The Goldfinches Have Spoken

Posted on January 22, 2018 by Lisa Rest

AMGO 01-13-2017-4824 It took a while to capture the goldfinches on the thistle socks but I was determined since I never know when they might disappear again. But they seem to be happy for the moment. This was the scene in the yard on Saturday. Try counting how many goldfinches are in the picture above. I get 17, but there could be a couple more on the other side of the socks that were not visible.

At first I took several pictures through the back porch windows, but even if they were clean, the screens would make the image fuzzy, so I decided to try going outside, knowing fully well that I would flush the birds and they might take their time coming back.

When nobody came back to the feeders after a few chilly minutes, I decided to walk out to the front yard when I heard crows calling from that direction. As far as I could tell they were not harassing a raptor. I was happy to see them hanging out in the vicinity. They were a bit too far away for the 300mm lens and I couldn’t get all six of them to line up at any one time but I managed to commemorate a crow presence.

AMCR 01-20-2017-4787 There was a starling.

EUST 01-20-2017-4742 And a nice male House Finch.

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A female house finch offered an even better pose.

HOFI 01-20-2017-4725 But I really wanted to see how many goldfinches I could capture on the thistle socks before they dispersed, so I walked back slowly toward the yard and snuck up on them, hanging by the gate.

The goldfinches have shown their preference for fresh niger in three large socks. I have noticed from previous experience that the more socks I hang, the more will come. And I really think they like this situation because they don’t have to compete with the other birds for position, only each other.

Not much else to report locally at the moment, I’ll be back to pictures from Ecuador shortly.

We Pause for a Brief Message from…The Crows

Posted on February 6, 2017 by Lisa Rest

crow-cancer-survivors-2-6-17-7464 Today may be Monday, but it was also a beautiful day, with ample sunshine at least in the morning and early afternoon hours, and we warmed up to 54 degrees, which is downright balmy. So I went for a walk this afternoon in search of…birds.

Unlike my most recent visits, there were no Cardinals or White-Throated Sparrows to be seen, although I heard one or two. The Black-Capped Chickadees were more vocal but hiding.

I checked the two usual places in Millennium Park before I set off for the Cancer Survivors Garden and then as I approached. I thought I saw four large black birds perched in a tree down at the southeast end. Could it be…?

crows-cancer-survivors-2-6-17-7427 Yes, they were Crows. And there they sat, silent and still. I wondered if maybe one of them was the individual that had flown by on Thursday and since today was such a nice day, it gathered friends to hang out with to see if I was for real.

I put peanuts and some pretty-stale-by-now Birdz cookies at the base of the tree they were in. And the Crows just sat there in the tree, still, silent.

I went to a far bench where I could sit and watch them, and they remained stone-faced. After a minute or two I decided I should probably go back to work. It was only as I started walking away, they all followed me.

I didn’t mind being tricked out of more treats. I put peanuts and the rest of the stale cookies at the base of one of the trees where we used to hang out, and sat down and watched them party. Two Chickadees showed up and also got to work on some birdseed. The Crows started to call a little bit. It was like seeing old friends and picking up right where we left off.

All I can hope for is that this is not a singular occurrence and that we meet again on a regular basis. I realize I have to hold up my end too: it’s up to me to show up more often as well.

Spring is coming.

In case you’re wondering, we didn’t talk politics. In fact it occurred to me later that the Crows really don’t like crowds, and maybe the protests and marches kept them away, so it was only fitting they had me to themselves for our reunion.

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City Migrants – Fall Migration 2016

Posted on October 3, 2016 by Lisa Rest

Chestnut-Sided Warbler

If I’d been thinking clearly I probably would have postponed the cataract removal until after fall migration, but I ventured anyway into the wilds of downtown Chicago after I convinced myself that with patience and practice I could temporarily look through the view finder on the Canon with my left eye… Anyway, I managed to find quite a few cooperative birds to photograph and have decided to share them now before I invite you back to the Galapagos. A couple more shots of the Chestnut-Sided Warbler below. Responding to my thoughts, as I’m taking pictures of him, of “what a beautiful bird you are.”

