I already had too many posts in mind when Sunday late morning on a whim, after visiting the Chicago lakefront, I headed up to Memorial Park Cemetery in Skokie where White-winged Crossbills have been reported all week. It did not take me long to find several birders and the Crossbills, along with Common Redpolls and even a couple Pine Siskins. I just pointed the lens at the tops of the trees and followed the movement. They were way up at the treetops which made it that much more challenging, but the weather was good and the light wasn’t too bad either. It took me a couple hours to go through way too many photographs – but I kept finding more and more images of birds buried in the pine cones. So this is just a glut of pictures of the three species. The White-winged Crossbills are the rarities this time. They don’t come this far south every year.
Below are some photos of a male White-winged Crossbill.
And below are some of a female White-winged Crossbill.
It got a bit more complicated when other finches joined them. There are two female Crossbills and a Common Redpoll below.
Trust me, it was not fun digging through all these pine cones looking for birds in the photos. But if you click on these you should be able to find a Common Redpoll and a White-winged Crossbill or two.
Common Redpoll, Pine Siskin and female White-winged Crossbill
Once the Common Redpolls came in, they were literally everywhere.
The other winter finch that I had in my yard the last two years but hadn’t seen all winter made an appearance here – Pine Siskins.
So there you have it – I still have photos from the lakefront for the same day. I apologize for the pine cone overload. What I neglected to take a photograph of were the piles of pine cones beneath the trees these birds were finished with. Here are yet some more of the White-winged Crossbills. I don’t think I’ve used them all up but I am getting dizzy, so this will have to do.
I will be back with a more civilized post soon. Thanks for your patience.
It was simply too wet, raining all day, to go outside much yesterday. I watched the birds from indoors. Apologies for the fuzzy images but between the rain, the fog and the window screens this was the best I could do.
There were a lot of House Finches in the yard today. The males provided some colorful contrast.
I’m always glad to see one of the Downy Woodpeckers. First day in a while the suet wasn’t frozen solid.
A pensive House Sparrow…
The American Goldfinches were back too.
Overnight the skies cleared and the temperature dropped. A peek at the yard was more promising.
It was bright and sunny, if cold. I put on all my layers and went back to Riverside to take the usual walk before swimming. I didn’t see any birds along the paved path until I got around the bend.
There were some diving ducks where the river turns a corner. I was able to zoom in on a pair of Red-breasted Mergansers but the Common Goldeneyes were too far away. That’s okay – I haven’t seen Red-breasted Mergansers in quite some time so I’m happy with that.
Shortly after I crossed the foot bridge, I heard another Northern Cardinal singing away. He was brilliant in the sunshine.
This Northern Cardinal singing
Then I was greeted by some Black-capped Chickadees.
And then I saw a Brown Creeper. It was hard not to take too many photographs. Here’s just a few.
I also encountered an attractive Song Sparrow who sat still for a long time.
Revisiting some frozen-looking fungus at the base of a tree.
Beyond all that the most notable feature was the Des Plaines River, churning incessantly.
One last view…
We go back to winter weather with snow in the forecast. Snow flurries started tonight after choir rehearsal, with a more serious onslaught coming tomorrow afternoon.
An update on my distressed hen – she must have made a complete recovery because I can no longer distinguish her from the rest of the flock. My little ragamuffin male took it upon himself to hang out with her and protect her while she was on the floor, and later when she took comfort in the cage I first helped her into. She spent about a day moving about from cage to cage and then resumed a normal life afterward. The photo below is one I took with my cell phone when she was still staying on the floor with her protector.
Who needs sunshine? I went for a walk this morning in Riverside. Of course the sun came out after I got back home, but it was considerably warmer than it has been, not too windy, not raining, not snowing…if anything, melting ice was the only weather effect I had to deal with.
My first bird was actually in Lyons by the Hofmann Tower, a Northern Cardinal singing his heart out. There’s a recording of his song below the photo.
Here’s how the river looked from the Lyons spot. No ice left.
Over on the other side of the bridge there were three Common Mergansers. I tried to get a halfway decent shot of the hen sitting on a rock before they started swimming downstream.
