Monday morning I went back to Riverside to see how the birds were doing. We were still on the positive side of a warm front. I encountered a few Yellow-rumped Warblers off the paved trail. One in particular came down close to check me out.

It was hard not to take more photographs of other individuals.

There was one Killdeer on the rocks opposite the Hofmann Tower.

Two Canada Geese flew by.

The Des Plaines River was starting to green up.

The light was good for woodpeckers.

Red-winged Blackbirds were scrambling, and I captured one briefly.

And Brown-headed Cowbird…

and a Common Grackle for good measure.

In Riverside Lawn I saw my first-of-the-season Hermit Thrushes – there were two on the trail.

I took note of a moss-covered log.

And noticed some Common Mergansers.

There were Ruby-crowned Kinglets, but I have yet to see a crown.

A White-throated Sparrow peered out at me from a tangle.

There were more Yellow-rumped Warblers on the other side of the river. Soon I will be able to pass over these guys for someone else, but at the moment they are hard to ignore.

The week has slowly but surely revealed more birds returning. I will have a couple visits to the Portage to review, plus it’s getting crowded on my hard drives. The winds have shifted for the last couple days and it was quite chilly this morning for the Oak Park Bird Walkers at Thatcher Woods. I’m looking forward to the warmup next weekend when I can finally start cleaning up the yard, although it looks like it could be a soggy situation. In the meantime, here are a few signs of spring from the yard on Tuesday. The little apple tree in the front yard is now in full bloom.

Blue violets carpet the backyard.

I’m seeing the House Finches more often now and they are singing like crazy.

The Prairie Smoke on the side of the house is starting to bloom.

And my old Redbud which has struggled the past few years still manages to stay alive.