Two Sundays ago, I went first to McGinnis Slough, and then to Little Red Schoolhouse, which features Long John Slough. Suffice it to say the air was filled with the songs of Red-winged Blackbirds. I must have encountered at least 100 of the birds between the two locations.
Yet there was very little happening at McGinnis. I didn’t realize until I took my photos off the camera that the Red-tailed Hawk below was carrying nesting material in its talons.
A Northern Cardinal managed to pose while still feeling protected by branches.
There weren’t many birds to see in the water. Over on the far side I could barely see two Trumpeter Swans and a few gulls. I assumed that they are Trumpeter Swans as they always nest here.
I continued on to Little Red Schoolhouse.
Not much was going on at the feeders near the visitor center.
In the slough, there were perhaps fifty or so Common Mergansers. They were quite far away so the photo below is quite cropped.
I walked the Black Oak Trail and found myself looking out at the slough with a couple other birders when we spotted a juvenile Bald Eagle taking flight. It appears to be 3 to 3-1/2 years old.
One more distant look at a few Common Mergansers.
About the only thing I could get close enough to as I walked the rest of the Black Oak Trail was a tree stump with a conflomeration of fungus, lichen and moss.
The weather continues to interfere with my resolve to take a daily walk. But there was enough to accomplish inside today. I filed my first “totally retired” tax return. I formatted the lyrics for the program which will accompany our choir Sunday performance of a chamber version of “Considering Matthew Shepard” on April 2. And I just made a batch of red lentil soup with lemon, and some Peruvian aji amarillo dipping sauce. I will have some roasted veggies with the dipping sauce for dinner. This will help me get over the idea of “losing” an hour: I can’t wait for the birds to wake me up at sunrise anymore, it will be too late.
We haven’t had much snow this year. That which we have received did not last for long. These photos are from two visits to the Chicago Portage on February 2 and February 7 respectively. There haven’t been a lot of birds available for photographs lately but it’s still good to go out because sometimes the unexpected occurs.
At least it was nice and sunny. American Tree Sparrows are still a possibility.
The Dark-eyed Junco below was barely visible in the snow.
Also tucked into the snow, a Song Sparrow, a male House Finch and another American Tree Sparrow.
The Downy Woodpecker below was a willing subject.
On my way out, I saw a coyote in the distance.
And then I had a brief, close encounter with a Red-bellied Woodpecker and his friend, the White-breasted Nuthatch.
I suspect the man who feeds the deer is responsible for the ridiculous offering below.
On the 7th it was quite cloudy, with most of the snow gone.
The best part of that visit was the local pair of Bald Eagles. Unfortunately because of the light, and the fact that they were fairly distant, I couldn’t get great photos. But it was nice to see them fly over.
Not much going on with this Downy Woodpecker.
And then I caught him briefly in flight.
All the other birds were at a considerable distance and with the lack of light, focusing was problematic. Below, a Song Sparrow, an American Tree Sparrow and a Dark-eyed Junco leaving the bridge.
I did follow a White-throated Sparrow as it foraged for seeds to eat.
A group of American Goldfinches was happy to sit still, probably because they knew they were barely noticeable. This is more goldfinches than I have seen all winter at my feeders. They have been staying in the wild, so to speak, I suspect because it hasn’t been all that cold and bleak and they are still able to find plenty of food.
It’s hard for a male Northern Cardinal to disappear in any season.
I am recovering from a little right-knee setback – thankfully it hasn’t lasted long at all and I am already back to about 97%. It was also a busy weekend with the 21st annual Gull Frolic on Saturday and singing two of my favorite songs with the choir on Sunday morning.
This morning in Riverside, in addition to Northern Cardinals singing, I heard and saw three Red-winged Blackbirds, a Black-capped Chickadee trying out his “hey, sweetie” tune, and Red-bellied Woodpeckers have started singing their quirky song as well. I heard a House Finch vocalizing a couple days ago. An American Robin has been here and there, albeit not singing quite yet. Spring is coming. Any minute now. I hope to be back soon.
I returned to Riverside Monday morning, after my previous visit last Wednesday. The weather was sunnier on Wednesday than Monday. But on Wednesday, I heard and then saw a Winter Wren, and even managed to get some photographs of it. Which is more than I got this past Monday when I had even better looks at the Winter Wren, but that’s another story.
Since this is a long and somewhat complicated post, I think I’ll revert to chronological order. Below is what the Des Plaines River looked like last Wednesday, for starters. The water level was a little bit higher than it was Monday.
In the raptor department, there was a distant, perched Cooper’s Hawk with its back to me.
American Goldfinches are still seen here and there.