First-year male American Redstarts are always welcome.

Things didn’t seem to get really active until last week. There’s probably a whole lot more I could have done if I put my mind to it, but I’ll get my new prescription lens in a few days and with luck, all my kvetching will fade away. (Don’t hold me to it!)

Red-Winged Blackbirds breed in Millennium Park so these birds below likely hatched this year.

Below, a Canada Warbler on the left and a Wilson’s Warbler on the right, both at Lake Shore East Park a couple weeks ago. The Canada was shy.

Juvenile European Starlings in their in-between plumage, which I find fascinating. They look more like “Star”-lings to me. They’re not exactly migrants…unless they’re from another planet?

starlings-9-9-2016-lse-park-0604 I wonder if the Common Grackle below could be a molting adult, without its long tail.

cogr-9-16-2016-lse-molting-1005 Magnolia Warblers have been coming through for weeks.

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Not a lot of thrushes this year – sometimes they show up in large groups. A Gray-Cheeked Thrush that was at 155 N. Wacker on the left, and a Hermit Thrush on the right and below.

Hermit Thrush

Two views of an Orange-Crowned Warbler at the Boeing garden, below.

Two Blackpoll Warblers…

Similar to the Blackpoll but a bit different this time of year, a Bay-Breasted Warbler. I think! Confusing Fall Warblers redux.

Bay-Breasted Warbler…?

Two more Blackpolls below.

And now, signalling the tail end of warbler migration, Palm Warblers, below…

and Yellow-Rumped Warblers (Myrtle subspecies).

And the same two species in flight, Palm on the left, Yellow-Rumped (with the yellow rump showing), below. Note the similarities…and differences.

My prize discovery last week was a beautiful male Black-Throated Blue Warbler. I think we have been seeing more of this species the last couple years but it’s still not common and always special. Luckily this one liked to show off.

Black-Throated Blue Warbler

Golden-Crowned Kinglets are coming through but hard to capture in cloudy light. Or at least that’s my excuse.

gcki-9-29-2016-lse-park-1873 On the 29th I saw this presumably female Wilson’s Warbler, below, at Lake Shore East Park, and am glad I had pictures to prove it to ebird – apparently it’s late in the season to see a Wilson’s. Others reported seeing them too, in the area.

I always look forward to the return of the White-Throated Sparrows. I have seen a couple other species too and I’m hoping to take some pictures of them this week.

The Black-and-White below appears to be a female.

Black-and-White Warbler

A late Magnolia.

Magnolia Warbler

Red-Breasted Nuthatches are visible this year.

Red-Breasted Nuthatch

I have a new crop of juvenile Crows that look for me. We will hang out more over the winter months when there are no more migrants.

amcr-9-22-2016-loop-1301 amcr-9-27-2016-lse-park-1798

I had to run an errand on Friday all the way over to the river, and on the way back into the office, as I crossed the street at Wells and Madison, I heard a loud “caw-caw-caw.” I stopped and looked up but saw nothing. “Caw-caw-caw” again. I waited. People streamed by me on their way to wherever, I’m sure they did not hear the crow, and no one was curious about why I had stopped to look. Then, in the top branches of a locust tree planted in the sidewalk across the street, the crow moved. After we acknowledged each other’s presence, he was silent. I crossed the street to get a better look and he appeared to be fiddling with something dark but I can’t say what it was, a bat, shoe leather, hard to tell without binoculars. But how nice to be recognized by this super-intelligent creature. Made my day. 🙂

Winter Hints at Spring

Posted on February 16, 2016 by Lisa Rest

n some ways, it seems like winter has finally arrived, with the temperatures dropping well below freezing and snow on the ground. Yet the days are getting longer, the extra light a promise of rebirth. And as if to emphasize the point, we are promised another one of those overcompensating warm-ups by the weekend. I am glad for that, because I am flying south (reverse migration?), and fewer layers to wear on the plane will be appreciated.

