Tag Archives: American Tree Sparrow

A Walk at the Chicago Portage, and Rarities

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On Saturday morning, I led what has now become my annual bird walk at the Chicago Portage. I have lost track of how many times I have offered this walk as an auction donation for Unity Temple Unitarian Universalist Congregation (UTUUC), but I suspect it’s been at least 5 years now if not more. When I scheduled the date for this walk back in the fall, I was looking for something closer to peak spring migration, totally forgetting that May 10 might likely be the annual Illinois Spring Bird Count, not to mention May 11 being Mother’s Day. To put it mildly, it was a busy weekend to schedule anything. But it was a beautiful day, as we have finally emerged from the cold, gloomy weather of past weeks, and this day proved to be rather unusual for birds as well.

I arrived at the Chicago Portage about 45 minutes early, to walk in a bit and get a feel for the morning. The first bird I photographed was a male Baltimore Oriole. These birds have returned in great numbers this year.

I started following a Nashville Warbler high in the treetops. I’ve seen a lot of Nashvilles this season, but you never know who might be up there with them.

For a moment, I was following another bird with the camera, but I didn’t realize what it was at the time. Too tired to properly review my photographs until Sunday, I then discovered that the bird was a rare individual. I had never seen anything like it before. It turned out to be a Lawrence’s Warbler, which is a hybrid species of a cross between a Blue-winged and a Golden-winged Warbler.

I was still following the Nashville after I took those photos of the Lawrence’s.

Then it was time to go back to the parking lot and greet the walk participants. After a few minutes, we walked in on the paved trail to the bridge closest to Harlem Avenue. And there we saw a muskrat swimming in the water.

There’s often a Yellow Warbler at this spot and we were able to hear it singing and see it flitting about in the trees. I managed a parting photo.

Yellow Warbler

We were hearing Indigo Buntings singing, and soon we saw some. The first bird below was some distance away, but then we had better looks at the second, who is also at the top of this post.

I took a look back toward the bridge where we had first stood

Not too far down the dirt trail that runs parallel to the fence dividing the preserve from the property of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District (MWRD), we stopped to see an Osprey fly in.

Almost immediately following the Osprey, a Bald Eagle flew in and landed in a tree across the water.

After watching the eagle for some time, the eagle left and we started walking again, and noticed a female Red-winged Blackbird down at the edge of the water.

A couple warblers came into view. The first is a Yellow-rumped Warbler, and the second, a Magnolia Warbler. Because they share the same color scheme, it can sometimes take a while to figure them out.

We encountered two male Rose-breasted Grosbeaks. They started having a bit of a territorial disagreement and the bird in the second photo chased after the other one.

Then we got a better look at a Magnolia Warbler. The black tip of the tail always gives this bird away to me even if I don’t see any other part of it.

The Osprey returned briefly.

Toward the end of our walk, we managed to see a female Blackpoll Warbler. I think this was the first Blackpoll I have seen this spring. After developing my photos, I confirmed the identification even further later with the bird’s orange feet showing in the photos, something unique to this species.

We encountered a Chipping Sparrow in the grassy portion that leads to the parking lot.

I also photographed a late American Tree Sparrow. Apologies to Liz if I remember that she correctly identified it as a tree sparrow, but I said it was too late. It’s not a very flashy-looking individual, but it is definitely a Tree Sparrow, recognizable by it’s bi-colored bill and further by the feather pattern of its wingbars. Anyway, getting back to my “too late” comment – that made it another bird that turned up on the Rare Bird Alert when I reported it with the supporting photo documentation.

After the walk participants left, I continued to bird a while. I found this interesting-looking male Baltimore Oriole.

A female Baltimore Oriole was down on the ground, likely finding nesting material.

A somewhat raggedy Black-and-White Warbler caught my attention.

I had run into Bob on the trail and we were birding together when an Indigo Bunting sang and displayed to us, making me wonder whether this individual knew us from last year. I also caught a photo as he flew down to the ground and have included it for a comparison of how the blue color changes depending on how the sunlight hits it.

