I thought I’d do a little blast from the past this morning while I was sitting here unable to walk or stand up without pain. I had plans to get things done around the house today while the rainy forecast played out. As it turned out, the rain has been intermittent and not a deluge. It resumed this afternoon, but it’s only cloudy and cooler than it was yesterday when we were in the high 70’s.
I have many more recent photos, but these seemed worthy reminders of months past. January 11, for instance. It could have been the most snow we had all winter.
I was intrigued by this Red-bellied Woodpecker investigating a hollowed out tree trunk.
Someone took the time to make a snowman in front of the statue.
Okay, enough of that. More recently, on April 25, I spotted a Cooper’s Hawk perched with what looked like the last of its undetermined prey.
The Blue-gray Gnatcatchers were just beginning to show up. Now they are audible everywhere but you hardly see them. Of course it helped that the trees had only just started to leaf out.
A distant European Starling gleamed in the sunshine
Brown Creepers were still showing up.
I managed to capture a couple White-throated Sparrows.
The female Red-winged Blackbird below was investigating nesting possibilities.
I saw a coyote up ahead off the trail. I didn’t have a clear view so it was hard to capture, but you can get the general idea from these photos.
I didn’t hear or see the Eastern Phoebe yesterday, although earlier he was around for weeks. Here he is taking care of his feathers.
Also, this might have been the last time I saw the pair of Blue-winged Teal.
Turtles and Blue-winged Teal
I have just managed to clean the dining room and I’m taking a break from being on my feet for a half hour or so before the late afternoon routine of playing piano for the indoor crowd and then serving them their evening snack, however slowly. As I started to clean, I found Penelope, my Society Finch for whom I purchased three companions a couple years ago after her sister Priscilla died, dead behind the open kitchen door. Mario was with her, guarding her body. I am so sad to lose her, but she was several years older than her companions and it was likely inevitable she would predecease them. I suspect she’d had bouts of brief illness here and there over the last few months. In any event, she left the others with plenty of instructions and they are quite adjusted to and continuing their Society Finch lives. I mourn our loss. But life goes on.
I hope my knee improves enough so I can walk in Riverside tomorrow morning and then swim. Additionally, there is the last walk at Columbus Park on Saturday. I love to walk when I’m feeling good. I should feel better in the next couple days. I will get there again.
As soon as the winds started coming from the south, birds I’ve been waiting to see since they left last fall started arriving. These photos are from April 30th at the Chicago Portage National Historic Site. I am already in photo-overload mode as more birds keep coming to the area. I’d like to find a better way to keep up with this, but everything else in my life has been springing into action lately. I can’t complain. It does help to have a new laptop with plenty of power and room to spare.
That’s a Chestnut-sided Warbler at the top of the post. I heard him sing clearly and then when I looked for him, he obliged by posing nicely on a branch.
My walk began with some male Brown-headed Cowbirds above, silhouetted against the blue sky.
The last few days, Palm Warblers have been Everywhere. For some reason we weren’t seeing them much in the fall, but they’ve made up for it on their return trip.
A glimpse of the Portage greening up
Yellow-rumped Warblers are still abundant.
I’ve been seeing a few Nashville Warblers over the last few days, but they have been up really high in the trees and far away, making them harder to capture.
Even the year-round birds look spiffier this time of year.
Downy Woodpecker
There were a number of White-throated Sparrows behind the opening in the fence. I managed to capture one.
And White-crowned Sparrows are showing up too.
Red-winged Blackbirds are getting down to business.
Female Red-winged BlackbirdMale Red-winged BlackbirdRed Admiral butterflies are everywhere too
There was a fetching Northern Rough-winged Swallow.
The Eastern Phoebe was available as well.
Most gratifying was to see my first Indigo Bunting of the season.
There’s a Mallard pair, though the female is harder to find most of the time, and turtles sunning themselves.
A Great Blue Heron flew over.
When the heron came to check things out, a Red-winged Blackbird was not very happy. The Great Blue left after a few minutes.
Here are two more of the Chestnut-sided Warbler.
