Bell’s Vireos have a reputation for sounding like they should be in plain sight but hiding behind the curtain, if you will. At least that has been my experience with those that breed in Illinois, so it was particularly rewarding to get pretty good looks, if not great pictures, of a Bell’s Vireo in Texas the last day of our trip.
We dispersed early in the morning to bird the grounds of Neal’s Lodges individually before leaving for the Austin airport. I thought I had a better recording of this bird’s song, for all the singing he was doing, but there seems to be interference from road noise and several other birds. Anyway, the Bell’s is the intermittent but emphatic little chattery song, if you can hear it.
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It’s possible one of the other birds singing a bit is a Black-Throated Sparrow. I was delighted to find him and get a few pictures as well. The last time I saw this species was almost two and a half years ago in New Mexico. Hard to believe it’s been that long.
Black-Throated Sparrow
The bird has to be facing you to see the black throat for which it’s named. Otherwise you need to be familiar with its other field marks, like the broad white supercilium.
There was also a cooperative Clay-Colored Sparrow, but I don’t hear his buzzy song on this recording.
Clay-Colored Sparrow
Indoor birds and I are listening to Gluck’s Iphigenie en Tauride on the Tuesday Night Opera with Peter Van De Graaff on WFMT. It seems a good night to stay home, close the windows to retain some heat overnight, turn on the oven and roast veggies. The drop in temperature dictates coziness.
Greater Roadrunner outside Neal’s Lodges, Uvalde County, Texas
It’s been a long week short on inspiration, and the weekend promises to be full of rain so I will not be birding far away, if at all. As it turns out I have made plans to visit with friends and family I haven’t seen for a while. Perfect timing to include a visit to my dentist as well. My People Weekend. And with the coming July Polar Vortex, I am already dreaming of doing yard work without sweat.
I took off work early yesterday to be on hand for the tow truck driver who eventually showed up and whisked away the old car. This has been one event foremost in my mind, of things I really wanted to get done. The Taurus started happily after sitting idle in my backyard for 3 months, as if looking forward to its next destination. The cell phone picture below shows its better side with the intact side mirror. Maybe you can see the rust underneath where the side panel fell off if you click on the picture.
Final Farewell
Goodbye, Old Paint
Like Gregory the dachshund my parents gave away to an adoring childless couple after my brother was born, the car didn’t even look back at me. I suspect the car knows it’s going to a better place too.
After I came in from the yard, with the cell phone still handy, I took a picture of some of the finches waiting in the kitchen for me to resume the snack service. They seemed oblivious to cell phone pictures, but I still have hopes of stalking them with the real camera, which they resist, at an opportune moment. The four newest Society Finches (Bella, Johnnie, Franklin and Marty) are huddled together on the right with a male Zebra Finch (it could be Zorro), and one Spice Finch is preening himself at the far left.
Finches on the Pot Rack
While waiting for the tow truck to arrive, I managed to put my pictures from our Texas trip back on the laptop and started going through them, which explains the Roadrunner at the top and the rest below. There will be more to come as I rediscover them. It’s more fun to go back two-plus months in time than I thought it would be.
Barn Swallow
Barn Swallow shopping for nesting material.
Chipping Sparrows were everywhere.
Chipping Sparrow
And it seemed after we saw the first Clay-Colored Sparrow, by the end of the trip, they too were everywhere.
Clay-Colored Sparrow
I went to check our ebird list for April 30th when we birded around Neal’s Lodges that morning, and the Blue Grosbeak was not on it. I have now added it to the list.
First Summer Blue Grosbeak
I will be back with more discoveries from the Texas trip and a bird song or two.
I thought to myself earlier in the week, looking forward to birding two grasslands, that by this time I might have had my fill of this type of habitat, but to the contrary, the next places to visit, circling in my mind, are more of the same. Except that they have not been and will not be the same. Yes, I saw some of the same species at Bartel Grassland that were at Goose Lake Prairie. But there were others that were different. And the habitats are remarkably unique within themselves.
Gathering for the Walk
Of course it was a different experience going on a field trip with the Chicago Ornithological Society (COS) and 15-20 people (it seemed like a large group) than being totally alone. But whatever I lost in being able to record sounds, I probably gained in sightings. And the genial camaraderie of birding with people, some of whom I knew or had encountered before, falling in and out of conversations along the trail, was welcome, and as always, educational.
