November at the Chicago Portage – Part I

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While I have a big project restoring posts from 2016 – more about that later – I may as well get caught up a bit with the morning walks in November before the month is gone. These are a few observations from the Chicago Portage on November 4, 6 and 13.

There were still plenty of leaves on the trees on November 4, and the colors were muted at best. But I like to see how this view from the bridge near Harlem changes over the seasons.

Dark-eyed Juncos had definitely arrived for the winter.

It was still possible to see Red-winged Blackbirds.

European Starlings were starting to gather in numbers.

Black-capped Chickadees are with us all year round.

A Downy Woodpecker took off.

A White-throated Sparrow posed nicely.

On November 6, I first saw an American Goldfinch.

Then I encountered the Golden-crowned Kinglet at the top of the post.

The only other bird I managed to photograph that morning was a backlit White-breasted Nuthatch.

On November 13, this American Robin made me smile.

I took photos of some far-away birds and discovered later they were Rusty Blackbirds.

A couple Fox Sparrows showed up.

And a female Northern Cardinal negotiated the baring branches.

I am starting to see Fox Squirrels more this year. It seems to me that it’s been a while.

And the last bird I tried to see better was a distant American Tree Sparrow.

So now I am beginning to understand what happened to all those “Unattached” photos. They weren’t exactly unattached, but because I uploaded them all to my media library first and then put them into posts, they apparently assumed some kind of neither-here-nor-there and thus “unattached” limbo status. Suffice it to say that I enthusiastically removed way too many photos, rendering several posts from 2016 totally empty, except for a little text here and there. So my project is to locate the original attachments and replace them by uploading them directly into those posts using the newer software, of course, that I suspect caused this whole fiasco. I have determined what’s on my external hard drives. It’s sort of fun to revisit the photos, especially those I took in my more far-flung birding travels. After I’m done with reconstituting older posts, the space problem and the remaining unattached items will have to be addressed as well. A sobering thought, but maybe better to deal with during the winter months. Another good excuse for not writing my book.

Murmurs from the Unattached

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As promised, here are a few photos previously unattached to any posts, although I seriously suspect that other versions appear in various earlier posts. I just found these worth repeating as I am now finding them again.

The bird at the top of the post is a Townsend’s Solitaire I saw it in New Mexico in 2012.

For all the Ruby-crowned Kinglets I have photographed without their ruby crowns, I felt it was worth sharing this one. This one from April 22, 2014 taken at Lake Shore East Park, which I used to frequent when I worked downtown in Chicago.

Then I took too many photos on October 16, 2014, of a Harris’s Sparrow that was in Lurie Garden.

I had a Kentucky Warbler in 2014, also likely at Lake Shore East Park.

I couldn’t resist adding this American Crow shot. I spent years hanging out with the Crows on my lunch hour.

This rainbow was somewhere in Central or South America on February 26, 2015. The bird is a Magnificent Frigatebird.

Then there was a Townsend’s Solitaire in Millennium Park on April 28, 2016.

And on June 26, 2016, I saw a Yellow-headed Blackbird at the Gooselake Natural Area when the water levels were better.

And last for now, a little video of some Leaf Cutter Ants from one of my tropical trips.

By publishing this post, these items are no longer “unattached.” I have many more such items to go through, which will likely inspire another post sometime in the not-too-distant future. If nothing else, I am now curious to find the original photos sometime wherever they reside on external hard drives. They might be worth looking at while I enter my old trip lists into eBird. It never ends…

Here, There and Anywhere

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Here’s a little roundup of a few places I’ve been the last couple of months that are only slightly off my beaten track.

The last Oak Park Migration Bird Walk in the fall was at Thatcher Woods on October 11. I didn’t get a lot of photos, but I am taking this opportunity to note the presence of a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker and an Eastern Bluebird.

The next day, I joined Steve and Joann on a Chicago Bird Alliance walk at Steelworkers Park on the south side of the lakefront. The land has been reclaimed from industry, thus the name. We soon found a Blue-headed Vireo.

A Red-breasted Nuthatch was also available.

And I took a look at a Swamp Sparrow.

There were other birds too far away to photograph adequately. Maybe next time… After Steelworkers, the three of us went to nearby Rainbow Beach, which I have heard about for years but never visited. I was immediately attracted to the grasses and flowering plants that grow in the sand dunes.

We saw a Common Buyckeye butterfly, which prefers this habitat. That could explain why I had never seen one up until now. I look forward to revisiting this place.

