Well here we are, 2024. It didn’t feel real until I started a new folder for journal entries and labeled it 2024. …I’m not going anywhere, but I can still time-travel. Here’s looking back at August 8, 2023.
It was a few days before the first celebration of Chicago Portage Day.
Some of the local birds were not quite ready, but it was still good to see their summer selves.
Northern CardinalHouse Finch (female)
Cedar Waxwings have a way of blending in, whatever the season.
There were some young Baltimore Orioles.
I never turn down a good-looking Downy Woodpecker, whatever the season.
It was a very good year for Eastern Wood-Pewees.
And European Starlings…
Indigo Buntings proliferated, too.
I managed to capture a Warbling Vireo, which doesn’t happen often enough even though I always hear several.
That day I was lucky to see an Ovenbird.
And I found a Yellow Warbler.
There was also the rare tree-perched Rock Pigeon.
Today, I hung the calendars that come in the mail all over the house. The sun came out for a rare appearance and I went to the Chicago Portage this morning, hopeful to see something. What few birds I could detect were heard more than seen. It’s much colder than it has been and it looks like we are in for even colder temperatures and some snow next week. As tempting as it is to stay under the covers, if you will, it’s all the more reason to keep moving.
I’ve also gone back to writing my book, which could distract me from posting even as infrequently as I do. And yet I may feel the need to time-travel through images again soon. I don’t know about you, but I have noticed the days are incrementally getting longer. Keep the faith.
I didn’t think I’d be back here before next year, but this morning’s late, cold, cloudy visit to the Chicago Portage was a bit of a surprise and I may as well write while my memory of it is still fresh.
No surprise that the volunteers were busy at work. They were the first thing I saw when I got out of my car.
I was resigned to the expectation that I would probably not see much, and that which I did see would be difficult to photograph. But it was good to go for a walk, as long as I had the liner of my new jacket zipped in. The temperature had gone down to freezing overnight and the water had a thin layer of ice on it.
Two woodpeckers, a Downy and a Red-bellied, revealed themselves briefly.
I stopped and talked to a man and a woman walking with their son. They had just seen a large deer, and asked me a woodpecker question. Shortly after they continued on their way, a flock of birds flew in from the north across the tracks and landed in the trees. The birds were flitting about and just far away enough to make them almost impossible to capture with the cloud cover. But what amazed me was the number of Northern Cardinals. Although I could not get them to cooperate for a group photo, there were at least a dozen. Mixed in were White-throated Sparrows and Black-capped Chickadees.
There were a couple Downy Woodpeckers and a White-breasted Nuthatch in the flock.
Then, after not having located them for a week or more, I found the flock of American Tree Sparrows in the goldenrod closer to the newly paved trail.
So that’s about it. I may never see that many Northern Cardinals together again. Just when you’re not expecting anything…
The clearest photo of a White-throated Sparrow this time was of its back. A fitting farewell to 2023, perhaps.
Some things will never change. Water keeps flowing out under the bridge near Harlem.
Even though the rain had pretty much subsided after last night, it was still hanging in the air, making all day chilly, cloudy, and I had planned a few household chores this morning, so I did not go for a walk. I did manage my last swim of 2023, though. Anyway, it’s nice to look back to earlier days in December when there was some sunshine. Here are a few photos from December 8, 11 and 13.
The Des Plaines River on 12/8, looking south from the Hofmann Tower
I first saw three Canada Geese standing on the wall near the Joliet Avenue Bridge. Then a bit later I saw 26N, a male banded on 7/14/2016.
And there were some Rock Pigeons atop the Hofmann Tower. Nothing new there.
On the 11th I saw 26N again with 54H, a female banded 7/7/2015.
I’ve seen American Robins off and on all winter here and there, but I have not always had an opportunity to photograph them.
A Blue Jay was enjoying the bright sunshine.
Dark-eyed Juncos were made more interesting by their surroundings.
But on that day when I approached the turn in the river, where I normally look forward to crossing the swinging bridge and walking through Riverside Lawn, a crew was busy sawing and burning trees and vegetation around the telephone pole that has been designated a future Osprey nest.
