Two posts ago I shared a series of photographs from last spring of Downy Woodpecker courtship behavior. It might be a little early to expect to see that again this year, but I did encounter two Downies – albeit not yet interacting with each other – last Sunday.

The lovely lady below was exploring a tree stump. She was apparently viewed from above by the little guy whose photos follow (he’s also at the top of this post) but by the time he flew down to the stump, she had left. He looks a little young for her, don’t you think?

The first thing I saw, though, when I got out of my car, was a pair of European Starlings on the hand of the statue by the parking lot. Later another posed for me.

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Maybe most impressive were all the buds on the trees.

I managed to get a glimpse of a pair of Wood Ducks flying. I heard them calling first.

it’s a challenge to photograph the only water movement under the first bridge, but I managed to just fit the lens hood between the divisions of the bridge railing to see if it would work.

Raptor of the day was a Turkey Vulture. I was happy to add it to the list as I had seen one from the car the week before.

Nothing happening on the Des Plaines but the reflection of the graffiti on the rocks caught my eye.

A pair of Mourning Doves on the grass of all places.

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The Portage has its share of last year’s Oriole nests too.

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So much for my little visit to the Portage last week. Since I missed this past weekend, I hope I can expect to see a few more birds by this coming Saturday or Sunday – or both. We were experiencing strong winds from the south, so that should be giving some birds a push along their route. Even though we have slipped back into the cold for a couple days, the coming weekend looks positively balmy. Hope you are enjoying the first signs of spring.