Purple Prairie Clover
I haven’t been to Bartel for years, and then perhaps only twice. It is an ongoing restoration project. Each time I have been with a group and Dick Riner, the site steward, has been available for guidance and comment. I wish I had time to volunteer, to learn more from Dick and to experience the grassland from the ground up as it changes through the seasons. But I’m finding it hard enough to work in my own backyard. And the way Dick tells it, the high school kids are the best volunteers because of their energy physical capabilities. Grassland restoration is hard work!
Weather-wise we started out overcast and even a bit chilly. But that was not enough to stop a Red-Winged Blackbird from harassing a Great Blue Heron.
Someone mentioned the blackbird was riding piggyback on the heron. I can’t tell if the photograph above captured this or if it was some ruffled feathers, but you get the idea.
One of the target birds was Henslow’s Sparrow, which we heard quite a bit before we actually saw one. All the birds were too far away to photograph but I took my chances anyway and managed to get a few.
Henslow’s Sparrow
We had a couple Savannah Sparrows that were a bit closer to the trail.
Savannah Sparrow
At times the trail, or the beginning of one, stopped abruptly.
Perhaps best represented of the target birds were Boboliniks, even though Dick told us we seemed to have just missed most of them, when a few days ago there were perhaps hundreds more gathering to fly south toward their wintering grounds in Argentina. Bartel has the second largest population of breeding Bobolinks in Illinois, the first being at Midewin. But Midewin is so huge you might never be able to see as many as we did today. There were about 20. The females were a little easier to get pictures of.
Male Bobolink
Two views of a female. Click on the pictures and you might actually be able to see them!
Female Bobolink
Eastern Meadowlarks…were present but difficult to capture. Still it was nice to see as well as hear them.
Eastern Meadowlark
The milkweed is thick and in full bloom at Bartel, and insects could not resist it. I found this bee hanging from it at the very start.
Bee on Milkweed
I don’t think I have ever seen a Halloween Pennant before. This is a new dragonfly for me, and quite a flashy one.
Halloween Pennant
Whatever the moth on the milkweed, it was not revealing itself to me. But by now the sun was shining brightly, offering a better picture.
Another look at the Savannah Sparrow.
On the way back to my car I noticed the Blazing Star starting to bloom.
I don’t know what it is about Goose Lake Prairie, but I like going there, so that was my destination on the Fourth of July. I didn’t get out as early as planned but after the hour-plus drive I was walking the gravel trail from the Visitor’s Center around 7:45 AM. The Visitor’s Center is always closed on the Fourth of July. One of these days I’ll have to go when it’s open.
Pollen Orgy: Bee in the Bergamot
Not seeing a lot of bees these days so I try to pay attention when I do. This bee appears to be virtually bathed in pollen. I think it’s the little hairs on the flower petals that make it look that way. Click on the picture to see.
The first bird I managed to photograph was a Common Yellowthroat. From the coloring it looks like a juvenile.
Common Yellowthroat
But there were still plenty of males singing on territory, like the one below. A sample of his song is in the link between the pictures. You might also hear a Song Sparrow and an Eastern Meadowlark singing in the background of the recording: the Common Yellowthroat is the one singing in triplets.
Male Common Yellowthroat
plug
I also saw a male Northern Harrier soon after I started out, but only because it had been chased into and then out of a tree by a flock of Red-Winged Blackbirds. It was the only raptor I had until I saw a Turkey Vulture from the car as I was driving away.
Northern Harrier
Below, some of the many juvenile Red-Winged Blackbirds hanging out in groups.
Juvenile Red-Winged Blackbirds
The Tree Swallows below were probably too far away to photograph, but I like the tandem effect of this picture anyway.
Tree Swallows
For the record, here’s a juvenile Song Sparrow. I could not seem to locate the adults that were singing.
Juvenile Song Sparrow
This is the time of year when anything that flies catches my eye. One thing I’ve noticed is the different dragonflies as they occur in different habitats. Butterflies, anywhere, are entirely another matter; they seem to be scarce and do not like to be photographed except from far away.
Widow Skimmer Male
Female Twelve-Spotted Skimmer
Viceroy Butterfly
The other prominent singer yesterday was a Dickcissel. The bird below eventually tolerated my presence so I could get these pictures. One version of his song is in below his pictures.