So I went back along the paved trail and crossed the Joliet Avenue bridge to walk into Riverside Lawn at the other end for a while, staying clear of the destruction. I saw a Red-bellied Woodpecker…
a White-breasted Nuthatch…
and a White-throated Sparrow.
On the 13th, there was an abundance of more bright sunshine. Below is the same view of the Des Plaines River as the one above, and another look across the river at the continuing clearing.
An American Robin or two caught my eye.
And a Downy Woodpecker was foraging low.
But the biggest surprise was seeing an Eastern Bluebird. It wasn’t particularly close to it, but I managed to get a few photos before it took off. Actually as I look at these photos, I think there were two individuals, with the first three photos of a female and the male in the last photograph.
I took this view of the Riverside Lawn trail below, suspecting it might be the last time I see it after all the clearing is done.
Four Mallards took off, heading upstream.
And here’s one more of the Dark-eyed Junco at the top of the post.
The calendar has messed up my swimming routine, and the weather has interfered with the walking one. I have gotten out of bed every morning not knowing exactly what to look forward to. Just playing it by ear. A little snow is promised for New Year’s Eve. That might be nice for a change.
I wish you a peaceful New Year. I hope to be back to this page soon…in 2024.
It’s been increasingly quiet at the Chicago Portage and just about everywhere. Between the weather, the shorter days, it’s a quiet time.
Before I get much further, below is my one and only photograph from the Christmas Bird Count on December 16, where we were out in the rain pretty much all day. I did manage to barely capture the two Sandhill Cranes we saw with about 150 Canada Geese.
Well, here are a few photos from 3 visits to the Chicago Portage on 12-14, 12-17 and 12-19. I have gone back four times since, and things have slowed down even more. But that just gives me a chance to appreciate even more the birds that make this place their hangout.
On the 14th I photographed two birds that I don’t often get a chance to see, however regular they may be: a Hairy Woodpecker, and a Blue Jay.
Blue Jay
On 12-17, it was becoming pretty common to see some birds on the gravel trail. Someone (not me) left them some birdseed.
White-throated Sparrow and Northern Cardinal
Some days the Northern Cardinals are all over the place, and others I hardly even hear them.
American Tree Sparrows are the same way. They either show up, or they don’t, in some numbers. I barely captured this one. I love how it blends in with its surroundings, even if the camera doesn’t always appreciate the focus challenge.
Dark-eyed Juncos are here and there.
At one point on that cloudy day, 8 American Crows flew over. That number, however small, was significantly more crows than I have seen together around here in a long time. One was calling. And then maybe it was the same one that came back to check me out. It even moved to a closer perch so we could exchange thoughts for a moment or two.
On the 19th, I had a lot more participation in front of the camera, with the light being maybe a little bit better than on the 17th.
I see Red-bellied Woodpeckers just about every time I go out, but they have been distant, except for this one.
I saw a Hairy Woodpecker again, and a Downy Woodpecker, which is in the third photo for comparison.
Birds on the ground were mainly Dark-eyed Juncos and Northern Cardinals.
And a Blue Jay showed up for good measure.
I was treated to an almost-great look at a Fox Sparrow that popped up onto a branch in my view.
I barely saw one American Tree Sparrow.
One Black-capped Chickadee gave me a little bit of an action shot.
And so goes December. The promise of longer days, however elusive it seems, gives me something to look forward to. I was baking Cinnamon Oatmeal Raisin breads all last week through the morning of Christmas Eve, as the list of recipients kept growing. But it was great fun to wrap them up and make deliveries. In particular, I made three unannounced house calls yesterday and I so appreciate the welcoming gifts of my friends’ time. It felt almost like I was back in another century.
I don’t know why you can never see a raisin, I swear they are in there…
The choir sang for the annual Candlelight Service on Christmas Eve, and we now have the rest of the year off. We go back to rehearsal on January 3rd, 2024.
I wish you all Hope, Love and Peace for the New Year. We sure need a lot of it.
