Back in Riverside: Early May

Posted on June 13, 2024 by Lisa Rest

I had plans to visit a grassland habitat today, but the weather and my knee had other ideas. We are in the thick of a heat wave with threats of storm activity. My knee wasn’t too bad, just adding its opinion to my decision to stay close to home. Instead, I took a short walk this morning to visit a friend on her birthday. Cooling off, I may as well write a blog post I’ve been poking at for days as the summertime lull settles in.

These are photos from last month in Riverside when migrants were still coming through. Two visits, one on May 3 and the other on May 6, are in this post.

On May 3, the first creature I saw was not a bird but a groundhog just off the Joliet Avenue bridge. I have never seen one here – or I think anywhere – before.

Baltimore Orioles were showing off in early May.

The bird below looks like an Alder Flycatcher to me. It’s harder to tell without being able to see its wing bars, but empidonax flycatchers are meant to be confusing.

Red-winged Blackbirds are sometimes hare to ignore.

There was a Tree Swallow investigating a hole in this dead tree that leans over the river by the swinging bridge. I continue to watch for further activity.

The last of the Ruby-crowned Kinglets were present.

Maybe this was one of the last of the Yellow-rumped Warblers too, looking like a female.

A House Wren looked busy establishing his territory.

That day may have been the first time I saw a Great Blue Heron on the river.

Then, on May 6, I saw a few more birds to photograph. Somehow, I managed to get this Blue Jay in flight at quite a distance.

Yellow Warblers were easier to see. There are still some around raising families, but now I only hear them.

Here are a couple more photos of the Song Sparrow at the top of the post with its insect snack.

A Warbling Vireo gave me the eye.

Likely there wasn’t anything happening off the swinging bridge that morning except for some turtles.

I found a White-throated Sparrow.

And I just barely managed to see a Lincoln’s Sparrow.

A Northern Waterthrush was close to the water.

Northern Cardinals provide a splash of color all year long.

I found a Nashville Warbler that day.

A dramatically backlit Baltimore Oriole managed to remain half-hidden in the leaves.

Some more photos of the Yellow Warbler are below.

There’s lots more from May and June which I will try to fit in soon. Even though this spring migration season was more than a little “off”, there was always something to see, usually when I least expected it. Maybe it will be a little easier to sit inside and write a post while it’s too hot to be out walking. We shall see.

One-on-One: Mourning Warbler

Posted on May 30, 2024 by Lisa Rest

On Monday morning, in Riverside Lawn, I heard a Mourning Warbler. I couldn’t locate it, but it wasn’t too far away from the big fallen log that I often sit on. I didn’t expect to hear it again.

I was back in Riverside Wednesday morning. rolling with the slowdown as breeding birds get down to business, and figured I would just walk through Riverside Lawn as usual, go swimming and get ready for the talent show. And then, Merlin and I heard the Mourning Warbler, again.

It wasn’t far away, but the vegetation is messy and thick around that same spot and I knew it was likely hopeless. However, I stood still and made little subdued pishing noises to see if maybe I could get the bird to move somewhere I could see him. Then I walked back around another trail that had been carved out since the last obstructing tree fall. I heard the warbler again, and then saw him pop up on a branch to sing.

I have managed to export my Merlin sound file for the first time, and then was able to isolate the section of the recording with the Mourning Warbler’s song. There are also camera clicks and cicadas on this excerpt. If the Mourning Warbler is still around tomorrow, I will try to make a better recording without Merlin.

It’s been a long time since I’ve had a good look at a Mourning Warbler, so I am very pleased. I feel as if I have made a new friend. Obviously, I took way too many pictures of him, but there wasn’t all that much more to photograph yesterday anyway.

A Baltimore Oriole emerged here and there.

Common Grackles flew along the river over by the Hofmann Tower.

Red-winged Blackbirds were busy defending territories.

Below, a couple red-winged Blackbirds policing a pair of Mallards and a Red-tailed Hawk.

A Ring-billed Gull was flying about.

And I am always happy to see a male Northern Cardinal.

To honor Bob’s request, I photographed a few cicadas.

Here are a few more of the Mourning Warbler.

I survived the talent show, but found it was way more difficult to just sit down and play the Evening Snack Song. I discovered today, though, that practicing that Bach Prelude over and over again last week had a beneficial effect on my muscle memory of the Adagio to the Ravel Piano Concerto in G. Amazing how that works. I’ll take whatever I can get.