I finished crossing the Joliet Avenue bridge and got over to the paved path which was primarily clear, save a few deceptive patches of black ice to watch out for. There I encountered a flock of Dark-eyed Juncos but could not photograph any of them. However, the male Eastern Bluebird at the top of the post and below. I have seen him here before. He came and sat for me, proclaiming his territory. I look forward to seeing a lot more of him in the warmer months.
Looking across the river I focused on two tree stumps that looked like raptors sitting – but weren’t.
Of course there were Mallards but without much light it was hard to find a reason to photograph them, except for the beautiful feather patterns on the backs of these birds.
On my way to the foot bridge I noticed the gargoyle atop the library entrance.
I took the obligatory photographs of the foot bridge.
There were no birds to photograph over on the Riverside Lawn side of the river, but there was a lot of melting ice. I proceeded slowly.
So other than a couple more standard views, the river and the tower, I am done for the moment but I wanted to honor the appearance of the Eastern Bluebird and the song of the Northern Cardinal as the promise of spring continues.
It was good to get out for a walk and, weather permitting, I intend to continue doing so…while attending to the backlog.
It’s going to take me a day or two to recover from yesterday’s Gull Frolic and make sense of those images, so in the meantime I am back with more from late September at the Chicago Portage where I spent the bulk of my time following warblers feeding in the Hackberry leaves. Although it has been nice to look at these birds in anticipation of their return. my goal this spring will be to publish daily if possible.
These photos were taken on September 24. There were even more respectable images from September 26 so I will be back with those too. My laptop hard drive appreciates your indulgence in these housekeeping matters.
Black-throated Green Warblers were good subjects this past fall.
Just as cooperative, maybe even more so, were Blackpoll Warblers.
This turned out to be a rather reclusive Tennessee Warbler.
Swainson’s Thrushes predominated.
Below is a female Red-bellied Woodpecker, since I have seen only males all winter…
A late-leaving Indigo Bunting undergoing transformation.
Magnolia Warblers were everywhere this past fall but not always easy to capture. They remain among my favorites (in no small part because it’s always easy to figure them out).
Can’t leave out the Downy Woodpecker,
A nice surprise was this female – or immature – Rose-breasted Grosbeak. As I recall I saw one or two for a couple days.
I see more Northern Flickers flying away so it’s nice when they sit still a moment.
Two Mallards resting in the duckweed stream.
As for real time, we warmed up today and there is bright sunshine, but the wind makes being outdoors difficult for the birds and possibly even walking. Oh maybe I’m just making excuses, but I am still sort of worn out after yesterday. I wish a peaceful Sunday and the coming week to you all, wherever you are. I will be back soon with more colorful birds.
Blizzard conditions are keeping me inside and I am tired of winter, so now I have some photographs from last September 16 at the Chicago Portage.
Before I continue, here’s what it looked like yesterday late afternoon in my yard. The birds quickly got over their spring fever and came back to the feeders in the driving snow.
The sun is shining almost too brightly this morning and the freshly-fallen snow is reflecting it. After putting the feeders back out and shoveling the accumulation that was left, I was not eager to go out for a walk in the bitter cold. I will get enough cold tomorrow at the Gull Frolic.
Back in September, there were some fall warblers, like the Nashville Warbler below complementing the Goldenrod.
Even the “regulars” looked better in September.
Black-capped Chickadee
Cedar Waxwings were all over the pokeberries.
Looking forward to the transformation back into this below.
Song SparrowNorthern Flicker
I was a bit amused by this Red-eyed Vireo who seemed to be contemplating making lunch out of what I think was a spider.
Blue Jays
Indigo Buntings below – a female, and then what appears to be a transforming male.
I am curious to see what warbler species will predominate this year. There were a lot of Bay-breasted Warblers last fall.
I can expect to see American Redstarts this spring.