But I digress. Back to winter. Saturday I spent most of the day at the 15th Annual Gull Frolic in Winthrop Harbor, and not to be outdone by last year’s cold, Saturday was indeed extremely frigid, especially with the wind gusting off the lake. But clear, cold days have lots of sunshine. I probably will not get around to sorting out the gull photos before I leave, so I am here with last week’s food fiestas in Millennium Park.

When I got out Thursday, no Crows were about, which is a bit unusual, but it happens. Nobody likes being taken for granted. The thought crossed my mind that they might have given up on me, but it was still a nice, sunny day at times and I enjoyed sitting on the curb, hanging out with the resident winter passerine crowd.

Friday I went out again, and this time the Crows found me.

Cookies and hot dogs were again voted favorite offerings.

A Black-Capped Chickadee came to investigate.

It seems even when I’m not paying close attention, the Crows still manage to capture the camera’s eye. And female Northern Cardinals, who disappear in the spring preoccupation with nesting, are easier to engage now too.

AMCR 2-12-16-1564

I probably will not be back to this page until early March. I’ll be in Nicaragua next week with Bill Hilton Jr. and Operation Rubythroat to help with banding and studying Ruby-Throated Hummingbirds. There should be many opportunities to see lots of birds, and I am sure I will add some new tropical species to my life list as well.

I wish you all a Happy End of February and Happy Leap Year!

Birdz Cookies: 1 Week Later

Posted on January 31, 2016 by Lisa Rest

As planned, I got out to Millennium Park again on Friday, with pretty much the same menu options. The Birdz Cookies were one week older, but the Crows didn’t seem to mind. The snow was for the most part gone and the sun poked out from behind the clouds every now and then.

The squirrels may turn their noses up at hot dogs, but they like the Birdz Cookies.

There were a lot more birds than last time. See if you can pick out the White-Throated Sparrow among these House Sparrows.

Visitors included a male Northern Cardinal and a couple Black-Capped Chickadees.

But what I really wasn’t expecting to see was a Brown Thrasher! They normally start showing up around April.

I knew this was going to make my list exciting so I was that much more pleased when the Thrasher gave me several good pictures.

The photographic data I submitted to ebird was more than sufficient. I found it funny though that the Thrasher was the only sighting on the Rare Bird Alert for the entire county on Friday.

What I suspect is going on with the Thrasher is that it is expanding its year-round range, which now cuts off at the southern tip of Illinois. This is likely the effect of global warming. So the data is important for that reason alone. This particular bird might be related to the male declaring his territory near the BP Bridge a couple years ago.

What I didn’t know about Brown Thrashers is that they eat seeds, so that explains why the bird came back to explore the food some more.

The crows got their fill of hot dogs.

On the way back I stopped at the Boeing sculpture garden and saw two beautiful female Northern Cardinals and a couple more White-Throated Sparrows.

So even though I hardly get out during the week, it’s still possible to find something unexpected. This is part of the magical attraction to birding. You can never predict what will happen.

(This post has been recreated, replacing photos that were inadvertently never “attached” and therefore deleted.)

Birdz Cookies

Posted on January 29, 2016 by Lisa Rest

The weather finally turned cold enough last week to warrant baking the Birdz Cookies, which have gone through several iterations over time. I have managed to find a way to cut down on the sugar content and increase the peanut butter, which suits the Crows just fine.

I was quite pleased that the Crows went for the cookies first, saving the hot dogs and peanuts for later. So I guess baking cookies is the way to a Crow’s heart…

There were a few White-Throated Sparrows too. It still amuses me that they have chosen Millennium Park for a winter habitat, but I suspect they picked up lots of tips from the House Sparrows and are able to get enough food and shelter to make a go of it. On this day there was only one individual available for pictures.