We still have cool nights, but I was thrilled to see some bees on the foxglove this afternoon, so maybe it’s finally warm enough to go back to work in the yard. Cool nights are quiet, too: some peace in that.

Back to the Chicago Portage

Posted on May 28, 2024 by Lisa Rest

These photos are from May 8. Pre-Brood XIII. I have a feeling that the season will now be defined by the emergence of the 17-year cicadas, so this was pre-emergence. Please bear with me through a rather disjointed but short post.

Warbling Vireos were still visible. That’s over by now.

It was even easier to see a few butterflies Pre-Cicada.

I managed to see a Nashville Warbler, albeit distant.

The highlight of the day was seeing this Broad-winged Hawk. We don’t see them often, and when we do it’s only during the summer, according to the Sibley app on my phone.

White-crowned Sparrows were very accommodating this spring.

Indigo Buntings are abundant. Every once in a while I see a female. But everybody is disappearing into the leaf cover.

I did get to see another Chestnut-sided Warbler, sort of.

And an Eastern Kingbird.

Song Sparrows are bored with me.

I did notice a female Baltimore Oriole looking for nesting material.

I followed her up to a tree where she was fashioning her nest. I couldn’t resist taking all these photos of her beautiful creation. And as far as I could tell, she was singing while she worked.

We slipped into a chilly, rainy pattern of weather over the Memorial Day weekend that looks like it will continue for a while, and temperatures will not begin to increase until Friday. Up until now, it’s been nice to leave the windows open, but I have closed them to conserve warmth in the house. It’s not just weather anymore.

Only one thing is certain: Johann Sebastian Bach. I have to practice the prelude to the English Suite No. 2 in A minor as I have decided to play it tomorrow night for the annual choir appreciation dinner talent show. As many times as I have played this as a prelude to the Evening Snack Service, I will need an extra layer of protection against messing it up.

Highlights of a Spring Bird Count

Posted on May 23, 2024 by Lisa Rest

The Illinois Spring Bird Count was on May 4 this year. I joined the group I have been counting with for years in DuPage County. We had 66 species and counted a total of 940 individuals. We started at McKee Marsh as usual and immediately began seeing the first of the Yellow Warblers which totaled 35 by the end of the day.

Baltimore Orioles demand attention.

Many birds were already busy starting families. We saw a Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher on her nest.

We had plenty of swallows and they were often at eye level. I paid attention to a Barn Swallow.

I managed to capture a Tree Swallow in flight and another in a Bluebird nest box.

Song Sparrows were abundant. So were Field Sparrows, but we heard more than we saw.

Early on, we had a Fox Squirrel looking down at us from its hole in a tree.

The first bird I photographed was a distant Hairy Woodpecker.

Gray catbirds aren’t always even this easy to see.

A brief but welcome Eastern Bluebird sighting…

I can never resist a male Brown-headed Cowbird in good light.

One of those ubiquitous Warbling Vireos:

A Painted Turtle poked its head out to greet us.

A Pileated Woodpecker flew by so fast right in front of me I could only follow its disappearance with the camera.

Three more of the Yellow Warblers…

This Rose-breasted Grosbeak had his back to us but turned around to say hello.

We watched an American Robin feeding nestlings.

We heard some other species of warblers but did not see them in any expected locations. Looking back on it now, this probably signaled the beginning of the end for this warbler migration.

I’m going to stop complaining about the dearth of warbler sightings. Spring is rapidly becoming summer. In the meantime, there have been some exciting encounters. I’ll be back soon. First, yard work.

Transformation at the Chicago Portage

Posted on May 20, 2024 by Lisa Rest

Spring migration has been completely unpredictable this year. There are certain things that you tend to expect to happen, and several of those things did still occur, but the timing and number of species seen has been quite different from the past few years.

We always look forward to seeing lots of wood warblers during spring migration, yet this spring, for whatever reason, sightings have been sporadic at best. There just were not that many species in the trees once we got past the early influx of Yellow-rumped and Palm Warblers. There were hardly any other species in large numbers, and when there were, like Tennessee Warblers, for example, they were so high up and distant, they were impossible to see.

Rather than go on about What Happened To Spring Migration?, I am going to just start posting my favorite photos from the past few weeks, starting with three visits to the Chicago Portage on April 28, May 2, and May 8. Let’s start with a fond goodbye to the Yellow-rumped and Palm Warblers.

It was consistently difficult to capture a Nashville Warbler this spring.

I saw a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker that day. I think it’s the only one this season.

American Robins are busy and ubiquitous. Could that be a cicada in the robin’s bill in the second photo?