It took a day or two to come down from the Spring Music Festival. It was a wonderful event. Now I have an early rise on Saturday to look forward to, so I can be in DuPage County at 6:30 in the morning for the Illinois Spring Bird Count. The Oak Park Bird Walkers will be counting in Columbus Park where I led a walk last Saturday. I just remembered I have photos from that day too. I even had a little flurry of migrants in my backyard this week. And now that we are safely at 50 degrees Fahrenheit or more, the yard is begging for maintenance. …I need to eat dinner and get some sleep!
Tuesday it was the Chicago Portage. Wednesday morning, Riverside. We were in a cold, cloudy, windy situation that is soon to change drastically, or so we have been promised. Last night we dipped toward freezing. Today was actually quite nice with the sun shining and the wind subsiding, and it seemed to warm up quickly enough. I hope to be back with today’s photos later, maybe tomorrow.
Alas, I have been preoccupied with system challenges. I will elaborate on those further toward the end of the post. Right now I just want to share a few photos from emergent spring.
The Portage view from the bridge near Harlem
I hung out with a Hermit Thrush for a moment or two.
And then I spotted a Red-tailed Hawk. A walker coming from the other direction flushed it and I followed it somewhat as it flew to the bridge near Harlem.
I met Bob at some point after that and we spotted one of many American Robins on a nest…
Just when it seemed like there were no birds, we experienced a flurry of activity in the trees directly above us. There were Yellow-rumped Warblers…
a White-breasted Nuthatch…
Pine Warblers…
and Chipping Sparrows.
I saw only the male Blue-winged Teal of the pair that has been hanging out the past week or two.
Then, in Riverside yesterday, not much was happening, but from the outset there were a lot of swallows feeding close to the river over by the Hofmann Tower. Although they were at quite a distance I managed to get some photos.
Tree Swallows
Barn Swallows and one Tree Swallow below.
Northern Rough-winged Swallows
I saw a few Palm Warblers close to the paved trail in Riverside.
In Riverside Lawn, there was a deer fairly close. But I didn’t see many birds.
For a perfect ending to my chilly walk, a Turkey Vulture flew low overhead.
All these photos were taken with my older Mark III 5D. Although I’ve gotten used to the newer model and it’s easier to focus, the newer camera requires software that only resided on my little MacBook Pro, which suffered some terrible damage as I sat here maybe three weeks ago, falling asleep processing photos, and spilled coffee all over myself, the futon, and, of course, the laptop. I managed to dry out the laptop and it resumed function. The cover for the futon is already coffee-colored so that was not an issue.
Alas, I managed to repeat this terrible scenario again. Although the laptop came back to life the second time, it didn’t last too long. It died a terrible death Monday night. I lost sleep reimagining solutions. Tuesday morning I ordered a new MacBook Pro from Best Buy where I purchased the one I’m using at this moment in 2013. It was my first Mac and it’s still working. Needless to say, I have never spilled coffee on it. It’s too big to be ignored. I stopped updating it, however, so that I could use the original Adobe Lightroom software which I purchased. Remember those days, when you could buy software, use it and update it from time to time without paying a monthly fee? I know, I risk sounding like a relic here… Same thing goes for my copy of Microsoft Word on this machine. It has never asked for more money.
There is more to this saga but it’s getting late and I have a very busy weekend to prepare for. So as much as I hate to leave you in suspense, I promise to be back soon with the rest of the story.
I managed to get to the Chicago Portage on Tuesday. The first signs of spring migration were abundant. As I walked in from the parking lot, I heard a familiar “tick” call high above and soon located a Yellow-rumped Warbler. I saw another individual later.
And I discovered later when I was going through my photos that I had captured a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker in flight with a Yellow-rumped Warbler flying in the opposite direction!
I began to see a few Field Sparrows on or near the gravel trail.
There was a Blue-winged Teal in the water.
And lots of turtles…
At one point I captured a distant Osprey flying with nesting material in its talons.
A Turkey Vulture flew right overhead.
I managed to capture a somewhat distant White-throated Sparrow.
The Portage continues to green up.
Red Admiral butterflies are starting to show.