Ah, winter birding. This weekend I will be participating in the Christmas Bird Count. The thought of getting up so early in the morning is a little terrifying but it only happens once a year… In the meantime, I have been out walking and looking, listening for birds, which is quite different this time of year. Sometimes the birds are easier to see, but there are fewer of them.
Last week, before winter got serious and the cold set in, I was treated to some birds I don’t see all that often. On November 29, I was walking along the paved trail in Riverside when I spotted a Bald Eagle sitting in a tree.
I got a little bit closer and took more photos. Then the eagle started to get restless and I was feeling guilty for paying it so much attention.
But then no sooner did it take off across the river than another one flew up behind it. I could feel better now that I knew they were together and the first one had just been waiting for the second.
As it flew overhead I got a closer view.
It’s been so long since I’ve had a close encounter with a Bald Eagle, let alone two. Here are three more photos.
I also had a Belted Kingfisher, however briefly, that day. I have since heard and/or seen one – likely the same bird – a few times since.
This was the second-to-last time I saw a Great Blue Heron on the river. Yes, we had some snow the day before but it didn’t last long.
A Northern Cardinal was enjoying the sunshine that day.
I don’t see Song Sparrows too often, but they’re still around here and there.
Even the Mallards were showing off.
On December 4, the sunshine was less abundant. The first bird I captured was a Great Blue Heron, and this was the last time I would see one.
Walking along the paved trail, a couple birds made themselves available. A White-breasted Nuthatch…
and a White-throated Sparrow.
Riverside Lawn was quiet, but I did see a Brown Creeper.
And when I got back to my car, I noticed a few Canada Geese. One of them was 64H. He was banded on July 7, 2015.
On December 6, there was even less light. About all I was seeing were Canada Geese.
But while I was in Riverside Lawn, a Sharp-shinned Hawk arrived and remained faithful to its perch for quite a while, looking for prey. I have never observed this species so closely as I did that morning.
When it returned to its perch it was obscured by branches a bit, but still visible.
So you never know what you will see this time of year. Often, there are no birds to photograph or the light is so poor it’s not worth even trying. But the individual birds one sees are made that much more special by their infrequency.
I am still coming down from participating in a beautiful Choir Sunday at Unity Temple on Sunday the 10th. We sang the Saint-Saens Christmas Oratorio with five stellar soloists. It was such a gift to be in that beautiful space singing with those wonderful voices. I have not gone back to watch the video of the service yet, I am still savoring the live vibes. We sing for a candlelight service on Christmas Eve and then we don’t sing again until January of next year. It’s hard to believe the year is almost over.
After the Christmas Bird Count, I will be busy baking Cinnamon Oatmeal Raisin Breads for a couple days. It’s therapy, it’s meditation, it’s fun and I look forward to doing this every year. I hope you are enjoying your holiday traditions, whatever they may be.
After all the Sandhill Cranes I saw flying overhead last week, it was evident that they were finally on the move. It has been years since I have been to Jasper-Pulaski Fish & Wildlife Area near Medaryville, Indiana – about a two-hour drive – to see the Sandhill Cranes that have been feeding in the surrounding farm fields all day before congregating at sundown in a field visible from an observation platform, before heading off to the marsh for the evening. The birds are counted in the morning in the wetland area before they disperse. As an example, on November 21 their numbers were around 13,000. One week later, on the 28th, they were counted at nearly 33,000. It was definitely time to go see them. I was joined by my friend Lesa, and we drove to Jasper-Pulaski on Thursday to watch the cranes come in.
When we first arrived around 3:00 P.M., it was still light and a small group was gathering in a field not far from the viewing platform.
The forecast was for cloudy skies, but it was relatively warm for this place where the winds can whip you into a frozen shivering mass, so even if it wasn’t perfect for photographs it was easier to stand and watch for a couple hours. As the clouds came in, so did the cranes.
And they kept coming.
I managed silhouetted views at best when a few cranes flew over a bit closer to the platform.
More cranes gathered at a distance. It was a little easier to focus in this light.
