Just about once every fall, the Golden-crowned Kinglets come down to knee level to feed and, if I get lucky, I can capture one. October 17 at the Chicago Portage presented this opportunity.
Except for a Yellow-rumped Warbler here and there, fall warbler migration is pretty much over, so Kinglets rule, and sparrows are starting to appear more frequently. I have a backlog of warbler photos for future posts but the Golden-crowned Kinglets insisted I write a more timely post first.
Below is a look over the water at the Portage on a sunny, dry day, which seems to be the theme this October.
Golden-crowned Kinglets appeared early.
Then I managed to find a couple Yellow-rumped Warblers in the hackberry leaves.
I spotted an American Kestrel perched over the water. It was at quite a distance so it was hard for me to focus even in that bright light.
I found another Yellow-rumped Warbler.
I was pleased to see a White-throated Sparrow, albeit hidden in the branches.
Northern Cardinals aren’t used to receiving any attention from my lens as I’ve been focusing on migrants, so this one didn’t try to move, he just knew the shadows and branches would make him less photogenic.
I was on my way back along the paved trail when I suddenly had Golden-crowned Kinglets low to the ground.
There were some Ruby-crowned Kinglets present too, although not as many, and this one preferred to remain backlit.
Here are a few more close shots of the Golden-crowned Kinglet at the top of the post.
Another Yellow-rumped Warbler paused long enough.
I was almost surprised to see some Mallards in the duckweed. The water level is barely existent.
Here’s my last Golden-crowned Kinglet photo from Thursday.
I hope to be back much sooner with more photos from a very busy migration season. While the number of birds flying over the region is diminishing, there are still opportunities to see less common species before winter settles in. Who knows when that will be? I remember hearing or reading somewhere years ago that we could expect to see something like 8-10 months of summer with climate change and I found it hard to imagine. Yet now it seems nearly possible. As I write this on October 21, we are in the middle of a drought and the temperature is 80 degrees F. I can pray for rain if not snow.
Mrs T looked over my shoulder as read your post today and was very impressed by your birds. I have read so many of your post that I have got a bit too used to your results. It made me realise again how good you are. I hope that you do get rain. It still doesn’t look as though the people with the power to make changes are paying anything like enough attention to climate change.
Oh Tom, thank you so much! I leave it all to the birds – I don’t know what I’m doing with the camera but I do love it when the birds don’t seem to care.
As for the drought, I have already seen its effect on the produce section in the grocery store. There is some rain in the forecast for Friday: we shall see. We are not as bad off as so many others. But I couldn’t agree more with you. I am afraid the people with the power to make changes will only find ways to monetize the effects of their greed.
Well if there are not many birds to see at least you take some great pictures of the one you see. The kinglet shots are great.
Thanks! I got lucky with the one bird just looking for something to eat right in front of me. I have experienced this behavior with GC Kinglets before and it was fortunate that I got to take the photos just before José, Pedro and Janet came walking toward me from the other direction.