The Illinois Spring Bird Count was on May 4 this year. I joined the group I have been counting with for years in DuPage County. We had 66 species and counted a total of 940 individuals. We started at McKee Marsh as usual and immediately began seeing the first of the Yellow Warblers which totaled 35 by the end of the day.
Baltimore Orioles demand attention.
Many birds were already busy starting families. We saw a Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher on her nest.
We had plenty of swallows and they were often at eye level. I paid attention to a Barn Swallow.
I managed to capture a Tree Swallow in flight and another in a Bluebird nest box.
Song Sparrows were abundant. So were Field Sparrows, but we heard more than we saw.
Early on, we had a Fox Squirrel looking down at us from its hole in a tree.
The first bird I photographed was a distant Hairy Woodpecker.
Gray catbirds aren’t always even this easy to see.
A brief but welcome Eastern Bluebird sighting…
I can never resist a male Brown-headed Cowbird in good light.
One of those ubiquitous Warbling Vireos:
A Painted Turtle poked its head out to greet us.
A Pileated Woodpecker flew by so fast right in front of me I could only follow its disappearance with the camera.
Three more of the Yellow Warblers…
This Rose-breasted Grosbeak had his back to us but turned around to say hello.
We watched an American Robin feeding nestlings.
We heard some other species of warblers but did not see them in any expected locations. Looking back on it now, this probably signaled the beginning of the end for this warbler migration.
I’m going to stop complaining about the dearth of warbler sightings. Spring is rapidly becoming summer. In the meantime, there have been some exciting encounters. I’ll be back soon. First, yard work.
Well I can’t stop whining about the lack of warblers even if you can. Maybe 34 yellow warblers made up for the lack of others. Oh Wait, NOOOO. However, back to your post. Warbling Vireos and Baltimore Orioles are fun to watch even if they serve as the new warblers. Good idea filling in on your post with some fauna: turtles, squirrels. Nice effort on the Pileated. Finish the yard work. I’m on a break from mine.
I’ll never finish the yard work. And it’s hard not to whine when Merlin hears a warbler I am also hearing but can’t see. Now the cicadas are the official distractions as they mob the trees. Pretty soon we won’t be able to hear the birds over them.
There’s my Whine.
I think I will go back to the warblers I did see next…
I liked the pictures of the robin feeding the nestlings. I hope that your yard work is productive. It is a busy time of the year in the garden.
I was quite pleased that the robin seemed to ignore my attention to it and continued to feed its progeny.
The yard work is more challenging this year as I had to wait to start the cleanup while the jungle was outpacing itself in growth due to all the rain we had earlier. Individual leaves seem to be larger on a lot of plants and trees this year. I suppose if the cicadas get loud enough I’ll have to wear earplugs!