Then as more started to come in, it was the beginning of a spectacle. I took a couple videos toward the end of our visit to capture the sound of the cranes calling. There’s wind noise too.
In a brief sunlit sequence I managed to capture some of the color of these birds flying over.
It’s really hard to convey or capture the numbers of birds as they streamed in from all directions.
I tried to capture the size of the flock as it began to assemble before it got too dark.
Four individuals on the ground were a little closer, if in poor light.
More cranes coming in for a landing
One more video, mainly for the sound and sight of all those birds coming in from farther away.
So as it got darker, and more birds came in, it got harder and harder to photograph them, but that didn’t stop me.
Then I tried to capture the sunset, something I don’t get to see very often unless I drive far away. There are a few cranes against the clouds in the first photo.
Thanks to Lesa’s Garmin on her phone, we got home safely. My cell phone has been acting strangely the last week or two, indicating it wants to be replaced. I took its final hint seriously when it refused to provide a map to drive back. If not for Lesa’s Garmin, we might still be driving around the farm fields trying to find our way out. I ordered a new phone yesterday.
I will be back with more local observations soon. We are experiencing a rainy period which is giving me some time to do more posting. It’s been a good week. Ah yes, and it’s Saturday night as I sign off, which means it’s time for the weekly living room cleanup.
My last two visits to the Chicago Portage this past week have been pretty quiet. It’s getting harder to find the flock, if you will. But the walk still fortifies my spirit. The photos in this brief post are from November 23 and November 25.
November 23rd was sunny
Inevitably a Black-capped Chickadee will make itself heard if not immediately seen. But without leaves on the trees it’s getting harder to hide, and they don’t really try to hide anyway. I call them my Greeter Birds.
The American Goldfinches have been better at hiding lately, but I am beginning to see more of them at my thistle feeders.
I don’t know what happened to the rest of this Dark-eyed Junco
Northern Cardinals are good at concealing themselves as well.
A small group of Mallards has been hanging out.
When I thought I’d seen everything, I heard and then saw about 30 Sandhill Cranes fly over.
After trying to capture the cranes which were soon obscured as they flew over the trees, I looked down from the sky and saw an Eastern Bluebird pop into view.
Also present was a White-breasted Nuthatch who gave me the evil eye, and then the “Go-Away” look.
Yesterday, the 25th, the cloud cover was what my mother would have called “glismal.” Also, being the last Saturday of the month, the volunteers were busy sawing and burning on the trail that leads to the bridge near Harlem, so I didn’t walk in that way.
We seem to always be discussing American Robins now and how they tend to disappear. However, there was a flock of about 40 of them when I first arrived, if by the time I left there were only a few individuals remaining.
My photos revealed a distant Hairy Woodpecker.
I sometimes hear more Dark-eyed Juncos than I see. This one was barely visible but I like the photo anyway.
Also foraging in the vegetation were some American Tree Sparrows. I was happy to see them even if it was hard to capture them clearly.
This visit I had a cooperative Greeter Bird.
Later in the day, the sun came out, but I was already busy with housework. I noticed the Fullersburg Limpkin was reported by several observers.
Today it was snowing all morning and predicted to continue practically until dusk, which will seem much sooner and darker in the cloud cover. I just marked my calendar for the Christmas Bird Count on December 16th. The immediate forecast is for below freezing temperatures tomorrow. I’m glad I have located my long underwear.
I joined Henry Griffin and some of the Oak Park Bird Walkers yesterday morning for a tour of Miller Meadow, where I haven’t been for some time. It’s generally a good place to see hawks and yesterday it was also a good place to be for Sandhill Crane migration. Thanks to Henry for leading this walk. Our spirits were warm.
Right away we saw two Red-tailed Hawks which were likely local residents who had come to check up on us. I managed to capture one was it flew over.
We had barely started walking when we spotted a distant Coyote (gray), and something else huddled on the ground which turned out to be another Coyote (red).
Then the gray Coyote walked over to the red one and started, well, fooling around, if you will. She tolerated his overture but didn’t seem too interested. He wandered off after that. The sequence of contact between the two is captured below.