Then there were birds that have been here all winter waiting for spring…
Mourning DoveHairy WoodpeckerHouse FinchBlue Jay
Right before I left, a Great Egret flew in. My flight photos turned out better than the distant ones after the egret landed.
Oh yes. Don’t forget the deer…
And the napping ducks…
I spent this morning at Columbus Park with the Oak Park Bird Walkers. We had a good time and saw enough birds to keep us busy for a couple hours. I think we’re off to a good start. Tomorrow morning will be sunny and quite warm, but I will be singing for Choir Sunday. I am mystified and deeply moved by the piece we are performing, Sacred Place by Alex Berko, so it will be okay to be stuck indoors (at least we’ll be singing about the natural environment).
We don’t seem to be quite finished with cooler overnight lows just yet if I can believe the future forecast, but the days keep getting longer and the birds will keep coming. And I will be back as soon as possible.
I haven’t been able to get out for a walk for a number of reasons the past two weeks. Much of it has been due to the weather. But now we are finally going to warm up, so I have to get out and start walking earlier.
Yesterday morning was beautiful with plenty of sunshine. I got over to the Chicago Portage at 8:30. I was thrilled to encounter a Muskrat having breakfast right off the little bridge near Harlem. He or she was irresistible.
A look through the break in the fence at the Des Plaines River showed how much the rain affected the bottomlands.
I heard more birds than I saw, and Merlin heard even more. But eventually birds started to appear.
American Robin
Northern Flickers have been busy – and pretty far away.
I did manage some photos of a male Red-bellied Woodpecker. If you click on the pictures below you will be able to see the red on his belly.
I was surprised to still see an American Tree Sparrow.
I had a nice encounter with a Brown Creeper. I have been seeing these birds in Riverside for a month or so but they’re still special.
I was surprised to see my FOY Tree Swallow. Swallows are hard enough to photograph when they’re in close, so I didn’t do this one justice but I had to try.
There were turtles…
Turtles with Muskrat
I heard the Eastern Phoebe I have been seeing since March 16. I call him Feebs. He has been hanging around the other bridge that I like to call Tadziu’s bridge after the Indigo Bunting I hope to see return this spring. I will be back later with some of the earlier photos of Feebs.
On my way out I found a Fox Sparrow.
Then there was a White-breasted Nuthatch who wouldn’t stop posing.
And I was almost at the parking lot when a Turkey Vulture flew over the trees.
My last photo was not of a bird, but of a young doe near the parking lot.
I don’t know which bird this was, but I liked the image. It looks like a Dark-eyed Junco to me.
And here’s one more of the Muskrat.
My friend is staying with me until Wednesday when she will fly back to California. It has been good to support her during this trying time. My indoor birds have gotten used to having her around and they aren’t trying to play with her hair as much anymore! I did give her a buff and a baseball cap to protect herself. 🙂
The Oak Park bird walks start this coming Saturday at Columbus Park. I have to practice my alto parts for Choir Sunday on the 14th. It will be a busy week. And the birds are coming back.
This first day of meteorological spring (today) started out chilly and windy. Although the wind was blowing from the south earlier and increased the temperature to 55 degrees, however briefly, the wind gusts were up to 40 miles per hour and now the direction of the wind is changing, and we are dipping down into the 20’s and low 30’s overnight through Sunday, with a little rainy snow in the forecast for Friday.
These photos are from the end of February at the Chicago Portage when we had some unusually warm days – yes, warm enough for the turtles to come out and sun themselves. But here we go in chronological order. On February 20, I first encountered some White-tailed Deer right off the parking lot.
American Robins get short-shrift, taken for granted, but I always welcome their presence and their stalwart tolerance of us humans.
Here’s how the Portage looked on that day.
I always expect American Tree Sparrows to have left and then they show up again.
American Tree Sparrow
I can’t always count on a photograph of a Black-capped Chickadee either, even though I see them year ’round.
I saw both Downy and Hairy Woodpeckers that day.
Downy Woodpecker
The photos below are the Hairy Woodpecker.
Female Northern Cardinals have been rather easy to capture lately but that will change soon.
