I made two visits to Riverside when it was possible, on January 15 and 17. I had missed a few days due to inclement weather. Such is life. We experienced a lovely little warmup on Friday the 17th, and we are now on are way to single digits and below zero. I am not anticipating walking much farther than my backyard for a few days, but I can still go swimming.
The Des Plaines River in these parts is having its own issues, with snow and ice.
I have seen some Common Goldeneye at a distance, south of the Hofmann Tower. When I tried to get a closer photo on the 15th, vegetation was in the way.
Canada Geese have been congregating on or near the ice.
On January 17th, with warmer temperatures promised, some Mallards were on the ice just north of the Joliet Avenue Bridge.
I decided to walk only on the Riverside Lawn side of the river, as I had on my previous visit. That may have been a mistake, as I might have seen the Great Blue Heron on the Swan Pond side that my friend Ken posted to Facebook. But I heard and did see – if only for a fleeting moment – a Belted Kingfisher.
I saw a Northern Cardinal. That little burst of red is a welcome sight.
Up river looking out from the swinging bridge, it was all ice and snow. I don’t expect this to improve in the coming days.
Clouds captured my attention.
There weren’t as many Canada Geese.
I briefly saw a female Downy Woodpecker.
Checking back by the Hofmann Tower before I left, I saw the Common Goldeneye again.
I’ve also been to the Chicago Portage in the last week. I anticipate I will be back with some more short posts over the next day or two as I think walking in single digits is more than I can handle with the camera. This morning, as we dipped to 10 degrees Fahrenheit, I sang with the choir. The sun has been shining brightly and the days are, well, getting longer, if colder, for a while.
10 degrees is decidedly chilly. I would worry about damaging my camera at that temperature.
I simply cannot operate the camera with gloved hands in this kind of cold. I would be more worried about slipping on ice, falling and damaging the camera, which is a quite heavy affair with the 100-400mm lens. But I have never had any issues with the camera temperature-wise, likely because I can’t stand to be out in the extremes either.
I have to admire your tenacity to continue heading out on the river. I did drive into Riverside today for lunch but did not even stop on the river to see what was there.
Portage was calm this week and I did spend some time with Jose on the trail. But we both agreed that the upcoming weather was not to be trifled with and would forsake any walks in the next several days.
Hard to believe that the Kingfisher can still hang in and fish the river. Find a warm place to settle in and read or do chores for the next several days.
Thanks, Bob. Even not seeing much of anything, it is good to go for a walk. I also saw José on Thursday. As for the current prohibitive drop in temperature, my knee seems to have interpreted not-going-for-a-walk as you-won’t-be-able-to-walk. So I will hobble off to the pool and see if I can coax it into a better mood with the water.
Enjoy your swim in a heated pool. But, take care of that knee. The weather will eventually get warmer. I think!