Then, on a whim, I visited McGinnis Slough on November 12. I arrived rather late in the morning and didn’t know what to expect. After taking ample time putting on my binoculars and strapping the camera on my shoulder for my usual perusal routine, I walked toward the center area that juts out from the parking lot and was immediately greeted by a small flock of Rusty Blackbirds. They didn’t stay long, but I managed a couple photos and I was glad, after having Rusties evade me for a couple weeks.

Out on the biggest stretch of the slough, a distant gathering of Great Egrets and Great Blue Herons was taking place. Notice they’re standing up in the middle of the deepest part. Water levels have been low for a long time.

Then on November 15, Chicago Bird Alliance hosted a walk at Thatcher Woods and we decided to attend. We walked in the opposite direction from where we normally conduct the Oak Park walks, so it was interesting to me to see more of Thatcher.

Des Plaines River

We saw a White-breasted Nuthatch well.

A Red-bellied Woodpecker took off from the tree where I had been watching it.

A beautiful Eastern Phoebe was busy still finding insects to catch and eat. This is the same bird at the top of the post.

A Black-capped Chickadee was busy cracking open a seed.

The Brown Creeper below was rather far away, but I got clear views.

We saw some White-throated Sparrows.

I liked the way this Dark-eyed Junco looked among the spent boneset seeds.

A Red-tailed Hawk flew overhead.

Toward the end of the walk, we parked by the river bank to watch Cedar Waxwings and other birds foraging and bathing on the other side.

The birds were rather far away and the light was poor, so I didn’t know until I got home that one of the birds we thought was a House Finch actually turned out to be a Pine Siskin.

Joanne spotted a Rusty Blackbird foraging along the river bank, and I finally located it after several tries to see the bird in the leaves.

In addition to more recent recaps, I will be back soon with the first of perhaps a few posts of previously “unattached” photos which I am now slowly but surely deleting from my media stash on WordPress. They date back to the earliest years of this blog project when I didn’t know what I was doing, uploaded photos randomly and gave no thought to how much space I was using… until I was politely threatened by WordPress a week or so ago that I was running out of space. Given the continuing saga of digital photography and what-do-you-do-with-all-those-photographs, I should not have been surprised. The positive side of freeing up some space is that I have been taking a trip down memory lane, so to speak. It has been entertaining to see a lot of the old photos, from trips I took to other countries to rare birds showing up on the lakefront. To be continued…

Looking Back a Bit

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I had to make room for some photos from yesterday, so I am skipping back a bit to early October in Riverside before I banish these photos to external storage, which in the long run is likely nothing more than another type of clutter. But when you can’t see it piled up it’s easier to ignore. And some of these photos seemed just too pleasing to look at before I send them off to organized oblivion.

On October 1, it was still common to see Great Egrets and Great Blue Herons on the river.

A Bald Eagle was sitting perched south of the swinging bridge.

In Riverside Lawn, I found a Carolina Wren

A couple White-throated Sparrows emerged from the leaves.

And not surprisingly, I saw a Yellow-rumped Warbler. Perhaps the surprise was actually seeing its yellow rump.

I caught glimpses of a Black-throated Green Warbler.

It has been a good year to see Chestnut-sided Warblers.

I found a Tennessee Warbler as well.

And another Yellow-rumped Warbler.

Two days later, it was more of the same, but somewhat different. A Killdeer was bathing on the rocks by the no longer existent dam.

A Great Blue Heron was stretching by the wall.

I saw a Blue-headed Vireo that morning.

I also got some decent looks at a Northern Parula.

A Great Egret was still in the reflection of the water.

A Red-tailed Hawk flew in by the bridge and landed on a favorite raptor perch

In Riverside Lawn, I saw this Magnolia Warbler, which is also at the top of the post.

I got several looks at a Nashville Warbler.

And I found a Blackpoll Warbler as well.

I had an engaged Ruby-crowned Kinglet.

And a second Great Blue Heron gave me the eye.

After a very pleasant little warmup the last two days, the weather has returned to more seasonal temperatures. The leaves are falling off the trees at a more rapid rate, and winds are blowing from the north. I tried to stay out longer with hopes of catching some Sandhill Cranes migrating, but in spite of the sunshine, it was simply too chilly. It was a good day for baking another loaf of banana bread. I’ll be back soon with some more recent sightings.

Winter Weather at the Chicago Portage

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Tuesday morning, I went for a walk at the Chicago Portage because I needed the walk more than anything else. For a while it was so quiet, I was content to think I might be just looking at the emptiness in full. We had just experienced our first snowfall and the trees were looking less leafy.