Then there are the birds I don’t always see, but usually hear loud and clear. Red-winged Blackbirds have been on site for weeks. And Song Sparrows have been, well, singing of course.
Two days later on the 22nd there was more sunshine, if not more birds.
It must have been warmer, because this was the first time I noticed turtles sunning themselves with the pairs of Mallards and Canada Geese. I couldn’t stop taking pictures… Turtles in February!!
Then on February 27, it was even warmer. The European Starlings that nest in the statue were celebrating.
More Mallards came in.
Blue Jays were here and there.
And it was another fine day for the turtles.
When I got home, as soon as I got out of my car, Sandhill Cranes were flying over. It’s impossible to capture the enormity of the flocks as they merge and swirl around in the sky. One thing is certain: Sandhills like to party.
At the same time they were flying over, the kids in the grammar school down the street were outside in the playground, and my wind chimes were carrying on as well. In spite of all this I am including the tiny video below if you like sound effects.
Sandhill Cranes
Going back on February 29 (which happens only every 4 years), the temperatures had cooled down again and not much was happening. The turtles had gone back to bed.
Blue JayNorthern Cardinal
There was a doe on the ground taking a break from her hectic deer life.
So I guess there is a little consistency to this post, beginning and ending with deer. Now I can finally move on to March before it escapes me entirely. More birds are trickling in. The weather is changeable and dominated by strong winds, but spring is now official.
I went back to the Chicago Portage Tuesday morning and there were already several cars in the parking lot belonging most likely to the dog walkers I encountered as I started walking on the trail. I was curious to see if there had been much flooding other than the entrance to the parking lot.
The water levels looked a bit higher, but nothing all that unusual after a rain.
The wooded area that slopes down from the hill had water in it.
And the marshy area next to the paved trail was quite soggy.
At that point, after seeing very few birds save a few American Robins, I noticed a lot of American Tree Sparrows in the marshy area. I have seen them there, off and on, for several weeks. I can only imagine the rain replenished their foraging source. It was difficult to photograph them in such poor light, and they blended right in.
Red-winged Blackbirds and Song Sparrows were singing, establishing their territories, and turning their backs toward me or hiding behind branches.
My previous visit to the Portage was one week earlier and it was an even cloudier day.
It’s not often I see a Canada Goose land on a tree.A Northern Cardinal tries to brighten the gloom
I did find a White-throated Sparrow who seemed content with the camera.
Water flowing under the bridge
Back to yesterday, when I got home. There were some Sandhill Cranes flying over the house. Not as many as the week before (I will try to be back with those photos soon), but still just so nice to hear and see them.
A Red-tailed Hawk also flew by.
I went to stand by the gate to the backyard and see if I could take a few photos of the birds at the feeders. I had to stay in a corner blocked by the back stairs so as not to disturb them too much.
American Goldfinches are still coming to the feeders. They are becoming more colorful.
A Mourning Dove foraging on the groundA female Hairy Woodpecker on the peanut feeder
I was in Riverside this morning, before swimming a mile at the health club. The warm weather is confusing wildlife: I saw a bumblebee in my front yard yesterday, looking in vain for flowers. Things are starting to grow, but it’s still too early to clean up the yard and that bumblebee will likely have to go back to bed. We will get a lot of rain tomorrow so I won’t be out walking, only running an errand or two…and maybe writing another blog post.
It’s been a long slog of quiet walks at the Chicago Portage. But as the days get longer and in some cases, a little warmer, what little bird activity there is, is starting to shape up looking forward to spring. Here’s a little chronological overview of a week and a half’s worth of sightings.
On February 8, it was mostly Mallards. At least there was sunshine and open water,
On February 10, the only bird of note was a distant American Kestrel. I was otherwise distracted by some moss.
The 13th was a day of beautiful sunshine, but only one photo of a Downy Woodpecker.
The 16th didn’t look too promising with the cloud cover and ice on the water.
Some fungus caught my eye.
A bright red male Northern Cardinal made up for some of the gloom.
Then I heard a White-throated Sparrow talking. I stopped to answer its little wispy contact call, something I have found they often respond to. Eventually one emerged to forage by the trail.
