I have gone birding twice at Indian Gardens in Riverside this year. It’s always a little tricky walking the unmanaged trail close to the river. I went on May 26, and then after feeling a bit bored with Riverside Lawn lately, I decided to visit Indian Gardens again last Friday, four months later. While I didn’t see an awful lot on either outing, I did see some interesting birds, like the Philadelphia Vireo at the top of this post. Philadelphias are much less common than Warbling Vireos, whom they resemble, but they are much more decidedly yellow on the breast and belly, and darker on the crown with a more pronounced eyeline. I saw this Philadelphia Vireo on Friday.

But let’s go back to May 26 first. I saw an Eastern Wood-Pewee or two.

Then, an Osprey flew overhead.

I got a good look at a Cedar Waxwing,

I had a more challenging look at a Great Blue Heron.

I saw a Warbling Vireo or two.

I had blurry looks at a Great-crested Flycatcher,

I found a Gray Catbird who looked a little surprised.

Fast-forward to this Friday, when I encountered a plethora of thrushes. While I heard a Swainson’s. I kept finding Gray-cheeked and I think a possible Hermit Thrush, although I did not get a definitive look at this bird below.

Next I found an Olive-sided Flycatcher. This species was showing up in various places the past week.

There were just a couple warblers that I could identify from my photos, but the images are not worth posting. I was, however, happy to see some American Crows fly over. I managed to capture one.

Then I saw the Philadelphia Vireo. It was quite distant, but it stood out against a plain background so I was able to get some decent photos.

Here are a few looks at Gray-cheeked Thrushes

I found a beautiful Red-bellied Woodpecker.

A Great Blue Heron was sitting in a tree.

And so was a Great Egret.

I walked the length of the grass when the unmanaged trail ran out, to see what was happening across from the Hofmann Tower. I found a young Great Blue Heron on the rocks. The river is incredibly low.

I went back to Riverside Lawn this morning, not expecting to see much of anything, but musing to myself that this is peak migration. And then, lo and behold, I encountered a decent flock of warblers. I had only 7 species that I could identify and none of them were new to me for the season, but it was great to see them in numbers – I estimated at least 10 American Redstarts – and I savored that more familiar fall warbler migration feeling. I am looking forward to visiting the Chicago Portage tomorrow morning to see if I encounter the same effect. Either way, I will be back soon with some more warbler photos. For the most part, the leaves aren’t colorful, but the warblers still are.