I had plans to visit a grassland habitat today, but the weather and my knee had other ideas. We are in the thick of a heat wave with threats of storm activity. My knee wasn’t too bad, just adding its opinion to my decision to stay close to home. Instead, I took a short walk this morning to visit a friend on her birthday. Cooling off, I may as well write a blog post I’ve been poking at for days as the summertime lull settles in.

These are photos from last month in Riverside when migrants were still coming through. Two visits, one on May 3 and the other on May 6, are in this post.

On May 3, the first creature I saw was not a bird but a groundhog just off the Joliet Avenue bridge. I have never seen one here – or I think anywhere – before.

Baltimore Orioles were showing off in early May.

The bird below looks like an Alder Flycatcher to me. It’s harder to tell without being able to see its wing bars, but empidonax flycatchers are meant to be confusing.

Red-winged Blackbirds are sometimes hare to ignore.

There was a Tree Swallow investigating a hole in this dead tree that leans over the river by the swinging bridge. I continue to watch for further activity.

The last of the Ruby-crowned Kinglets were present.

Maybe this was one of the last of the Yellow-rumped Warblers too, looking like a female.

A House Wren looked busy establishing his territory.

That day may have been the first time I saw a Great Blue Heron on the river.

Then, on May 6, I saw a few more birds to photograph. Somehow, I managed to get this Blue Jay in flight at quite a distance.

Yellow Warblers were easier to see. There are still some around raising families, but now I only hear them.

Here are a couple more photos of the Song Sparrow at the top of the post with its insect snack.

A Warbling Vireo gave me the eye.

Likely there wasn’t anything happening off the swinging bridge that morning except for some turtles.

I found a White-throated Sparrow.

And I just barely managed to see a Lincoln’s Sparrow.

A Northern Waterthrush was close to the water.

Northern Cardinals provide a splash of color all year long.

I found a Nashville Warbler that day.

A dramatically backlit Baltimore Oriole managed to remain half-hidden in the leaves.

Some more photos of the Yellow Warbler are below.

There’s lots more from May and June which I will try to fit in soon. Even though this spring migration season was more than a little “off”, there was always something to see, usually when I least expected it. Maybe it will be a little easier to sit inside and write a post while it’s too hot to be out walking. We shall see.