t even have a TV anymore. 🙂
A good selection of birds in spite of the miserable weather.
Thanks. Sometimes even a bad day is better outside. 🙂
Love the picture of the owl. They must be very hard to spot.
Thanks, Jason! We got lucky, somebody told us where to look, and oddly enough the owl was not all that far away. Usually owls are incredibly hard to find but this one didn’t seem to mind watching the traffic of dog walkers, runners, passing by.
Nice variety, shows us Spring is definitely coming! Love the female Cardinal close-up, she’s such a beautiful bird. Wow, heading to Panama, have a great, safe trip! Looking forward to those bird captures you obtain!! 🙂
Thanks, Donna! As usual I am scrambling at the last minute. But it will be nice to get away and maybe even get a sneak preview on some warblers. 🙂