Dickcissel
Although the weather was relatively cool starting out, the sun was hot and by 10:00 a.m. or so I felt I had probably seen all I was going to see. It’s not the kind of place you want to go off trail.
I decided to stop by Lake Renwick on the way back home, which has a heron rookery. There is a small viewing area at Copley Nature Park, accessible from Route 30 at the edge of Lake Renwick. Lake Renwick rookery itself is closed during the breeding season. This is another place I need to check out when it’s open for business.
A distant family of Great Blue Herons tempted me to shoot a few fuzzy pictures.
Great Blue Heron Nest, Lake Renwick
And birds flying by, like this Double-Crested Cormorant, with its distinctive silhouette.
Double-Crested Cormorant
Perhaps the most numerous species of the day besides Red-Winged Blackbird was Eastern Kingbird. There were many at Goose Lake and several at Copley Nature Park, this one being particularly cooperative.
In case I had any doubt about the heron rookery, this Great Egret flew overhead after I had been out of the car only a few minutes.
Oh well, one more early morning and then it’s back to business as usual. I’m joining Chicago Ornithological Society at Bartel Grassland in Tinley Park tomorrow. It’s an early start and an hour’s drive away, so I should be turning in very soon. After three days off I feel like I’m just beginning to get the hang of it. Being off, that is.
Today also marks my third year blogging with WordPress. I feel like I’m just beginning to get the hang of that too. Thanks to you all for making it fun! 🙂
According to a website complete with site cams I have just discovered, Maggie Daley Park progress is moving apace, and the first trees will be planted, it looks like, before the end of the summer. I suspect that wildlife will start moving in before the space will be open to the public, and am hopeful that at least more green space will attract avian visitors for fall migration.
I have no idea whether this is an observation deck for the construction workers or a permanent fixture in the park, but I suspect the latter, or maybe a little bit of both. It looks too elaborate to function solely for the construction effort.
Going down to Lake Shore East Park which is north of Millennium and the Maggie Daley project, there is a stair-wall to be navigated from the west side. The park looks lush, green, and…pretty birdless.
I did manage to hang out with American Crow families a few weeks ago while the kids were still young and begging, but I have not seen them in recent weeks. I suspect, as always, they have taken the weaned preteens off to learn how to be crows in larger, less-peopled spaces.
Occasionally I encounter a single crow somewhere who shirks its sentry duties and partakes of peanuts.
There was a semi-photographable Red-Winged Blackbird in the Lurie Garden last week.
The only thing that kept me from going to any parks on Monday was lugging two boxes of blueberry coffee-cake scones downtown for Kim’s birthday. Too hard to lug the camera. So I can no longer take a walk without a camera. Tsk, tsk.
I played hooky today (albeit planned ahead of time) and bought a vehicle sticker for the new car, worked in the yard, and put away all my tax receipts for the last 8 or 9 years while still trying to find the title for the old beater. No luck yet, but I will be organized after all this. I also baked pineapple bread and made some delicious cabbage/carrot slaw. Weather-wise it was a glorious day to do anything. I am claiming the entire weekend’s excellent weather for my birthday, so there is no need for anyone to elaborate further on that event, since nothing can top the gift I have already received.
Getting up early to go somewhere. Report to follow. Happy Independence Day to all U.S. readers!
The weather in Chicago is nothing if not interesting. We seem to be repeating some of the pattern established last summer: extremely hot weather followed by a cool spell, usually following some thunderstorm activity. Last week the effect of all this was one spectacularly foggy morning in the Loop.
By the time I got to the Thompson Center, the pigeons were hanging out on the Jean Dubuffet sculpture which looks like it was made out of paper mache. It’s big enough you can walk inside it, between its “legs.”
Pigeons on the Dubuffet sculpture at the Thompson Center
The lack of green space takes its toll on me and the birds down here. I’m also not fond of crowds and so I tend to stay away from Millennium Park during the summer. But after spending a couple days working through lunch, it’s definitely better to go out and look at anything that doesn’t have to do with staring at a computer monitor. So I visited Lurie Garden one day with the macro lens.