Then as I stood there carrying on the conversation, if you will, one White-throated Sparrow, and then another, came to perch in front of me. We hung out for quite a while.
As I continued along the trail, I saw a female Northern Cardinal.
And then there was a Downy Woodpecker…
After the Downy, I came across twenty or more American Tree Sparrows foraging in the beaten-down vegetation. They blended in and were distant, which made it hard to crop even these few photos closely.
I went back on the morning of February 18, and encountered a large flock of Mourning Doves right off the parking lot. I counted 22. I managed to slowly continue on the trail without flushing them, somehow having arrived early before any other humans.
Not much else showed up that day except a pair of Canada Geese landing to have a look around on the ice. I suspect they sought a nesting spot.
I have a bit more from the Portage from this past week, but this feels like enough for now. We are experiencing a few days of much warmer weather for February, and it’s very seductive if slightly disorienting. Then there’s the familiar absurdity of an extra day this month. Plus, things are heating up in my personal music scene as well with several commitments to honor.
Then I have 345 photos to go through from last Saturday when I attended the 22nd Annual Gull Frolic hosted by the Illinois Ornithological Society. I hope to be back with processed photos soon.
The new camera arrived, and I managed to set it up for basic operation so I could take it with me to local places and get used to how it feels. Before I got in the car Saturday morning, I decided I better take a couple photos just to make sure everything was working properly. I noticed a Red-tailed Hawk across the street perched on my neighbor’s shortwave radio antenna.
I missed the hawk’s takeoff. I went to the Chicago Portage where I did not find many birds at all. Nothing new there.
One of a few Dark-eyed JuncosA White-tailed DeerCanada Geese flying overAn American Tree Sparrow
I went back to the Portage on Sunday and there was even less to look at.
When I first arrived, a Blue Jay was making a lot of noise, and I saw him at some distance from the bridge by Harlem Avenue. I couldn’t resist his electric blueness in the sunlight.
A female American Goldfinch
The Black-capped Chickadees show up sooner or later.
More Canada Geese
Most of the water at the Chicago Portage is still frozen, even though we have been above freezing for nearly two weeks. The water level is deeper, and the deep freeze apparently made ice too thick to melt quickly.
The last bird I photographed on Sunday was a distant Downy Woodpecker.
But it was still a sunny day, so I took out the 75-300mm lens and stood on my back porch to take a few photos through the screened-in windows. They weren’t sharp, but they weren’t all bad either. The American Goldfinch at the top of the post was one of them.
It’s been nice to see more House Finches in the yard lately. I heard one sing on Sunday too. The two below had a little argument.
And I had a Downy Woodpecker in the yard.
As for the camera, the shutter click is much quieter. There are a million new features that I have to check out. But I soon realized I could not download the photos from this camera into my ancient standalone version of Lightroom because it did not recognize them. I knew this day would come eventually. I suspected I was going to be using the Canon photo processing software anyway, so I installed it onto my newer laptop, which I purchased a couple years ago and have kept up to date so I can function in this century. I am now finally forced to make the transition. Ah, technology.
It feels like I have to rewire my brain. I can remember when I was first learning word processing software years ago, how I used to wake up from dreams of copying and pasting… It’s probably not going to be that bad, but just getting the hang of the new processor and how it operates and where the heck things are that I want to do is a challenge for my aging brain cells.
I am glad I have a couple months to get ready for spring warbler migration when I really need things to work smoothly. Right now there aren’t a lot of birds to worry about. But I have a lot of photos from last year, so I hope to be back soon with some of them.
Through cold and snow and fog, it’s been getting harder to find where the flock is hanging out around here. And although we warmed up considerably and even had abundant sunshine yesterday, I was not really able to take advantage of it. I am stuck for the second day waiting for a FedEx package (more about that later), so I may as well get caught up on what little activity I’ve observed lately.
I went to the Chicago Portage this past Saturday, when we were enveloped in fog.
The only bird I photographed, an American Kestrel, was too far away. I was heading toward my car in the parking lot when I saw it fly into a tree across Harlem.