Black-capped Chickadees have since gone nesting and are not so easy to see.

There was something odd going on with a couple Blue-gray Gnatcatchers that day. I can’t tell if the scruffy-looking one was an early fledgling, but that’s what it looks like, the other being its watchful parent.

On May 2, a couple fighting Baltimore Orioles caught my eye.

It was a cloudy day.

I barely captured a male American Redstart.

There was still a Yellow-rumped Warbler.

Yellow Warblers were easier to find. Here are some more photos of the bird at the top of the post and another individual.

Northern Flickers are getting easier to see.

Blue-gray Gnatcatchers are disappearing as they tend to their nests, but I got lucky with this one.

And Warbling Vireos are normally difficult to see but I have managed to photograph several this season.

I was watching a female Red-winged Blackbird searching for nesting material.

And a male Red-winged Blackbird by the water.

At one point three Turkey Vultures flew over in celebration.

The switch to summer-like hot weather and thunderstorms seems sudden. I’ve shed my jeans for lighter weight birding clothes. On Saturday morning, I led my auction bird walk at the Chicago Portage. Two days before, the mosquitos were waking up. On Friday morning, the first periodical cicadas were emerging from their exoskeletons. Here’s a sneak preview.

Yesterday was the last Unity Temple Choir performance for the season, and afterward, four of us went down to Hyde Park to sing with members of other UU choirs for the Meadville-Lombard commencement ceremony. Suffice it to say I was happily exhausted.

I have a lot more photos to share, and in spite of the lack of warblers, I still have had some nice warbler encounters from the last couple weeks. But I think I’ll be back first with some birds from the Spring Bird Count.

Two Walks at Columbus Park

Posted on May 13, 2024 by Lisa Rest

This is a little roundup of two Saturday walks at Columbus Park in which I participated. At the beginning of the walk on April 27th, first we saw Goslings.

But that was nothing compared to this past Saturday, May 11.

On April 27, there were still several Palm Warblers.

We also had a Black-and-White Warbler.

It was really difficult to capture a Nashville Warbler adequately as it was quite far away, but I tried anyway.

Yellow Warblers are everywhere.

And it may have been the last of the Yellow-rumped Warblers.

We had an American Robin on a nest.

And a beautiful Northern Rough-winged Swallow posed for us in the cloud cover. I don’t know how, but at first I mistook it for an Eastern Phoebe. I was off my game that morning, which was also the day of the Spring Music Festival. Or at least that’s my excuse.

I got a good look at a Red-tailed Hawk flying over us that day.

And I was happy to find a Savannah Sparrow later in my photos.

Here’s a Song Sparrow for comparison. The heavy malar stripe on the throat is sometimes the best clue to determine a Song Sparrow quickly.

On May 11, we saw a couple Black-and-White Warblers again.

And a Black-throated Green Warbler

Now that it was two weeks later, the Palm Warblers appeared to be females.

There were Yellow Warblers again, if not necessarily in the best light.

I had close views of a Warbling Vireo.

And not so close views of a Red-eyed Vireo.

When someone said they saw a Great-crested Flycatcher, I thought I did too but it turned out to be an Olive-sided Flycatcher which is a bird I have seen only twice (in my photos) and now I will never mistake it for any other flycatcher ever again. The yellow on the belly and the crested look threw me off, but that dark vest is unmistakable, as is the white throat and a shorter tail (not at all rufous in color) than the Great-crested.

The icing on the cake last Saturday was the appearance of a Black-crowned Night-heron just as we were walking toward our cars.

Other birds stopping long enough for photos were a Gray Catbird and a couple Baltimore Orioles.

It’s been kind of a slow start with warbler migration, as far as it goes on the ground, anyway. A lot of birds have been flying over at night. I also wondered if the solar flares producing northern lights would throw off the birds. I found a reference to a study suggesting that could be a factor, although I haven’t read it yet.

But just as things were terribly slow-going yesterday at the Chicago Portage, this morning in Riverside was promising. I will be back soon. Even without a lot of activity I have catching up to do.

A Riverside Recap

Posted on May 7, 2024 by Lisa Rest

I have been to Riverside several times in the past couple weeks and migrating birds are definitely arriving. These photos are selected from three visits: April 26, April 29 and May 1.

On April 26, not much was happening, but I was pleased to see a Great Egret for the first time on the river by the Hofmann Tower. I suspect the egret was not ready for my attention. For what it’s worth, I reported 23 species that day.

Off of the paved trail I saw young trees covered with nets to protect them from the impending periodical cicadas.