I haven’t been out to see the Crows all week but I’m going to visit them today. Very chilly today but we are supposed to have a two-day warming trend.

Until the next post, I leave you with a few more pictures from last Friday. It’s very likely the Crows are paying attention while I’m posting this and salivating in advance.

AMCR 1-22-16-9969

AMCR 1-22-16-0027 AMCR 1-22-16-9974

WTSP 1-22-16-9956

WTSP 1-22-16-9959 AMCR 1-22-16-0001

Summer in the City

Posted on August 18, 2015 by Lisa Rest

Hanging out at the water fountain

Last week was hot and for all practical purposes, dry. It was almost hard to find motivation to trade the too-cold office air conditioning for hot-and-muggy outside but sitting around all day doesn’t suit me, so when there was time available for a stroll, I took one. Things calmed down at the office considerably by Friday and that was my longest outing.

Ovenbird, Millennium Park, 8-11-15

Earlier in the week, however, as I sat in my chosen shady spot near the bike racks, the Ovenbird reappeared looking much more adult.

The new crows were molting.

And the Monarchs were still sallying.

Friday, because I had some extra time, I decided to go down to the lakefront, where even the Canada Geese were trying to stay out of the sun.

Juvenile Mallard

I had almost forgotten Friday was the day before the annual Air and Water Show put on by the U.S. Navy Blue Angels, but the roar of jets overhead soon reminded me. This was their practice session, inspiring awe on the ground.

On the way back to the office, as I stopped to take a picture of some Chicago Lego-style architecture, the unknown young man below insisted I take his picture. By the time I got him in focus his friend put his hand behind his head. I don’t know what he thought I would do with this picture, but if you recognize him, let him know I didn’t simply delete it and this could be 2 of his 15 seconds of fame. (I’m used to people handing me their own cameras or cell phones and asking me to take pictures of them, in fact, I did so for someone that day.)

Do you know him?

The sad story is that on Saturday, the first day of the actual event, a midair accident befell two parachutists in the Air and Water Show. (The parachutists, from the Navy Leap Frogs and the Army Golden Knights teams, were not present on the Friday practice runs.) Tragically, one of them died the next day. The Sunday show was cancelled. I missed hearing about this until Monday because my TV service has been down since Friday night. It’s still down, but I am glad I didn’t post all these pictures before hearing about the tragedy.

Post-pourri

Posted on July 30, 2015 by Lisa Rest

Apologies for the bad pun. It’s been a busy, fragmented, hot week and a half or so. Also, the past weekend was one long party, with no birds in attendance. I am not used to being much of a social butterfly.

A moth casts a shadow at Lurie Garden

I haven’t been out much during the day either. If I didn’t know better I might think the crows have given up on me, but I suspect it’s lack of the quiet shady spots we used to have, where we could convene without a steady stream of human beings. Pigeons are much less picky about habitat but definitely not used to having their pictures taken.

On the days I have gone out, I have managed to keep amused. One bright spot, for instance, was finding some Monarch Butterflies in Lurie Garden.

There are other interesting pollinators too. I think the wasp below was more black than blue, but lightening it up made it interesting.

One afternoon last week standing outside the northern entrance to Lurie, I heard some earnest chirping and determined it was coming out of the small oak tree before me. There were a couple security guards talking to each other totally oblivious to the Robin’s nest I soon located.

American Robin nestlings

I suspect the Northern Cardinal below is a young bird as well because it seemed to know the peanut was for eating but was perplexed by it anyway.

On hot, boring days at Lake Shore East Park, as long as I could find a bench to sit on, I took to photographing the fountains.

Then a few days ago I was sitting in the shade across from the east side of the Pritzker Pavilion, waiting for crows, and the little bird below darted out of the yews. The shade was so dense it was hard to get a decent picture, but this is the first time I have seen a juvenile Ovenbird at Millennium Park at the end of July. I was so surprised I thought I was going to get a rare bird alert but Ovenbirds breed in this part of the continent so even though I think it was rare for Millennium Park it’s not unlikely. This is the same spot I heard a White-Throated Sparrow singing a couple weeks ago, which is rare, so maybe just going to sit in this spot isn’t such a bad idea. Crows or no crows.