I can remember complaining the last few years about never getting a photograph of a Dark-eyed Junco. Now I have way too many of them.
In good light, Downy Woodpeckers can be good subjects.
The sky was almost too blue a background for this White-breasted Nuthatch.
Shortly after I crossed the footbridge to Riverside Lawn, I had my Winter Wren encounter. The wren was at some distance but on a sunny day I was able to capture it cavorting around.
Perhaps the only bird the sun did not treat well that day was this female Northern Cardinal.
When I returned on Monday, it was cloudy.
Des Plaines River
And the river was low again, with many places for Canada Geese to stand in.
I caught a flurry of Rock Pigeons around the Hofmann Tower, but there was no accompanying raptor so I don’t know what caused them to go into flight drills.
Two Dark-eyed Juncos are below, with a White-throated Sparrow in the middle. Unfortunately they were backlit but I because haven’t seen very many White-throated Sparrows this fall I am including it.
Off Riverside’s paved trail, I found this Red-bellied Woodpecker busily inspecting a stump.
When I got over to Riverside Lawn, it wasn’t long before I realized that another tree had fallen and the trail, such as it is, was now totally obscured and not exactly passable. Before trying to decide how I was going to go around all this mess, I decided to just sit on the first fallen tree that I had been negotiating easily for about almost a month.
Almost simultaneously, the flock appeared. I suspect they were intrigued by the newly fallen log as well. Of course there were Dark-eyed Juncos.
A Downy Woodpecker was present.
For comparison, I was also lucky to see a Hairy Woodpecker.
A couple incidental photos from Riverside Lawn…I think before I sat down on the log.
Some tree fungusNorthern Cardinal male
While I sat on the log, the Winter Wren came in and was so close I could not photograph it with my big lens. Below is the only image of the Winter Wren I managed to capture on Monday.
But soon after that, a Carolina Wren arrived and perched on a stump a short distance directly in front of me and I complied with its request to be photographed. It’s also at the top of the post.
There were also a couple White-breasted Nuthatches not too far away. Directly below is a male, and the bird in the gallery beneath it is a female.
This is the time of year when Red-bellied Woodpeckers stand out against the drab, leafless trees. And this one was no exception.
Sometimes I manage to focus on a busy Black-capped Chickadee.
More snaps of the Red-bellied Woodpecker.
I have managed to find a way to walk around the new obstacle although I am not sure how easy it will be later, in snow and ice.
The most astounding thing Monday occurred hours later on my way home from the pool. I was approaching a busy intersection at 37th and Harlem when I saw a Bald Eagle rise up from behind a strip mall and fly right over my car, and then there was a smaller raptor chasing after it. I suspect they both may have been attracted to some prey which I never saw. I got through the intersection, pulled into a gas station and pulled out the camera.
The smaller raptor turned out to be a Peregrine Falcon. The two birds chased around for what seemed like a few minutes, and then the Bald Eagle eventually headed south, after the Peregrine gave up the chase and sat on top of a utility pole. It’s something to consider, that both these species were endangered not all that long ago and now there are enough of them to spill over into the suburban sprawl.
So it’s been quite a week for raptor action with this going on Monday morning and then the Red-tailed Hawk rescue on Tuesday. Yesterday and today were much quieter mornings. Tomorrow we are due for rain mixed with snow so I won’t be going for a walk but if I can drive, I will go for my swim in the middle of the day.
I’ll try to be back soon with some earlier encounters. Next week will be busy with choir singing and the Christmas Bird Count on the 17th, so blogging may have to wait for a while. ‘Tis the season.
It’s been a week. This post has nothing to do with the Fourth – or now, the Fifth – of July except that I realize it’s the first such holiday I have not been compelled to visit Goose Lake Prairie for my annual prairie and Dickcissel fix. I will be going there perhaps in the next week or so now that I have no obligations to a workplace.
I’m going back to photos from the Chicago Portage taken on June 12 and June 18. Just last month, but it already seems like those were slightly cooler days of innocence. Before the loud music from my neighbors’ pool stereo. Before the fireworks. I’ll stop there.
Below is the first time I captured Tadziu, the indomitable Indigo Bunting, on his new perch across his bridge. Also are recordings of his song on both days.
Recording of Tadziu singing on 6/12/22 with Warbling Vireo in backgroundTadziu singing on 6/18/22Looking at Tadziu’s bridge from afar, on 6/18
I captured a Bald Eagle flying over the Portage both days after not having seen one for quite a while.
I still think Brown-headed Cowbird males are good-looking guys.
More Bald Eagle flight photos.
These are not good photographs of a Northern Flicker but perhaps they are interesting in the shadows.
Here’s another Indigo Bunting – not Tadziu – I saw on June 18.