Swainson’s Thrush
After trying to no avail to convince myself that I should be feeling better, go out, brave the sunshine for a brief walk and maybe swim earlier, something seemed to be pulling me back. A few aches and pains? Maybe, but that hardly ever stops me. I sat down on the futon with some coffee to assess my mood and continue with this post. Then I heard a thud as a Zebra Finch fell out of a hut onto the top of a cage. This is not normal. Birds don’t fall. It was a hen who seems to be unwell and she will likely go quickly. It didn’t take the males long to figure out she was compromised and they tried to take advantage of her. I jumped up to rescue her and scooped her up easily enough by hand as she wasn’t really able to fly. I held her close to my heart for a moment and then put the poor girl in the bottom of the former budgie cage which is a smaller space for her to rest in peace, so to speak. Maybe my lack of resolve this morning was a response to her waning energy. Whatever it is, I was glad to save her from torture in her last hours. She has since left the cage but is defending herself against assault: I will keep my eye on her. My coffee is getting cold.
I spent all day Saturday at a women’s retreat – my very first retreat ever with any organization (I don’t count a job-related paralegal “retreat” years ago) and after two years of virtual isolation save day-to-day brief interactions here and there, I am still basking in the love and inclusion of the community experience. We were all masked and sufficiently socially distanced most of the time. Normally this retreat would occur over a weekend, so this was the first (and I hope last) pandemic-influenced gathering. Actually the fact that it was contained in one day made it easier for me to attend because the thought of finding someone to take care of the birds these days doesn’t even enter my mind.
I spent yesterday still processing the insights and new relationships. In a way, I was still on the retreat. I fully intended to go for a walk this morning, but if the ground is anything like my backyard, there is likely ice everywhere, possible snow flurries are in the forecast this morning, and the windchill is in the single digits. I am still wearing my long underwear. Maybe I’ll go out and see if I can sneak a photo or two of the yard birds. But I think I will wait until tomorrow to go walking anywhere. We have a promised warmup which, by Wednesday, looks to be a big, soggy meltdown.
This is a brief photographic return to September 13th at the Portage. The only warbler I managed to photograph well was the American Redstart at the top of the post, but there were many more later. Perhaps the most spectacular sighting that day was the Red-headed Woodpecker below, albeit too far away to get a decent photograph. This is still a very infrequent visitor to the Portage but the habitat keeps changing, so we shall see.
Also spectacular that day was to see a beautiful Mourning Cloak caterpillar.
Young American Robins, in various plumages.
We must have gotten some rain, everything looked a little greener than the more parched summer images.
I do remember seeing one or two Ruby-throated Hummingbirds like this female that would sit and rest by the trail.
Downy Woodpeckers – all year long.
Had to check my ebird list to make sure I reported both… I believe the top photo is a Swainson’s Thrush, and the one below it, a Gray-cheeked Thrush.
I think this is Silphium pinnatifidum, which has a lot of different common names: Cutleaf Rosinweed, Cutleaf Prairie Dock, Tansy Rosinweed, Southern Dock … the wildflower challenge will resume this summer.
Perhaps the most gratifying part of the retreat was having the opportunity to share my love of birds and music and how profoundly the birds have changed my life for the better. I retrieved this published article from long ago and read it to the participants during the “sharing show” at the end of the retreat. I have added this as a page to the menu where it is a bit easier to read if you are so inclined. I was just becoming aware of birds and my observations are definitely of the novice variety, but I was delighted to rediscover the beginnings of all this, so to speak. Even more wonderful was to receive spontaneous praise for my writing. In retrospect I realize I have needed that encouragement, if I am going to go back to writing the elusive book I keep starting in my head. This experience will carry me forward to my start deadline which is now July 5.
“Goldbird Variations” in print
Spring will soon be intoxicating and toss all these reflections asunder. But I still have some photos left over from September and of course there’s the here-and-there of more recent outings. I think my goal will be to get caught up enough so I can be more current by spring. It’s always good to have goals. I think.
After a summer of hardly seeing any Common Grackles, on September 29th of last year I probably saw at least 100. The other Bird of the Day was Osprey. I am looking forward to seeing Osprey on the Des Plaines River this year, along with all the other regular big birds – Great Egrets, Great Blue Herons, Double-Crested Cormorants…
Dry conditions last summer and fall
A frequent visitor to the Des Plaines River was an Osprey or two. I tried to capture the juvenile bird below going after something.
The Common Grackles were perched in the trees along the river, but later on my way back through Indian Gardens they were all over the lawn with Red-winged Blackbirds. It’s likely they were gathering for migration southward. I never really get over those shiny blue heads.