That’s it for May 10. And now it’s time for a brief flashback. Here are a few photos from April 1. Yes, all the way back to the beginning of last month. My how things have changed.

A dozen Blue-winged Teal were present for weeks.

An Eastern Phoebe had just arrived.

There were still Golden-crowned Kinglets.

And a Pied-billed Grebe was hanging out for a few days.

In an effort to keep up with the daily overabundance of birds and my overabundant attempts to photograph them, I think I will be including some more photos I never managed to post from the beginnings of 2025 spring migration. We seem to be all-in now for sunshine and warmer weather. I’ll be back as soon as possible.

Briefly at the Chicago Portage

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Visits to the Chicago Portage will likely be brief these days as the weather has turned colder, often gloomier, and the birds are not always easy to find. But there are other things to watch for as well.

“Welcome to Muskrat Estates.” I wish I could post a sign stating this on the bridge near Harlem because the muskrats have now built another sizable nest. I took these photos last Friday, November 22. A few Mallards could still be seen enjoying Muskrat Estates.

A bit later I found a few more Mallards feeding where there was still duckweed. The duckweed is receding i the colder weather.

At the top of the hill, such as it is, in the goldenrod, I found an American Tree Sparrow blending in nicely.

House Finches were nearby.

I spotted a Dark-eyed Junco.

A distant view of the Portage from above.

Then a moment later, I noticed a Red-tailed Hawk sitting in a faraway tree.

A Downy Woodpecker caught my attention.

The Red-tailed Hawk flew in to a closer perch.

And then the hawk was on the move again.

I spotted a Downy Woodpecker on the ground.

And a female Northern Cardinal didn’t seem to mind my attention as she perched long enough for me to take her picture.

An American Goldfinch was taking a water break on the paved trail.

I found another American Tree Sparrow.

The Red-tailed Hawk was on the move again.

And then I heard Sandhill Cranes overhead. I barely managed to capture a few of them behind the trees in the cloudy sky, but it was nice to hear and see them.

I am spending a quiet Thanksgiving Day at home with the birds. I’ve been having fun in the kitchen lately trying new recipes and improving upon old ones. Our temperatures are about to plunge for the weekend, so I may as well keep cooking: this is definitely soup and bread weather. There’s also something peaceful and restorative in preparing food.

More Birds at the Chicago Portage

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In my usual fashion, I have been trying to write this post for a few days. I haven’t even gone out every morning for more observations as I was either cowed by the weather (wind, possible rain) or the complaints of my right knee. The rainy forecasts weren’t panning out so much, but the wind gusts have been awful. My knee is better as I took refuge in the swimming pool and managed my mile, which helped a lot. If by some chance we don’t get drenched by the current forecast, I look forward to walking tomorrow and Tuesday, if for no other reason than to escape screens.

These photos are from October 26th and 27th at the Chicago Portage. Just about a week ago, but it already seems far away now that we’ve set our clocks back.

A glimpse of the statue this fall season

I have been seeing deer lately close to the trail.

For some unknown reason, House Finches appear more often in fall, here and there. This one’s a female.

Song Sparrows are blending in with the browns of fall. A few younger birds try singing.

it’s a challenge to focus on the birds foraging in the dried stalks, but I managed to catch glimpses of one or two Orange-crowned Warblers, which always tend to show up toward the ends of each warbler migration. Don’t be fooled by the common name as it is no clue to what the bird looks like.

Here and there, I saw a Ruby-crowned Kinglet.

I even saw parts of a Nashville Warbler that day.

I think this was my first American Tree Sparrow of the season. If past years are any indication I will see many more of them throughout the fall and winter.

Black-capped Chickadees are around all year and now it’s easier for them to command my attention.

Downy Woodpeckers are easier to see as well.

The Red-shouldered Hawk we had been seeing was farther away, perched in a tree.

I found a female Hairy Woodpecker.

And a Northern Cardinal stopped near the paved trail.

Another Song Sparrow was attempting a song.

The next day, on the 27th, I saw another House Finch, only a male this time.