After I came home, the only birds I barely managed to see were a House Finch and a House Sparrow on the sunflower seed feeder.
On Monday, I went to Riverside. I managed to capture some distant Common Goldeneyes far north of the swinging bridge. The looks of Riverside Lawn were still snow and ice so I turned around and went back along the paved trail in Riverside, not seeing anything worth noting. When I got back to my car I saw a Red-tailed Hawk I might have captured, but my battery in the camera was dead. I could have sworn I changed the battery before I left. I always do.
Tuesday morning, I went to the Chicago Portage. It was cloudy and quiet. I did manage to capture a few individuals. Two Mallards had managed to find a little open water.
American Tree SparrowBlue JayRed-bellied Woodpecker
I got back to my car and decided to check the camera to see how many shots I had taken. The camera was dead, indicating there was again no battery power.
I went home, determined it was not the batteries but the camera, got on the Internet and started considering my options. Seeing as how I had purchased the camera over 10 years ago and it had never been serviced, had been through all kinds of conditions, and had been showing other signs of exhaustion over the past year or so, I decided not to enjoin Canon for an expensive repair but to purchase a new body. It’s a big expense, but given the fact that a large part of my life revolves around being able to go out every morning and expect to photograph what I see, I determined it was worth it. I contacted Canon – they have an upgrade program of sorts which comes with a discount – and I purchased the newer model and a 4-year protection service package.
Rather than dust off one of my old camera bodies, I grabbed the mirrorless camera and went out Wednesday morning to Riverside. This time I decided to walk into Riverside Lawn from the parking lot entrance off of Joliet Avenue, to see how far I could get. The lack of light was a challenge, reminding me I had never figured out this camera to see if I could adjust for exposure.
Dark-eyed JuncoCanada GeeseRed-breasted MergansersFlooding on the trail past the fallen tree trunk
Yesterday morning I got up early, eager to at least sample the sunshine. My camera delivery was to occur between 10 AM and 2 PM. I got over to the Chicago Portage at 8:30.
The camera has a good zoom on it, so I zoomed in on a bird I had heard but could not determine quickly from so far away. It turned out to be a Northern Flicker.
Then as I walked up the dirt and gravel trail, I was suddenly joined by a mixed flock of American Goldfinches and some sparrows, most of which were American Tree Sparrows. The ATSPs were cooperative.
Some Canada Geese flew over and then decided to land. I caught up with them navigating the ice.
I was home well before 10:00 AM. I stayed in the front of the house as much as possible so I could see the FedEx truck when it pulled up. I cleaned the dining room, which was on my list of things to do anyway. And then somewhere around 1:30 I decided that I should assemble a plate of bread, cheese and fruit for breakfast, and I went into the kitchen. After I sat down to eat, I checked my phone. A delivery attempt had occurred and I had missed it. Needless to say, I was upset. I called FedEx and there was no remedy except to sit here and wait all day today for redelivery.
I was too frustrated to eat my meal. I covered it up and put it in the refrigerator for later and went out to do my grocery shopping. At least I got to vent my frustration to my favorite employee at Whole Foods when I got to the checkout and she remarked that I was later than usual. I must have been quite entertaining in my tale of exasperation as reflected by her response and her coworker who was checking me out while she put things in my reusable bags. I thanked them for listening to me and it must have been therapeutic because I managed to go to Trader Joe’s and then get home in one piece. I ate my breakfast around 4:15 and never had another meal yesterday. I played piano and served the Evening Snack to the indoor crowd, but beyond that, I was incapable of letting go of the delivery issue.
I tried to repair my defunct mechanical doorbell by installing a replacement I had purchased who-knows-when, but the wires to the bell were too short to attach to the new one. I signed up for every imaginable update from FedEx and put their app on my phone. None of this helps very much, but one does what one can.
So thanks for letting me sit here and vent. I was planning a cheerier blog post from last August, but the weather and the camera issue have consumed a lot of my energy. I almost wish I could take up knitting again, but you can understand my reluctance to go down to the basement looking for anything. I will sit here, watch the street, and wait.