Here’s an adult Osprey I managed to capture flying over the river.
I will always see Rock Pigeons at this location, which attests to its urbanity.
I think this is a juvenile Song Sparrow trying very hard to look like a female House Sparrow…
There was still one Double-crested Cormorant around on that day.
A Mallard hen in the bright sunshine…
I look forward to the Great Blue Herons that will adorn the river this coming spring and summer. I suspect the Great Egrets had just left by this date, but I expect there will likely be quite a number of them too this summer.
Never to be turned down, no matter how bad the light – a cooperative Blue Jay.
I frequently heard Killdeer and sometimes saw them, got lucky with this one flying overhead.
Also never ignored by me, an American Crow flying. There is nothing like a Crow. Period.
Thanks for stopping by and helping me clean up some space on my hard drive. Larger posts are likely ahead with spring migration just around the…corner. As I start to post more often the hard drive glut will be less of an issue, or so I tell myself.
As the weather improves and I go out more, there will be fewer of these retrospective posts. In the meantime it’s nice to dream of the excitement seeing these birds again.
I have to start getting up earlier! The days are getting longer and I have been giving in to a winter tendency to sleep in… but I think I better get back in shape. In any event, my birds always tell me when it’s sunrise, and on a sunny day they tell me just a little bit before. This morning was gorgeous, awash in sunshine, so after I fed everyone I headed for the Chicago Portage.
Suffice it to say we have had more snow since last week and it was a workout to walk the trails this morning. They have been navigated but the snow is still quite deep. Slow as it goes.
I hardly heard and didn’t see any birds at all until I got to the first rise where I found a couple American Tree Sparrows and several Black-capped Chickadees. The Chickadees evaded my lens but I managed to somehow focus on one Tree Sparrow.
American Tree Sparrow
So it was more snowy scenes, and some interesting sky views.
I took a look around the MWRD to see if there were any birds at all, dreaming of a misguided Snowy Owl, but not seeing anything.
Metropolitan Water Reclamation District (MWRD)
And the view of the Des Plaines River through the bottomlands was equally stagnant.
Beyond the obvious deer tracks, there were some interesting tracks in the snow.
Mouse tracksI think these are squirrel tracks – they seem too closely spaced for a rabbit…?
On my way to the second bridge and out..
All was not lost. I saw a distant adult Bald Eagle through the trees but did not have time for a photograph. Still, I was glad to see one.
Here’s a tree that had American Robins in it on January 31 but none today.
I think this Red-bellied Woodpecker has become familiar with me. His territory seems to be closer to the part of the trail where I have been ending my winter walks. Anyway he saw me stop when I heard him chirping around his trees and volunteered several nice looks.
I also managed to get a few somewhat-more-distant shots of a male Downy Woodpecker before I left. Lately it seems to be getting harder to focus at a distance so I’m happy with these.
Those warmer greener photos from late September are still in the works but I felt like honoring today’s walk before the snow melts. Here’s one more of the Red-bellied.
Here’s a set of photographs I have been meaning to share since they were taken way back when, December 22, 2021, to be exact, in Riverside. I figured I could contrast what this part of the world looked like before the snow and icy cold overtook everything.
The Brown Creeper at the top of the post was on a Hackberry tree right by the Riverside entrance to the foot bridge. It was foraging about waist-level.
December 22, 2021February 1, 2022
The Water TowerFoot bridge
There were a lot of Canada Geese that day, including the one above with its neck tag. When I was last there, only a few Canada Geese were down on the ice.
I never turn down a chance to photograph a Downy Woodpecker, although it was a lot easier back in December.
The Dark-eyed Junco below was over by the Riverside side of the Joliet Avenue bridge.
It’s been really hard to capture Black-capped Chickadees lately, so I’m glad I managed on December 22nd to photograph this one.
Mallards below are from February 1. The sole female Common Goldeneye was still with some of them.
The unidentified fungus below was from the December outing.
Also in December, across the river, I managed to pick out this Blue Jay having a drink of water solely by his blue color.
Here’s how the sky looked on February 1.
Another before and after comparison of the river.
