My last visit to the Chicago Portage gave me a chance to see not just one Green Heron, but I believe I saw three different individuals after perusing my photographs. That’s because they each seemed to be of a different age and therefore plumage.
The easiest one to photograph was the juvenile I saw last. In addition to being really streaky-looking, notice how grayish the legs and feet are.
But the first bird I saw, not all that well but at a distance in poor light, appeared to be an adult.
So what else could there be? The bird below is somewhere in between the other two individuals. That would make it a First Summer Green Heron.
I don’t purport to be any kind of expert about this, I just looked up the juvenile on my Sibley app and noticed that there was yet another category.
Beyond that, on July 25 I saw the adult Green Heron below at quite a distance.
These photos are from 3 visits, July 25, July 27 and July 29. Actually the only photos I took on July 27 are of the Pearl Crescent Butterfly below. It was so hot, the birds were all cooling off in the trees and therefore unavailable.
The 25th was a better day overall. Below are a few furtive shots I took of a young Blue-gray Gnatcatcher.
The light was good for a photo of Tadziu the Indigo Bunting.
I keep seeing young Red-bellied Woodpeckers.
I noticed what looks like a Downy Woodpecker feather stuck in a bit of web.
Do you suppose the rabbit and the robin are talking about me?
I noticed two Monarch Butterflies in the Red Milkweed.
And when I got home I noticed a Monarch on the Common Milkweed in the front yard.
On the 29th I had a backlit Indigo Bunting (not Tadziu, incidentally).
Trying out the asphalt, a young-looking female Brown-headed Cowbird and an American Robin.
It’s such an occasion lately to see a Ruby-throated Hummingbird I took the photo below, even though you can barely see it.
More numbers on trees. I am even more puzzled by the first tree that has two different numbers on it.
And two more from the front yard. Another Monarch Butterfly and my Nodding Onions have finally opened.
I went back to Riverside yesterday for the first time in over a week. I will go back to the Portage on Thursday. I went farther afield this morning and it was a welcome change of location and pace. I’ll be back with more juvenile birds.
Love the Green Herons and Rabbit and Robin is an adorable and fun capture! Well done.
Wow thanks so much Babsje! I think taking photos is almost like being in a trance and I’m only aware of what occurred later when I see them.
Well, three Green herons got a lot of attention in this post. Are you going to name them or will Tadziu get jealous. Nice job of finding some interesting photos during the doldrums of summer birding.
Thanks, Bob. You can name the herons.
The Belted Kingfisher made an appearance too on the 29th but he wouldn’t pose.
It is lovely to see the butterflies. We re seeing hardly any here except for cabbage whites.
I’m sorry to hear that – you had so many more butterflies earlier than we did. I hope they return soon. We actually don’t have all that many compared to what used to be normal but it makes the ones I do see that much more special.