As I started to walk past the bridge at Harlem, an influx of sparrows flew across the path over the fence from the corner. I managed to capture a White-throated Sparrow.

A Dark-eyed Junco sat still for a moment.

Two sparrows, a Fox Sparrow and a White-throated Sparrow, were in the same bare tree.

An American Robin stood out against the greying sky.

I spotted a Black-capped Chickadee.

I went through the opening in the fence and found Red-winged Blackbirds and some European Starlings foraging in the leaves on the path. They weren’t too easy to see.

I also saw a snow-covered American Robin.

I took a look at the Des Plaines River which is still quite low.

A Downy Woodpecker was busy at work on some interesting tree bark.

A flock of 30 or more European Starlings flew into the bare trees.

There were at least 40 American Robins, so it was difficult to ignore them all.

On my way out, I had to take notice of the dramatic looking oak trees.

I hope to be back with more soon. I’ve been inconvenienced recently by some technical issues and spam: it’s exhausting. But I suppose I should expect no less in these surreal times.

One more of the bird at the top of the post. I always look forward to seeing Fox Sparrows, so this day was a special treat.

One Day from Last Week in Riverside

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The first week of November was fairly quiet on the Des Plaines River, which as of Friday was still really low. But last Monday, November 3, the sun was shining and the birds were enjoying it. I looked out from the wall by the Hofmann Tower and caught a House Sparrow in flight.

Looking south along the river I had to make note of the fall color, however heavy on the yellows this year.

As I went to cross the street to the other side of the Joliet Avenue bridge, I heard the female Belted Kingfisher who is at the top of this post, as she flew across the river. She landed and perched where I took too many distant photos.

Walking eventually brought me a White-throated Sparrow, who seemed adamant about its identity in the third photo below.

I spotted just enough of a male Northern Cardinal in the leaves.

A pair of Canada Geese swam down the river.

And a Great Blue Heron barely emerged from its perch.

I took another view of the Des Plaines River from around the bend.

American Robins have been foraging and bathing by the river’s edge.

I found an American Goldfinch matching autumn colors.

A beautiful Song Sparrow was singing as if it was spring.

I noticed an interesting fungus.

When I got all the way back to the Hofmann Tower, I looked out across the river to see a few Mallards with a tagged goose, 21N. I don’t know this goose. I guess I can try reporting it when the government is up and running again.

Then I two juvenile Bald Eagles flew overhead. I took photos of both of them, but they appear indistinguishable.

Here are two more photos of the Belted Kingfisher.

We are under a Winter Storm Warning from 9:00 tonight until noon tomorrow. It looks to be a “lake effect” event, with predictions of a lot of snow – perhaps even a foot of it – and terrible road conditions for the morning rush. I’m far enough from the lake to ignore perpetual surf warnings, but lake effect snow could be substantial. If the forecast can be believed, we will return to warmer temperatures starting Wednesday, with rain predicted for Sunday. All I know is, I haven’t been out for a walk all weekend and it doesn’t look like I can walk tomorrow morning. It’s starting to drive me more than a little crazy. Those walks are about a lot more than lugging the camera around. There is, however, a bright side to a foot of snow. I could shovel it, and at least have a reason to be outside.

More Fall Scenes from the Chicago Portage

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Here’s something a bit more current, even though I hardly went out for walks last week. I have started to get back into my regular routine. Anyway, here are some photos in reverse chronological order for a change. First are some from October 21st. A grey squirrel seemed to have perfected a walnut chin grip.

I managed to get a few barely passable photos of a rather cooperative Golden-crowned Kinglet. This is the same individual at the top of the post.

After that, I got some better views of a Ruby-crowned Kinglet.

Then I noticed a young Cooper’s Hawk in the distance.

On October 16, there were some American Goldfinches.

I saw a Rose-breasted Grosbeak.

The moon made an appearance.

A Golden-crowned Kinglet emerged, this one being a little easier to capture.

And I encountered a deer on the way out past the little bridge.

The camera caught a distant Tennessee Warbler.

Then back on October 14, I first saw a Hermit Thrush on the chain-link fence that separates the Chicago Portage from the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District property, and then agan later on a branch.

I found a Ruby-crowned Kinglet.

I caught a glimpse of a White-throated Sparrow.

A Red-winged Blackbird flew overhead.

It was still easy to get a few looks at Yellow-rumped Warblers.

I took note of a pensive-looking American Goldfinch.

A female Downy Woodpecker was mining a large tree trunk, and then I saw a male Downy Woodpecker closer.

I found a Nashville Warbler irresistible.

And I also found a lingering Tennessee Warbler.