I took notice of the hole in this stump on February 1, sheerly for its size and somewhat square shape, which made me wonder if I will ever see a Pileated Woodpecker at this location. I thought I heard one that day.
I keep thinking this downed tree by the trail looks like a hedge.
So, a last look at the snow and ice for now. It is not going anywhere for awhile. There likely will always be some Mallards and a few Canada Geese in the open water. I have yet to see a Bald Eagle here or at the Portage.
This morning I found myself going through some photographs from the end of September in Riverside, taken around the Indian Gardens location before I had discovered this location I have been to all winter. I am sure I will be birding both areas in the spring. In the meantime, I will be back with those photos from September 29, 2021, to brighten things up a bit and as something to look forward to.
I hadn’t been to LaBagh Woods for years, but I started thinking about it when it seemed I might have a good chance to see some Common Redpolls. They’ve been seen farther north and nearer to the lake than my territory. I used to see them on occasion downtown by the lake, but I didn’t see any the one day I went down for crows. So Saturday I just decided to get in the car and go, one day after our last snowfall.
It’s strange enough trying to remember the layout of a place you haven’t been to for a while, let alone covered in snow. But there were tracks in the snow to follow from the main parking lot.
There wasn’t a lot of light, but I guess the snow made up for that somewhat.
Early on I took photographs of a singular Redpoll and now, after developing them, it almost resembles a Hoary Redpoll. If that was the case, it would make it rather special as they are rarer. But I think it’s just a lighter-colored individual Common Redpoll. it’s really hard to tell.
There was a sign by the river. This is the north branch of the Chicago River. It dawned on me how remarkable it is to have a forest preserve in the middle of a city.
It was at that point that I encountered a fellow birdwatcher who had been there perhaps the day before but had come back to look for lost keys. He wasn’t wearing binoculars but of course I was and we sort of recognized each other as birders. He led me to the path that goes down along the river and pointed me in the direction of where he had seen the Redpolls earlier. As I started to walk, the layout became more familiar and I did encounter a small flock of Common Redpolls, Dark-eyed Juncos and an occasional American Goldfinch.
Two Common Redpolls, one American Goldfinch and one Dark-eyed Junco
It was otherwise pretty quiet until I got down to the northern end where there are some houses that demarcate where the city starts again. Some of the houses have bird feeders. I was simply across the river from their backyards above, and there were several Common Redpolls high up in the trees. I was surprised I managed to hold my heavy lens that high and get photographs. It was simply delightful to hear their calls and watch them.
More Common Redpolls…
At least I managed a closer photograph of a Dark-eyed Junco.
One thing about LaBagh – I had never taken the highway to get there before, which may seem strange because it is right off the Edens Expressway. I have always gone the stop-and-go route through the city, but Saturday morning in January seemed like a safe bet to follow the GPS and take the expressways. Up until Saturday, I have long avoided going through the downtown area which is always congested and has become somewhat confusing due to construction, so I was shocked by the terrible condition of the road surfaces. I can’t imagine driving that every day. But at least traffic was moving and it only took me half an hour to get there and back.
More snowy scenes. The river was frozen and covered with snow except for a little open water under the bridge.
Here are a few more Common Redpoll shots.
I found a few Mourning Doves.
Beyond that I managed to get a brief photo of a Downy Woodpecker in flight after barely focusing on it exploring a tree stump. And one nice Hairy Woodpecker.
Hairy Woodpecker
I was glad to renew my acquaintance with LaBagh Woods, which is named, incidentally, after Ella LaBagh who was a force for establishing the Forest Preserves of Cook County. LaBagh is a great place to see birds during migration and I will be coming back here more often in the spring.
As for snow, the current forecast is for a winter storm warning – Tuesday night through Thursday night. I managed to find some tube sand at the local hardware store this morning and scattered some on what were some icy spots on my walks. I had used up what sand I had from last year and decided I had better get more in anticipation of more snow and ice. The tube sand was 60 pounds – I thought my limit was 50 pounds – but I managed to get it onto my dolly and around to the back porch area. I prefer sand to deicer, I don’t care how environmentally friendly the chemicals are. I have also discovered the House Sparrows consider my front steps a destination for grit for their little gizzards, which is an added bonus to using the sand.