Mallards were hanging out near the Harlem Avenue bridge.

And after looking for a Muskrat all summer long and into the fall, finally I spotted one.

American Goldfinches are still around, but with a more scattered presence. It will soon be time for me to put out nyjer feeders for them in my backyard.

I was pleased to find a Swamp Sparrow in my photos.

And another Ruby-crowned Kinglet emerged.

There was also another Song Sparrow or two.

More Mallard photos. The two in the background of the first photo are covered in duckweed.

I found a White-throated Sparrow in good light.

And a somewhat distant Northern Cardinal was not too shy.

If the predicted rain pans out for the next two days, I will try to clean up some more photos from recent walks. It’s still possible to see some different species before the winter doldrums settle in. It’s hard to focus on much of anything given our national distraction, but birds are a good place to start.

Emerging from the Deep Freeze

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Apologies for the fuzzy appearance of most of the photos in this post, but it’s been a week of huddling indoors and watching the birds through the screened porch windows. The few times I’ve gone out back to try to capture anything, it’s been cloudy or the birds have been obscured by branches, which is understandably their strategy in this weather. It’s been too cold to go for a walk anywhere else. We are supposed to get a warm up, but with it will come snow and rain, so I may be off the trails for a while yet.

The feeders have been popular.

There was sunshine that day, at least. But I barely captured a few cold-looking House Finches.

The American Goldfinches are back in full force. This is the one time of year I see more of them in the yard.

It’s good to see more of the Black-capped Chickadees too.

I bought a couple new feeders this year to try and confuse the squirrels. The birds are definitely not confused by them. Their favorite is extremely messy, which could be why they like it so much.

This other feeder has only 4 ports, but it hasn’t stopped the House Sparrows from emptying it.

I have been very happy to see some American Tree Sparrows in the yard.

I see one American Robin on occasion.

More feeder action.

I tried going outside a couple times, to no avail.

American Tree Sparrow

I went back inside for more fuzzy glimpses.

Downy Woodpecker
Cooper’s Hawk

Then Friday on my way to the pool I decided to take a look at the Des Plaines River, which had been under a flood watch for a couple days, due to an ice jam. The ice was starting to break up.

My last effort was to go outside yesterday in the sunshine to see if I could wait for the birds to come back to the feeders. They weren’t buying it.

I settled for a Gray Squirrel and some Milkweed.

It might be a good time to go back in time to warmer weather photos until things improve around here.

Sparrows and More at the Portage

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The prospect of rain cleared away Sunday morning and the sun was shining. In contrast, this morning was cloudy and drizzly. It seems fitting to do a short post about my Sunday visit to the Chicago Portage, seeing as how there’s always more from before.

I caught up with Bob S. and we walked the trail looking for activity. Yellow-rumped Warblers were reliably located by the Harlem Avenue bridge.

It was a while before more birds appeared.

We caught up with a lot of birds feasting in the marshy area. There were several Nashville Warblers.

There were also plenty of American Goldfinches.

I started trying to capture distant birds to identify later. Below is most of a Song Sparrow. I also found a Lincoln’s Sparrow in my photos but the lighting and distance made it unsuitable for any representation here.

I was quite surprised to find an American Tree Sparrow, my first of the season.

There was an unmistakable male Eastern Towhee perched across the water. He or someone like him eventually flew right in front of us, but I was unable to get a clear photo as he disappeared behind leaves.

Another distant bird that we first thought was a wren because of its tail sticking up turned out to be a Swamp Sparrow.

Also across the water close to the shore were a Song Sparrow and a White-throated Sparrow.

There was a nearby Downy Woodpecker.

The third barely identifiable warbler was a Tennessee Warbler.

I have been seeing both kinglet species – Ruby-crowned and Golden-crowned – off and on over the past week or two. There weren’t very many available Sunday, but this Ruby-crowned was easy to see.

An Eastern Wood-Pewee sat still for a long time and I am sure I took too many photos.

“Are you done yet?”

