After last Sunday’s chilly, gloomy rain, I had my eye on Tuesday morning and notified the work team that I was taking it off. Tuesday came, starting out cool but sunny, and I went to the Portage to see if any warblers I barely glimpsed at on Sunday were there for a better view.
The green-up is in progress and the treetops are full of tiny bugs and worms we can’t see, but the birds know where to look for them.
After hearing and then eventually seeing a couple Chestnut-sided Warblers, I was lucky enough to have an intimate moment with this individual. We exchanged thoughts about spring and sunshine.
I always hear five or more House Wrens, but rarely see them. Tuesday morning was a special day, though, because it seemed like all these guys were out and showing off. The very last photograph below shows one going into his nest.
Another very vocal group rarely seen are the Warbling Vireos. I followed this one around with the camera.
There were still a couple Ruby-Crowned Kinglets here and there. Only now, like the Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, when you’re looking for warblers, these birds become “distractors,” to quote one of my favorite guides, Mitch Lysinger.
Even Blue Jays seem to be more visible. I’ve had one in my yard all week, too, although he leaves the minute he sees me.
On this beautiful morning I was delighted to find one of my favorite sparrows, Lincoln’s.
There were still a few Blue-Winged Warblers. It’s been a good year to see them.
Female Goldfinches never get much press so I thought I’d share these two photos.
I always hear White-Throated Sparrows’ little chip notes before I see them. It was nice to have one posing.
In the Big Bird Flyover Department, it’s been quite a while since I’ve seen an Osprey. I used to see one flying over the Des Plaines River when I visited Ottawa Trail, but that location is no longer available. I haven’t been back since they built a levy. It will be interesting to see what happens with the river, with all the rain we are getting this week.
A rare glimpse of Mrs. Bluebird Tuesday morning.
Early on I saw this Least Flycatcher from the bridge, at quite a distance.
Most of the warblers were distant and high in the trees, so much so that I didn’t always know what I was looking at until I processed the photos.
Black-and-White Warblers have been a bit evasive this year.
Something about the cool, slow start to spring has made the moss look happier.
Here’s a bird I never thought I’d see. It was really far away so I had no idea what it was until later.
Palm Warblers are still around but blending in too well with their surroundings.
One of my favorites, Canada Warbler, was down low but in the shade.
Here’s one of two female Rose-breasted Grosbeaks I saw together in the same location.
I first saw the man below a couple weeks ago, I think. He was playing loud music from that speaker thing he’s got in his right hand. Keeping my social distance, I cupped my hands over my ears. The next time I heard him coming, he was playing “Scotland the Brave”. I thought about whatever PTSD he was suffering from, it was too bad he had to foist it on other people, but I decided not to let him bother me and maybe it was a good thing he was walking his dog in the woods. Anyway, it’s likely he’s been out every day since the lockdown began.
Red-bellied Woodpeckers are challenging to spot, but it’s often rewarding when I do see them.
Below you can barely see a Spotted Sandpiper in the shadow of the bent log.
I actually saw a flock of thirty or more Common Grackles fly in on Tuesday.
There are a lot of Brown-headed Cowbirds this year.
Here’s one of those surprise warblers I found later in the photographs. I had to do some thinking about this one. When I think of a Blackburnian Warbler I always imagine the males. This is a female. It took me a while to figure her out.
Magnolias are usually easier to see than this one, but migration isn’t over yet.
Distant but distinguishable Black-throated Green Warblers.
I don’t see Hairy Woodpeckers half as often as Downies. I find though that I’m getting to be able to distinguish them by their feather pattern first.
I had been waiting for the Indigo Buntings to show up. I was to see about a dozen of them yesterday. These two were the first I saw on Tuesday.
Baltimore Orioles are setting up their territories.
Thanks for making it to the end of this long post! After I kept adding birds to the ebird list, I reported 51 species for Tuesday morning. I went back to the Portage Saturday and found some more beautiful birds. I’ll be back as soon as possible. Hope you are safe and well as can be, wherever you are.
The heat is here and now more than ever the object of the game is to get up and out as early as possible, before it becomes unbearable. Birds are uniquely qualified to hide in the trees and stay cool that way. But it seemed like I was at last seeing numbers of American Robins and Red-Winged Blackbirds the last time I visited the Portage.
I didn’t see any adult Baltimore Orioles but there were a couple youngsters like the one below, who was busy trying to take care of all those feathers.
And in the same color scheme, there were a few Monarch Butterflies making their way through the patches of milkweed.
A young rabbit paused on the trail.
And the Indigo Buntings are quite numerous, even if it’s hard to find them. The hen below is showing off her prize which I’m sure she delivered to hungry nestlings.
I followed this Green Heron when it landed in the tree, only to realize its partner had been there hiding in plain sight all the time as two herons took off a moment later.
And the Orchard Oriole taking off.
I have tentative plans to go out early on the 4th if possible, but rain and thunderstorms seem to be in the forecast and that might stop me. It’s awkward to have a day off in the middle of the week, but a day off is a day off. Rain might actually be good enough to quell local firecracker explosions.
I’m not quite up to more adventurous birding spots yet, or so I’ve been telling myself, so I went back to the Portage again last Sunday morning. One of my first most delightful encounters was the Sphinx Moth above. It might also be called a Hummingbird Clearwing Moth. I didn’t see any hummingbirds, although I keep looking for them ever since one zipped by one of my feeders a couple weeks ago.
So much for the one Red-Winged Blackbird that was temporarily available.
Summer sun is just what the painted turtles crave. At least I think they were all painted turtles.
I caught the Great Blue Heron as it left for another one of its haunts.
A couple more pictures of the Sphinx Moth. The Common Milkweed is in full bloom everywhere including my front yard, where it has smelled so strong I could detect its scent halfway down the block.
I had only one Red-Winged Blackbird volunteer.
And after weeks of hardly seeing any Downy Woodpeckers, I did see this one messing around in the leaves like a warbler.