Ovenbird, Millennium Park, 7-27-15

The greatest reward perhaps is still seeing Monarch Butterflies. I have seen fewer than 20 individuals this summer, at least two of them flying around the cement canyons of LaSalle Street. I hope the Swamp Milkweed is making them feel welcome.

The Essence of True (Crow) Love

Posted on February 19, 2015 by Lisa Rest

Ah…Birdz Cookies!

Or you could just say Food is Love in just about any language. Like Music…

In the midst of this miserable cold, my crow friends and I are reunited in thought and purpose. Last week they sent me a request for Birdz Cookies, and so it was Birdz Cookies on Monday and Tuesday. On Monday, I put out lots of peanuts and broke up the cookie pieces on top of them, and the Crows went straight for the cookies.

Then yesterday, after two days of cookies, why not some of those delicious hot dogs I used to bring?

Between my knee event (which I am happy to report is totally over), the weather, the baby boom indoors and other distractions, I haven’t managed to get up early and visit the crows an hour before work all winter, so I have focused on the Millennium Park bunch whenever I get out for a late lunch break, and now that my knee is working properly the weather becomes less of an excuse for staying inside when I realize my friends don’t have that choice.

White-Throated Sparrow

Sparrows, mainly House

Northern Cardinal and House Sparrow, both males

This has also been good for the Cardinals, Chickadees, White-Throated Sparrows and House Sparrows.

On Monday, the male Northern Cardinal actually came toward me and posed for pictures when I pointed the camera at him. It had to do with the peanuts I shelled and left for him on Friday. He was asking me to repeat the favor, which I did after taking a few more pictures. Then later he was down on the ground sampling the general offering.

On Tuesday I was surprised to see the Robins back at what I believe must be some type of hawthorn trees in the northwest corner of the park, I guess to clean up every last fruit they might have left on their last visit.

The Black-Capped Chickadees have been more about food than enticing me to take their pictures.

Black-Capped Chickadee

But from time to time the female Cardinal wasn’t too shy to engage the lens.

So as cold as it is I will probably venture out again today. The sun is shining brightly, and it is always a bit warmer by the lake, even in this extreme cold. It’s amazing how much even one or two degrees makes a difference.

The “what-to-feed-the crows next?” question has been on my mind, since after cookies and hot dogs, simply peanuts seems too mundane. So I rustled up an omelette this morning with about 10 eggs that have been in the refrigerator too long to boil for the indoor crowd’s egg food. I figure the crows have probably sampled Egg McMuffins and will recognize an omelette (indeed I think one crow sent me the thought on the way in that I could have added cheese — ha!). Plus it’s eggs in a cache-and-stash form.

White-Throated Sparrow

I do intend to wade through the Gull Frolic pictures by the weekend…but the park birds were making it a lot easier for me to post about them sooner.

Unattached

Posted on August 12, 2014 by Lisa Rest

Cooper’s Hawk, Grant Park

If I were better organized I would only upload pictures I was actually going to use in a blog post, but I am too often compiling posts on the fly and consequently I wind up making last-minute decisions of what to use and never going back to delete the unused, or “unattached” photos.

Black Vulture 4-26-14

So this is a photo essay with no particular subject, only some previously unattached, unrelated blasts from the past.

Bewick’s Wren, 4-26-14

Northern Cardinal, Lake Shore East Park, 4-23-14

Lincoln’s Sparrow, Songbird Meadows, 4-26-14

White-Winged Crow, Daley Bicentennial Plaza Tennis Court

Superb Starling

Leopard 11-24-13

I’ll be back in real time soon. 🙂

Goldbird Variations

Why Birds Sing in Key with Music, or how I finally put perfect pitch to use.

Tag Archives: American Crow