Rattlesnake Master
Probable Margined Soldier Beetle
I’ve just purchased the Audubon app to help identify bugs but I am hopeless when it comes to flowers. I get overwhelmed surfing through pictures. I’ll take any help I can get if you know what these are. The red one on the bottom completely stumps me. Is it some sort of Monarda? (Those of you who are flower experts are allowed to laugh at me.)
Spiderwort – I think
almost looks like a Blazing Star but I don’t think it is
A female Northern Cardinal found me that day and she got lucky, I had peanuts just for her.
Sometimes it seems appropriate to pay attention to a Rock Pigeon. They are beautiful, we just take them for granted. But I look at it this way: they confirm our existence. This is one species that would not be here (as much) without us.
Apologies are in order, I suppose. I have been a blogging laggard.
Two-Striped Grasshopper
Baby Two-Striped Grasshopper
After struggling to manage a post all week I’m not doing any better this weekend. There seem to be too many other things that have to get done, and then that stuff that really gets in the way, like sleeping and eating.
Blue Dasher
So this is a little picture postcard from last Sunday at McGinnis (this Sunday has yet to be processed). Weekends have been hot and steamy. I suspect I move a little slower in the heat. Maybe my brain does too.
Unidentified Meadowhawk
Red-Spotted Purple
With any luck I will add identities to some of these creatures tomorrow.
I hope to start making up for all of this over the holiday. Thanks for your patience!
Update 7-10-14: My friend Linda Padera who has been paying attention to butterflies and dragonflies a lot longer than I have weighed in on my butterfly ID and I have corrected it to Red-Spotted Purple. She said the clear-winged Meadowhawks are difficult to pin down but “Striped” was not an option in this part of the country so I have changed it to “Unidentified” after checking some sources on the Internet that have not helped me to determine whether it was a Ruby or White-Faced Meadowhawk, the two most likely choices. This is harder than birds!
Memorial Day morning in Iosco County we explored the forest around us, and while we were looking for birds mostly in the trees above, it was impossible to ignore the seemingly endless world underfoot. It was also an opportunity to get used to using my relatively new Canon macro 100mm lens. So although this is a bit off topic unless you can hear the mosses singing, I feel compelled to share some of these images with you.
Four Tooth Moss
At a loss trying to identify even some of these, I managed to find a book by Janice M. Glime on Amazon that is devoted to mosses and liverworts of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and Isle Royale; although this is farther north than we were, some of the mosses and lichens were present. It’s a beautiful book and makes me now want to visit the U.P.!
There was a lot of the moss below and I believe it is a Cushion Moss, which describes it perfectly where it occurs.
Cushion Moss
I have no idea what the moss is below, and if you do, please weigh in!
I have no idea what this is but it looks like a miniature forest
Again, the moss below grows like the cushion moss, but I cannot find anything like it with the darker growth emerging out of it.
This looks like the cushion moss but now it has little trees growing out of it!
This is sandy soil, and whatever creature calls this home, below, has made a perfect entrance to its hole. This could be an insect nest. If you recognize it please let me know.
Some Creature’s Sand Castle
The leaves on the forest floor had a poetry all their own. The wonder of being in a completely different habitat and ecosystem comes rushing back when I review these photographs.
Forest Floor
The half-eaten egg below must have belonged to a larger bird. I wonder if it was a Ruffed Grouse egg, as we occasionally heard the males drumming.
As yet unidentified egg
The one thing I definitely recognized on sight: Fiddlehead Fern.
Fiddlehead Fern
And now it’s back to the Summer Solstice in Illinois: we are presently in between thunderstorms. It’s cool when the clouds come over and hot when the sun shines through. Time to go for a swim and see if there are any Cedar Waxwings eating the now-ripe Serviceberries outside the entrance to the gym.
Sunday morning I got up early before the predicted heat ensued and went to the Dorothy and Sam Dean Nature Sanctuary in Oak Brook…
because I felt like I hadn’t had a proper Eastern Bluebird yet this year. I found only one Bluebird but he did not let me down. He even chirped a slight song but it was not strong enough to beat out the surrounding chorus.
There were a few other birds on the wire…
Song Sparrow
Juvenile Barn Swallow
The first bird, the parking lot bird, if you will, was a Great Blue Heron flying over.
Great Blue Heron
There was a flock of Cedar Waxwings moving through. I caught one laggard.
Cedar Waxwing
But the dominant species overall was Red-Winged Blackbird.