The last bird to reveal itself was in the shadows and at first difficult to photograph. It turned out to e a Gray-cheeked Thrush. For as many of this species as I have seen this fall, on Sunday its presence turned out to be rare for the lateness of the date,

Three more photos below, of the Gray-cheeked getting ready to fly and then taking off…

Tomorrow’s forecast includes a little sunshine, so I should be able to walk with the camera and see who shows up. It’s fall. Chilly, windy, brisk, leaves falling. We seem to have had all the right conditions for fall color. Leaves resembling birds and vice versa.

In Spite of the Clouds

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I haven’t been out for a walk the past two days, due to snow of one sort or another. I did manage a few visits last week in the gloom. These photos are all from Riverside, starting with January 18.

it was warmer last week and from time to time there were Canada Geese.

Any bird who sits still long enough to be photographed gets my attention.

There were geese on the lawn by the library.

And then I noticed a lot of American Tree Sparrows in the grass as well.

But then after I crossed the footbridge and started to walk the trail nearest the river in Riverside Lawn, I spotted a Winter Wren.

Seeing I was paying attention to the Winter Wren, a Carolina Wren came out to pose for me. This happened the last time I saw these two characters. I was also happy to hear a vocalization from the Carolina Wren that was new for me. I hope I remember it next time I hear it.

Fitting in with all the brown birds, a Mallard hen standing in a shallow spot.

And I saw 64H again. That may have been the last time I saw him.

My next visit on January 20 was much gloomier.

But there was a pair of Red-breasted Mergansers in the river that made up for the gloom.

I barely caught the Belted Kingfisher in flight and then managed to find it perched later with its back to me.

Backlit gloom did no favors for this White-breasted Nuthatch.

On January 23, there were at least 100 Canada Geese by the footbridge. I couldn’t stuff them all into one frame.

The light wasn’t good enough to capture a Downy Woodpecker in focus, but he brightened up the gloom anyway.

I saw the Belted Kingfisher again. He was quite far away.

A Northern Cardinal was my consolation prize.

It’s been quiet, getting colder, and we are about to dip into the deep freeze. The snow so far hasn’t been too much of a problem as the temperature has been just above freezing most of the time, but it looks like the next few days we will have more snow to deal with in addition to the cold. Such is winter.

Looking forward to singing Sunday morning. It will be just sopranos and altos. We’re singing a lovely little song in Italian and I am looking forward to rolling my r’s.

More winter birds on the way. Hard to believe we’re almost done with January.

Portage Recently

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After two days of inclement weather earlier in the week, I couldn’t stand the thought of not walking, so I put on my long underwear and all the other necessary layers to endure a very cold walk Thursday morning at the Chicago Portage. I didn’t see a lot of birds, but I was happy to catch up with the flock, such as it was, eventually. Most of the birds were quite far away and the cloud cover made it that much harder to capture their images.

The last time I was there before that was last Sunday, the 13th, when at first the sky proved more interesting than anything on the ground.

But then I saw a deer.

The sun came out and made it quite pleasant.

American Robin

House Finches have been more noticeable lately as they move around with the sparrow and cardinal groups. For the most part, any birds I am seeing lately have been part of a larger mixed flock.

I managed to capture a Fox Sparrow that day. They are larger than other sparrows and they tend to sit still for a while, making the only challenge how far away they have decided to perch.

I have been seeing American Tree Sparrows at the Portage for weeks now. I don’t think I have seen any in Riverside yet although there are likely some there. Their arrival always verifies winter. Although the bird below had its back to me I think I found the feather pattern attractive.

Of course Dark-eyed Juncos spend their winters here too.

And Black-capped Chickadees are a year-round delight.

So this was how the Portage looked on the 13th.

Some more American Tree Sparrow photos from that day. This bird was perched at quite a distance.

Below might be the same bird in the earlier photos. I just found it interesting to see how well it blended in with the foliage, especially in the middle photo below. Hard to tell where the bird begins and the brush ends.

It was much colder on Thursday, but at least there was sunshine for a while.