Right about then we heard and saw our first groups of Sandhill Cranes flying over. Henry kept a tally and counted 320 total flying over while we were there.
The cranes just kept coming. We were on the lookout for Whooping Cranes but there were none with these flocks.
Our last group was four individuals that seemed to be a bit lost. They were not flying consistently southeast. But eventually they disappeared, so I can only hope they joined a larger flock, perhaps, and found their way.
Other birds seen briefly included a few American Tree Sparrows, one of which I barely captured as it flew from a brief perch.
I missed seeing a Pine Siskin because I could not resist observing a couple American Crows that flew over.
The most visible bird was a Red-bellied Woodpecker that seemed to live up to its name.
Here’s a distant photo of a Cooper’s Hawk flying over…
and a Downy Woodpecker, for good measure.
It’s cold and I’m not quite used to it yet. I went over to the Chicago Portage this morning and it was cloudy, but not too windy, which I guess is good because the volunteers were burning vegetation they had cleared. I will be back with a little roundup of what I’ve seen there in the past few days. Snow is in the forecast for tomorrow morning, and the beginning of the coming week looks to be very cold, with highs below freezing.
In the meantime, I am looking forward to cleaning the living room tonight because I’ll be warmer doing it, and then no doubt I will eating another variation on leftovers, the holiday having given me the inspiration to make stuffing and cook another butternut squash.
For the record, I drove to Fullersburg Monday morning with the intent of looking One More Time for the Limpkin. After parking, I opened the hatchback of my car and found my backpack in its usual spot, but No Camera. This was the second or third time in the past week I have forgotten something and gone back for it. I have gone so far as to put a post-it on the front door to remind me of things I might be taking with me, but what good was it if I didn’t look at it?
When I returned the second time with the camera, it was already 10:10. I took the long way along the Riverbend Trail to the Rainbow Bridge where the Limpkin has been seen so often. That was a bit of extra walking. When I reached the famous bridge, no one else was there. I scanned the riverbanks and saw no Limpkin.
I started to walk a little dirt footpath that runs along the river on the other side of the bridge and much to my surprise, I saw something with white spots sitting in the tangle of branches that were as brown as the rest of it was. I had found the Limpkin. This was not how I wanted to see the bird, but after two unsuccessful visits, I had to stick around for a little while.
I began by talking softly to it (why do we do these things?) apologizing for my presence, but taking photos. You can see the second photo where the bird closed its eye as if to say “if I stop looking at you, will you disappear?” When I didn’t disappear, it was patient after that for the most part and endured my taking photos. I couldn’t find a spot that was a little farther away to capture the entire bird, so I finally decided to go back out onto the bridge to see if I could find it in the tangle from that perspective and maybe see if it would come out and do something.
When I relocated the Limpkin from the bridge and started taking photos, I realized it was only because I knew where it had to be that I was finding it because it was pretty well hidden. This is in contrast to others who have seen it and posted photos where the bird is out in the open, capturing mussels and snails and eating them. You’ll have to use your imagination about that, or else go lookup Fullersburg Woods on ebird and check their pictures.
Shortly after I found the Limpkin and started trying to get some photos, two men, and then a third, came onto the bridge. I told them where the Limpkin was, and we exchanged stories for a short time. It turns out that it was my third attempt and also one of the others’ third attempts, so we had that in common.
The Limpkin was not interested in coming out from its hiding place.
I don’t think the Limpkin was too happy with me pointing it out to other people. It finally managed to disappear into the thickness of the branches. I will not go back again to find this bird. I was content with reporting it once with photos so that everyone would know it was still there. I guess it will just boil down to enough birders keeping track of its occurrence until it leaves. I think a lot of people assumed it might start leaving because of the drop in temperature. But it hadn’t become cold enough to freeze the water yet, and for as long as this bird has been around, there may be no incentive to leave as long as it is feeding well.
It wasn’t feeding while I was there. I got the impression that it had done its foraging and feeding earlier and was taking a well-deserved rest.