With my house guest gone Thursday, I have been trying to get my life back together. I wonder if it has been a bit more challenging as the days grow shorter and temperatures cooler. Luckily my indoor birds are here to remind me what needs to be done every day at a minimum.

For what it’s worth, on Saturday morning, I picked up and then unloaded a total of 510 pounds of birdseed, my annual stock-up-for-winter from the Chicago Bird Alliance (formerly Chicago Audubon Society) Annual Birdseed Sale. I began to muse, as I always do, about how much longer I will be physically able to do this task, but then, as if an immediate answer to my question, I soon discovered that all the lifting and carrying had somehow provided me with a rush of energy that was enough to continue doing the physical tasks of two big cleanups, first of the dining room, and then the living room, removing the indoor birds’ dirty curtains and huts and replacing with clean ones. In essence, I accomplished in one day what I would normally have scheduled to do in three, and I am none the worse for wear. Indoors, the birds seem to have accepted their fate of having to start all over again building nests in the huts, too. Now, if we can all just get used to the “earlier” evenings descending into darkness. The birds yelled at me last night when the dining room light, which is on a timer, went off. I had been napping after dinner on the futon. Their message was clear: It’s late and we want to go to sleep. Turn off the radio and the living room light and say goodnight.

September in Riverside

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I was going to try and be more current, but it’s been a really busy week. Life is short. So why not take a peek at some photos way back from September 8? A time of drought and young Mallards in the Des Plaines Reiver. But it looks like it was a beautiful day in Riverside anyway. I discovered afterwards that I was shooting on the second memory card because I had forgotten to put the compact flash disc back in the camera. I think the images are a little flatter, but crisp (I could be describing biscuits, or does it sound more like wine?).

A Great Blue Heron flew over the river and landed in a tree.

The Chestnut-sided Warbler at the top of the post gave me some nice views.

A young American Robin surveyed the scene before it.

A Great Egret fished from a mudflat along the curve in the river.

It was a good day for the Osprey to hunt over the shallow water.

It found something to go after and was successful.

Other summery delights were available in the bright sunlight: two Blue Jays, a Monarch butterfly, a Northern Flicker barely hiding in the tree leaves.

And then I found a Northern Waterthrush on the rocks.

Back to my parked car by the Hofmann Tower, I found a Great Blue Heron was preening its feathers across the river.

I still hear refrains from the wonderful music we sang on Saturday night for the Best of the Unity Temple Choir concert. It seemed nearly impossible at the outset that we would ever pull it off after several setbacks, but our indefatigable and inspiring conductor Martha (“Marty”) Swisher made it all happen with wonderful musicians and guest soloists, not to mention fabulous lighting effects and graphics which I hope to see eventually in a video replay.

In a few days I will get back to birding and more blog posts. In the meantime, I have been helping my lifelong friend since junior high school while she is in town, we have been going swimming, and I have been enjoying cooking up a storm for more than one.

Something Else from the Chicago Portage

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I fully intended to do this post a week and a half ago, while we were still romancing the idea of a warm fall migration season. I’ll still be looking back, but I’ve been busy with the upcoming choir concert and the impending arrival of a house guest – something that doesn’t happen all that often when you live with birds, not that anything in their lives will change – and as life becomes evermore complicated, I find I have an intense determination to simplify things. I’m sorry that doesn’t seem to have made its way into my writing.

So here are some photos from the end of September at the Chicago Portage. The 28th and the 30th, to be exact. I almost wrote the end of December. Our weather has finally and suddenly taken a chilly turn.

There weren’t many birds on the 28th. Perhaps the least common was the Rose-breasted Grosbeak below.

Red-winged Blackbirds started to show up here and there in preparation for joining flocks moving south.

And Common Grackles were amusing themselves with the abundance of huge walnuts.

I caught a glimpse of an American Redstart. Actually, this is the most common view of this species in any season.

And on my way out, a White-tailed Deer crossed the path.

On September 30, I first noticed a Yellow-rumped Warbler on the bridge by Harlem.

Then as I looked out from the bring into the shallow stream covered in duckweed, I saw a Muskrat. I had somehow managed to get out of the house a bit earlier that morning, and I suspect that I might have been keeping Muskrat hours.

Another Yellow-rumped Warbler was in the duckweed.

Then, I caught a new view of a Rose-breasted Grosbeak. I have never seen the red under the wings before!

The camera found an Indigo Bunting or two.

I got lucky with Lincoln Sparrows and took far too many photos of them. This was the first individual I saw.

I saw a Song Sparrow across the water.