Here’s how the sky looked when I stepped out my front door.

But by the time I got to the Portage, the scene was much gloomier.

I see Mourning Doves more often in my backyard lately, but this one was present at the Portage on Thursday morning.

The Northern Cardinals stand out now that all the leaves are gone.

As long as there is open water, there will be Mallards. This water is pretty shallow though. I suspect it could be frozen over by now after the second day of extreme cold.

I heard a Fox Sparrow chirp – which the Merlin App confirmed – but didn’t realize I had probably seen it until I found this barely captured bird in my photos later.

Fox Sparrow

Here are a few more images from Thursday’s outing. There weren’t many. But I’m glad I went. Yesterday and today have proved too cold, blowy and somewhat snowy for my taste. Maybe I’ll reacquaint myself with the mirrorless camera as it would be a lot less to carry around and manipulate with gloved fingers.

House Finch
Gray Squirrel
American Robin

Going for a walk every morning has become an integral part of my daily routine, so I don’t intend to stay inside for long. I did go swimming yesterday and it was rejuvenating. My greatest joy every day is to play piano for the birds when they join in with such enthusiasm. I hope to manage posting a few recordings in the not-too-distant future. After all, that’s how this whole thing started.

I may spend a little time in the yard this morning. If I had been outside long enough yesterday I might have caught the sound and sight of tens of thousands of Sandhill Cranes flying over. Of course they were. They always take advantage of that push from the north, and we certainly have had that. I am sorry I missed them, and I haven’t traveled far enough lately to see them up close. Oh well. Tomorrow will be sunny, if cold, but I will be in the choir and with any luck doing the line dance with others at the end of the service. I look forward to being back on the trail Monday.

Thanks to all for checking in.

Three Visits to Columbus Park

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Two weeks after the last formal walk at Columbus Park on May 14, I joined the two Eds from those walks to see what was up after it seemed all the warblers were gone. Suffice it to say that the water birds made up for the lack of passerine diversity. In spite of an event going on at the park, two Great Blue Herons and two Black-crowned Night Herons tolerated all the noise and our attention and gave us some great looks.

There’s invariably a Great Blue Heron here but I’ve never seen one up in a tree like the one in the series below.

These photos are from April 16, May 14 and May 28 so the vegetation keeps changing.

On April 16 we were lucky to see an early Northern Parula.

Although I saw this species on a few other occasions these were the best looks I had all spring.

Also in the old reeds left over from last year was an American Tree Sparrow.

A Northern Rough-winged Swallow posed over the water

There was one little Field Sparrow back on the April visit.

There’s usually at least a pair of Wood Ducks but they don’t always offer such great photo opportunities.

Below from the last visit, a Wood Duck hen with six ducklings.

Once the Red-winged Blackbirds show up, they stay for the summer.

On the last visit there were some more grown up goslings than an on earlier visit.

Back in April, two Double-crested Cormorants swimming together.

The Black-crowned Night Herons are sometimes so well camouflaged.

Back in April I followed this Great Blue Heron in flight.

On May 14, there was a visible Red-eyed Vireo.

And on the last visit two weeks later, a Warbling Vireo made itself known.

Here’s an earlier photo of a Great Blue Heron.

The Black-crowned Night Herons are simply photogenic.

But I’ll let the Wood Duck have the last word.

A rainy forecast for today gave me the time to sit here and put this together. I’ll be back out on the trail tomorrow morning. There will likely be more photographs of dragonflies coming, like the female Eastern Forktail Damselfly below – if that is indeed what this is. I noticed it at Columbus Park on the last visit.

Feeling Warmer in the Sun

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I went to the Chicago Portage on Monday morning, the last time we had full sunshine, and I met a lot of birds and some people too. It was cold, but the sunshine gave a little bit more than the illusion of warmth. In all it was good to go slowly and watch the birds, but I took way too many photographs. I wonder how I will manage to get through warbler migration at this rate.

After stopping and talking to some people on the trail and mentioning that Golden-crowned Kinglets had started showing up when they asked me if there was anything new, I encountered about half a dozen of the birds and managed to capture one who volunteered for a lot of clicks.