A few brief captures of other birds seen that day. There weren’t many at all and the cloud cover made it even less interesting.
Looking back briefly on the two previous visits to Fullersburg, on 11-17, all I photographed was fungus.
On 11-15, there was a young Red-tailed Hawk.
For what it’s worth, it was good to reacquaint myself with Fullersburg Woods. I also got to meet up with a friend I haven’t seen in a long time, and that was very special. I likely won’t be going back soon, though. The temperatures are dropping into the freezing zone and snow is in the forecast for Sunday. I hope the Limpkin finds a more southerly location soon. As of this writing, a lot of people saw it today.
There are a lot of other places I haven’t been in a while and maybe I should just start checking them out every now and then.
View looking upstream from the Rainbow Bridge
To those of you who are celebrating, best wishes for a Happy Thanksgiving. People who have been asking me what I’m doing for Thanksgiving seemed delighted when I told them I am staying home with my 40 birds. I must admit we are having a beautiful day. I went out earlier to the Chicago Portage and it was quiet, but not entirely without birds. I’ve been cooking this afternoon, so the kitchen is warm. The sun is shining and that always makes the birds especially happy. I’ll be back soon.
I have been a bit preoccupied lately. My routine visits to Riverside have fallen off a bit, but I’ve been meaning to get caught up with some previous ones, so here are a few photos from November 1, 3 and 6. The days were getting shorter, the nights were colder, the number of birds has dropped off and their absence is made that much more noticeable with the leaves falling from the trees.
So I have been tempted to chase after another Limpkin about 100 people have seen by now at Fullersburg Woods in DuPage County, but for sure the two times I went there last week I never saw it. You might ask why I bother at all after finding the one that was at McGinnis Slough, but this one has been closer to the Rainbow Bridge which is easy to stand on and view from, so everybody’s getting great photos and the photographer in me was frustrated, to say the least. This is a bird that should be easy to photograph simply from the standpoint of being rather large and rather sedentary. I almost drove over there after singing in the choir Sunday morning. It would have been a good day – sunny, warmer, a lot of people saw the bird and it didn’t seem to be bothered by the crowd, if you will. But I did not go. Instead, I have found this is not too far to travel if I’m also going swimming, so that was my plan to try again yesterday, albeit in cloudy, cooler weather. The Fullersburg Limpkin story is To Be Continued.
Back to Riverside on November 1. It was a pretty day,
Des Plaines River
I was pleased to see a Great Blue Heron still around.
It was probably the last time I saw a couple Turkey Vultures.
And a couple Fox Sparrows were available.
I managed to barely capture a Northern Cardinal and a White-throated Sparrow as they were trying to hide in less leaf cover.
November 3 was a lot less sunny.
House Finches were foraging here and there.
House Finches and a Dark-eyed Junco behind the police/fire station
A House Finch and an American Robin
A Black-capped Chickadee stayed still long enough.
And an American Goldfinch blended into the background.
Things weren’t any livelier on the 6th.
The most interesting birds were a couple tagged Canada Geese. I have seen 64H before and my certificate says he is a Large Canada Goose banded on July 7, 2015. I thought I had seen 68B too but I don’t have a certificate for it, so I just submitted the sighting to get the information on that bird.
There were enough geese to get into an argument.
I managed to barely zoom in on a Cooper’s Hawk flying over.
It was a day when a little fungus became quite attractive.
When I got home after swimming, I took a walk around the yard. It was warm enough for a few bees to be in the later blooming asters. Most everything else has gone to seed.
In the front yard, a grass that I have to identify strikes a delicate pose by the front sidewalk, and the Joe Pye Weed has gone to seed as well.
The sedum in back takes on fall color, and there are tufts of spent tall ironweed everywhere.
I wonder if the drought had something to do with the quality of the berries on my hawthorn tree. No one has been interested in eating them. By now the tree has lost all its leaves but the berries remain. Very mysterious,
I know you can’t stand the suspense, so I will be back very soon with a report from yesterday’s quest for the Fullersburg Limpkin. For now, suffice it to say I did find it.