Then I found another interesting Song Sparrow that almost looked strongly striped like a Fox Sparrow, while its belly was unstreaked. It’s sometimes amazing to me how varied individuals in this species can be.

Yellow-rumped Warblers can look quite different too.

I found a Downy Woodpecker working hard on a tree limb. The first photo is blurred by how fast she was drumming.

Another Yellow-rumped Warbler was fading into the leaves.

Here’s the second Lincoln’s Sparrow. This might also be the same one at the top of the post. I was sitting on the picnic table close to the water when the sparrow popped up on a nearby log.

I watched a Red-bellied Woodpecker grab something to eat.

And then, when I returned to the bridge near Harlem, I found an Ovenbird foraging in the leaf litter. It was then joined by a Yellow-rumped Warbler.

I caught another view of the Ovenbird after that.

Palm Warblers have been somewhat scarce this fall. I was used to seeing them everywhere in previous years.

Here’s another Palm Warbler, and a Yellow-rumped Warbler below it. The Palm Warbler has yellow underneath its tail, and you can’t always see the yellow on the other’s rump.

Well, that’s about it for the moment. I have lots more to share, I just have to find the time and the mental space to do so. It feels good to be sitting here with some coffee after singing this morning in choir while the temperature fell and it rained steadily. It’s easier to be inside under those circumstances. It looks like we will be much cooler now than we have been, but not freezing yet. I am thankful for the rain on the new plants I put in the ground last week. And I’m looking forward to digging into a challenging week ahead, with rehearsals, arrivals, laughter, tears, more birds, more music, more reasons to keep going.

Fall Bird Walk Saturdays at Columbus Park

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The Oak Park Migration Bird Walkers convened for three consecutive Saturday walks at Columbus Park this fall. It wasn’t the original plan, but that’s how it turned out when we canceled our scheduled walk at Thatcher Woods because a festival event promising lots of noise and people was planned for September 27, the same day some of us were also participating in a “Big Sit” sponsored the Illinois Audubon Society. Here are some photos from the three Saturday walks and some from my participation in the Big Sit, beginning with September 20.

I teamed up with an engaging Gray Catbird early on September 20. It’s usually impossible to get one of these birds to show off its fancy orange undertail, but this bird was not shy at all.

Northern Flickers were beginning to emerge everywhere.

There were still some flycatchers around, like this Eastern Wood-Pewee.

There were a couple Wood Ducks lurking in the shadows.

We always see one Great Blue Heron somewhere.

Yellow-rumped Warblers were starting to show up that week, heralding the beginning of the end of fall warbler migration.

We found a Black-crowned Night-heron perched in a tree.

On September 27, we started to see more Yellow-rumped Warblers.

Gray-cheeked Thrushes have been numerous this fall.

Palm Warblers are another later fall warbler species, and we have been seeing some of them.

Another Yellow-rumped Warbler…

We got good looks at a Red-breasted Nuthatch and I couldn’t decide between the two shots.

This time the Great Blue Heron was first seen sunning in a “flasher” pose, and later scratching an itch.

American Goldfinches love this time of year when the flowers have gone to seed.

I found a Bay-breasted Warbler.

I also managed to capture a Blackpoll Warbler.

After the walk, I joined the Big Sit participants and got some nice looks at a male Common Yellowthroat. This is the same bird at the top of the post.

A Ruby Meadowhawk dragonfly came to visit.

Another Gray-cheeked Thrush…

This time we saw a few more Wood Ducks.

The last walk was on October 4. We started seeing Ruby-crowned Kinglets.

Sparrows are starting to show up, like these juvenile White-crowned Sparrows.

As common as Yellow-rumped Warblers are, I am still glad to see them.

I found an Orange-crowned Warbler.

We got brief looks at White-throated Sparrows.

I am always up for a Red-bellied Woodpecker.

This might be the last Blackpoll Warbler I have seen this year.

We saw a young Cooper’s Hawk here and there.

I had brief views of a Tennessee Warbler in the leaves.

Here’s a couple more Yellow-rumped Warblers.

There were more birds, but this is a general overview. I am leaving the last word to the Great Blue Heron.

Oh one more thing – I should probably explain the “Big Sit” for those unfamiliar with the concept. Birders sign up to be in teams and pick a spot to sit and watch for birds over a 24-hour period. I think the teams were up to 5 people at any particular time. It’s another way to experience birdwatching. When I am out on a regular walk, I sometimes stop briefly to do what I guess you could call it a “Tiny Sit” – and let the birds come to me instead of trying to find them. It’s very peaceful, and often quite rewarding.