It was almost worth it to memorialize the blue sky background.

Somewhere next to the trail by some spindly young hackberry trees I saw this very thorny plant that had the only green leaves in the entire preserve. I am not familiar with this at all. I welcome identification from any botanists out there.

I kept waiting for this Northern Flicker to fly so I might capture its golden shafts but it was definitely not going anywhere.

I never know when I will see a pair of Northern Cardinals. In this case I think she was waiting for him.

I spent the longest time behind this bird photographing it without identifying it. Backlit and alone on the path in front of me, it seemed unfamiliar. I have now decided it’s a Brown-headed Cowbird. I think I have never seen one in the cold before – in other words, it was so fluffed up I couldn’t recognize it.

There are a few American Goldfinches at the Portage. Here’s one, early on in my walk, looking rather cold.

If you stood in the right spot on the trail where I suspect asphalt will be going in, it was possible to see American Tree Sparrows everywhere. At some point one sat and started singing, and I tried to record him over a lot of noise. I did manage to get a couple recordings, as faint as they are, and they are below this photograph. I heard one singing earlier this year and compared it to the recording on my Sibley cell phone app which was made in Alaska, where they breed.

I did manage to take too many pictures of American Tree Sparrows fading into their surroundings.

I almost forgot, a Killdeer landed in the marsh and this was the best I could do through the vegetation.

I was delighted to find a Fox Sparrow in my photographs. I don’t remember taking these pictures. My camera remembered well, though.

I couldn’t help but notice the duckweed staging a comeback.

Messing around in the marshy area were a few female Red-winged Blackbirds.

And I was taken with this pretty little Song Sparrow.

On the way out, I saw the pair of Eastern Bluebirds again, only this time there was better light. They were quite far away for the most part but I tried to at least capture some of that blue.

The closer photos were of the female who is drabber in plumage but I think she is lovely nonetheless.

Perhaps the birds of the day were the American Tree Sparrows. I suspect that with the warmer winds we are now experiencing, they will be moving up north and this could have been the last time to see them.

I was going to add some photographs from March 15 – but other than the fact that it was not a sunny day, which clashes with the theme, this seems like quite enough for now. It’s rainy today and we have one more rainy day tomorrow, so I am going to try to finish taking care of some things that I keep putting off and I will be back as soon as I can get it together.

One more of the Golden-Crowned Kinglet

Sunshine Returns

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It’s very cold today and it looks like tomorrow will be the same – below freezing in the morning – but the sun is shining and it’s not too windy, so that makes up for almost everything. I haven’t put my long underwear away quite yet. And it was good to be wearing more substantial boots this morning as they are warmer than the hikers.

The view from the bridge
The shallow water is a bit frozen

Things started out pretty slow with a couple Song Sparrows on the trail. There were a few Northern Cardinals behind too many branches to bother with.

When I approached the marshy area on the other side of the second bridge, which is the path that has been marked by the surveyor, I saw a lot of American Tree Sparrows – at least 20 – and that also seemed to be where the Red-winged Blackbirds were hanging out too. I concentrated on the sparrows.

On my way back heading out, I saw a pair of Eastern Bluebirds.

They were nearly too far away to photograph but I kept trying and took too many photos.

That was about it for this morning, save a pair of Canada Geese in the icy water.

By contrast, ten days earlier there was less light. Here are some leftovers from March 17. It was the last time I saw the Lesser Scaup.

I had a Brown Creeper that morning. I’m surprised the camera picked it up at all, it blended in so well.

I also had a very cooperative Black-capped Chickadee.

I got lucky with this Dark-eyed Junco who almost seems to be smiling.

No Mallards today, but I had a shiny drake on the 17th.

I will likely go back to the Portage again tomorrow to see if there are any changes. I had the place all to myself save one man who was walking and talking on his cell phone. I would like to think that no matter how many improvements they make, the Chicago Portage will still be an escape-to place and I won’t have to travel too far from my backyard.