Palm Warblers were just beginning to show up.

Three days later, on April 29 in my backyard that morning, I noticed a Hermit Thrush first perched on a dried-out pokeweed stalk outside my kitchen window. I went out with the older camera and a smaller lens to see if there were any other unexpected visitors. I found a Winter Wren, a Gray Catbird, two Brown-headed Cowbirds and a brief view of a Brown Thrasher. I tried to grab photos. The cowbirds are not represented below, and the Winter Wren was flitting around, barely visible by the back fence near the squirrel-planted tulips. All this activity in my yard promised a busy morning by the river.

When I got to Riverside, there were many more Palm Warblers, and other birds starting to appear. I reported 33 species that day.

Anticipating the arrival of Baltimore Orioles after one or two had been reported here and there, I finally found one, albeit a bit distant from where I was standing.

In Riverside Lawn, I found a Black-and-White Warbler…

and a Northern Waterthrush…

…and a Common Yelloowthroat.

I was also pleased to see a Spotted Sandpiper on the beach.

The Swamp Sparrow below was too far away for me to focus properly. That and I need to get my eyes checked.

It was nice to see a beautiful White-throated Sparrow.

And there were still plenty of Yellow-rumped Warblers on hand.

On May 1, I reported 34 species. The Bay-breasted Warbler at the top of this post was the first bird I photographed. There must have been 100 Palm Warblers…but I reported 70.

There was another Black-and-White Warbler on hand.

This Baltimore Oriole was closer.

And I was very happy to see a male Rose-breasted Grosbeak.

Here’s another Yellow-rumped Warbler in the shadows.

A White-crowned Sparrow posed briefly. These guys have been in my yard too for the past couple weeks, and it’s a delight to hear them sing even if I don’t always see them.

The Tree Swallow below will reappear in a future post or two. He seems to be interested in a tree hole close to the bridge.

I had another Spotted Sandpiper. I took way too many photos of it.

I am starting to see Turkey Vultures regularly now. There seem to often be three circling in the sky.

We had a thunderstorm morning today, so I didn’t go for a walk. Instead I tried doing my grocery shopping early before taking my car in for a scheduled service appointment. It started to rain just as I left Trader Joe’s and I drove home as the precipitation was coming down in sheets, barely able to see in front of me. Luckily I knew where I was going. The wait at the car dealer turned out to be longer than I expected when I was advised to buy new tires.

But the day improved with the second bout of rain ending in sunshine and playing music with Linda, my flutist friend. Since I would have gone to the Chicago Portage today and I haven’t been there since last Thursday, I think I will walk there tomorrow before I swim because more rain is predicted for most of the day on Thursday. With any luck, I will have more time then to get caught up with these spring migration reports.

Suddenly Spring at the Portage

Posted on May 2, 2024 by Lisa Rest

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.

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.

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.

Red 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!

On the Way to Spring

Posted on April 25, 2024 by Lisa Rest

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.

Barn Swallows and one Tree Swallow below.

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.

Riverside Monday

Posted on April 20, 2024 by Lisa Rest

Monday morning I went back to Riverside to see how the birds were doing. We were still on the positive side of a warm front. I encountered a few Yellow-rumped Warblers off the paved trail. One in particular came down close to check me out.

It was hard not to take more photographs of other individuals.

There was one Killdeer on the rocks opposite the Hofmann Tower.

Two Canada Geese flew by.

The Des Plaines River was starting to green up.

The light was good for woodpeckers.

Red-winged Blackbirds were scrambling, and I captured one briefly.

And Brown-headed Cowbird…

and a Common Grackle for good measure.

In Riverside Lawn I saw my first-of-the-season Hermit Thrushes – there were two on the trail.

I took note of a moss-covered log.

And noticed some Common Mergansers.

There were Ruby-crowned Kinglets, but I have yet to see a crown.

A White-throated Sparrow peered out at me from a tangle.

There were more Yellow-rumped Warblers on the other side of the river. Soon I will be able to pass over these guys for someone else, but at the moment they are hard to ignore.

The week has slowly but surely revealed more birds returning. I will have a couple visits to the Portage to review, plus it’s getting crowded on my hard drives. The winds have shifted for the last couple days and it was quite chilly this morning for the Oak Park Bird Walkers at Thatcher Woods. I’m looking forward to the warmup next weekend when I can finally start cleaning up the yard, although it looks like it could be a soggy situation. In the meantime, here are a few signs of spring from the yard on Tuesday. The little apple tree in the front yard is now in full bloom.