Red-Winged Blackbird
And the Blackbirds were no less shy taking on Turkey Vultures than they had been the Red-Tailed Hawks at McGinnis a couple weeks ago.
Turkey Vulture chased by Red-Winged Blackbirds
Indeed it was a little dicey walking around the paths. Being the height of breeding season, the Red-Wingeds were not in the mood to tolerate my presence. Click on the picture below to see the spider in this female Red-Winged Blackbird’s bill.
Female Red-Winged Blackbird
The Sanctuary is a small place, but it managed to make the House Sparrow below look exotic.
House Sparrow
After about an hour in Oak Brook, I decided it was time to head back east and check in at the Portage.
The water levels are high, in large part, I suspect, to the felling of so many trees. There were puddles directly in front of me on the path, visited by a Killdeer…
Killdeer
and a Song Sparrow…
Song Sparrow
There were Warbling Vireos singing up a storm here, as they had been at Dorothy and Sam’s place too. In the sample below, the Warbling Vireo is the very busy-sounding song going on behind all the other noises.
Warbling Vireo
Juvenile Wood Duck
The Portage was full of juvenile birds, like the Wood Duck above. I was glad to see a Green Heron fly over and another, albeit far away, ensconced foraging over the water. I am glad the Green Herons are back.
Green Heron
And after not seeing any Mallards the last two or three times I visited, now there is an entire family.
Mallards
Also ubiquitous at the Portage are House Wrens. There were at least four males singing on territories. Here’s one of them.
House Wren
Juvenile American Robin
There are always loads of American Robins at the Portage, and now there will be even more as the youngsters start figuring things out.
The big surprise, perhaps, was on the other side of the fence. I followed the path that leads down to the train tracks and the Des Plaines River. I stopped halfway to peer into the bottomlands and saw a Great Egret. I think this is the first time I have seen a Great Egret at the Portage.
Behind the Portage looking down to the Des Plaines River
Changes in habitat create subtle changes in the creatures that use it. It will no doubt continue to be an interesting year at the Chicago Portage.
Great Egret
When I went back to my car, I met Adrian and Stella, whom I have seen walking their dogs at the Portage. We had a delightful visit and I look forward to seeing them again.
And now I must get back to work, looking for my old car title, and going through more photographs. The weather forecast is for rain and thunderstorms much of the week so there may be hope for inside endeavors.
This post will feature flying birds as I continue to soar through pictures from the Memorial Day Weekend. It’s been a busy week at work and the only antidote is swimming, which means I have spent less time sitting with the laptop.
Osprey
On the Chicago Ornithological Society (COS) Kirtland’s Warbler Memorial Day trip, the second day we spent the morning at Tuttle Marsh. Above is a picture of one of the Ospreys that nests there.
Below is a sign describing the wetland restoration project at Tuttle Marsh. Click on any of the pictures to enlarge the view.
American Bittern
I saw my first American Bittern at Tuttle Marsh last year, in the reeds. This year, we had two flying across the marsh. Above is one of them. Not a great shot but the profile is distinctive.
Osprey Nest
There is a viewing area across from the Osprey nest, where these pictures were taken.
I can’t resist the “Honey, I’m home” sentiment to the last picture above although her reaction indicates that he forgot the milk.
Turkey Vulture
I never tire of seeing Turkey Vultures, even after being in Virtual Vulture Heaven about a month ago in Texas. I promise to get back to those pictures as soon as I am done with these!
Green Heron
I can’t remember if we saw any Green Herons on the ground, but we certainly had them in the air (six!). As I recall (memory being what it is two weeks later), we made some stops along the way to the Marsh and by the time we got there it was perhaps a bit later than we had been last year, mid-morning and a bit quieter. But we got great looks at a Broad-Winged Hawk that flew over. Below are my first-ever photographs of a flying Broad-Winged, which is a less-common buteo to see. I am thrilled to have these pictures to study and imprint on my brain, so I might be able to recognize the next one I see flying by, which will probably not hang around so long.
Broad-Winged Hawk
We went back to Tuttle Marsh in the evening to hear, if not see, the American Bittern. We did hear one call once, but I did not manage to record it. However while we endured swarms of mosquitoes that eventually subsided as the temperatures cooled, I did manage to get a picture of the sunset, and a recording of a very vocal Eastern Whip-Poor-Will.
