Tag Archives: Belted Kingfisher

Catching Up at the Chicago Portage

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Spring is coming to the Chicago Portage. The buds are starting to open up on the trees. Hints of green shoots are everywhere. Birdsong is constant. One recent arrival is the Hermit Thrush at the top of this post.

Going back to March 24, a pair of Blue-winged Teal stopped by.

Golden-crowned Kinglets have been consistent.

On March 26, I was pleased to see a very active female Belted Kingfisher. I have been seeing a male over the past few weeks, so I’d like to think this is a pair.

I found a White-breasted Nuthatch in a sneaky spot.

The Blue-winged Teal were still around, hanging out with a Canada Goose and some turtles.

By April 7, Yellow-rumped Warblers started to appear here and there.

I was surprised to find a pair of Pied-billed Grebes.

I’ve missed Black-capped Chickadees for a little while, but now they seem to be returning.

American Goldfinches are rapidly becoming more colorful.

An Eastern Phoebe has been around for a few weeks. Sometimes I only hear him, so I can’t resist taking his picture when I can see him.

On April 9, shortly after I entered the preserve, I saw this Cooper’s Hawk surveying everything imperiously from a distance. I later encountered a woman who told me she saw a Cooper’s Hawk and its “baby” a few days earlier, sitting on top of the pavilion. The woman said she knew it was the hawk’s offspring because it was smaller and still had its pin feathers. So maybe this bird is half of the pair I first saw several weeks ago around a nest and they did actually have success. I often checked the nest for activity, but it was up high and so well-hidden I never managed to see much of anything.

Two Tree Swallows flew over the water.

The Mallard pair was still ensconced on their favorite log.

One Pied-billed Grebe was present, but very far away. I sat down on a log close to the water and watched it from afar for several minutes. It then came swimming my way as if to see what I wanted, and then after it checked me out, it turned around a flew off.

I had another curious Golden-crowned Kinglet that day.

Two Turkey Vultures were flying around as I left. I managed to capture one of them.

I have more to share, and the race has just begun… At least it starts to feel like a race. Linda the flutist and I are also getting ready for the Spring Music Festival. So many finish lines!

Springing Forward at the Portage

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We were in the midst of a warm spell, which always comes as a welcome surprise this time of year. I needed a morning walk before singing with the choir Saturday afternoon in a memorial service for a beloved choir member. It was cloudy but not too windy, and warm enough for turtles to emerge.

I saw only a few of the usual suspects, but everybody was singing, like this Song Sparrow.

Red-winged Blackbirds have been about for over a month now, but they still fulfill their purpose as official spring arrivals.

Red-winged Blackbird

I was delighted to see a Brown Creeper. I never tire of seeing this bird.

And there were a couple White-tailed Deer, one of which posed nicely

Then on Sunday morning, with a promise of sunshine and continued warmth, I went out again, although it was extremely windy and passerines were simply not available. But I hedged my bets, so to speak, and after walking the trail without seeing much of anything, I decided to sit on the picnic table bench by the water and wait a few minutes to see what might occur. After a moment or two, I saw my first Turkey Vulture of the season, albeit at a distance.

A moment or two later, a male Belted Kingfisher dropped in and back out again.

I had checked the wind direction on my cell phone weather app and it seemed that I had a good chance to see some Sandhill Cranes. Sure enough, a group of eight Sandhills flew over, in silence, but low enough for the camera to record them.

I am still recuperating from the sudden loss of my internet connection which occurred yesterday afternoon. After figuring out that my router had died, I was lucky enough to call tech support and visit a store to exchange the dead device for a new one. Everything is working fine again, but it was just such an exhausting spell of adrenaline, I never got around to eating anything substantial until dinner. But what a lovely meal it was.

Our brief flirtation with spring weather is over and we are anticipating stormy weather as the temperature drops. I did go out for a brisk walk this morning to clear my head for attending to some boring-but-important tasks ranging from vacuuming to passport renewal… To be continued.

Poking Around the Portage

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Several days ago, before the -20 F. windchills – it was possible to go for a walk and see a few birds or other creatures at the Chicago Portage. I returned this morning when it was a balmy 10 degrees. The sun was shining brightly and there was less wind than yesterday, but it was still awfully cold. Somehow the cold is making everything else worse, as difficult as that might be to comprehend. But here we are.

January 6 was the last time I saw a number of sparrows. Below: a Song Sparrow and an American Tree Sparrow.

I was delighted to see – and hear – a Winter Wren. Although the wren was quite far away, I managed to get a couple reasonable photos of such a small bird.

The Red-shouldered Hawk was around that day.

At least Northern Cardinals have been pretty consistent.

A muskrat made an appearance.

On the same day, the sun hid behind the clouds at one point.

American Goldfinches were about. As happy as I am to see them in my yard, I’m glad they were at the Portage too.

Two days later, no birds to photograph, but a muskrat and an opossum. I haven’t seen an opossum here before,

Then on January 11, only one bird stood out, however distantly, for a photograph: a male Belted Kingfisher.

On January 13, I photographed only a Dark-eyed Junco. But I was attracted to the water runoff underneath the bridge closer to Harlem. That day was particularly warm.

After that we started to get cold. And this morning, I heard and saw only a few species, and was able to capture just one male Northern Cardinal while I was wearing heavier gloves. We had some snow two nights ago. We are promised some more, and temperatures will be even colder this weekend.

So now we are warming up enough to fulfill tne snowy forecast overnight and into tomorrow morning. I will at least be getting some exercise shoveling my walks. I’m also starting to write a little music inspired by my indoor birds. Anything to take my mind off…

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.

Two Riverside Visits

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I haven’t been to Riverside very often lately. It’s either been too hot or, if after a rain, too wet walking through the tall grasses in Riverside Lawn. Here are some photos from July 18, and then a few from the end of June.

A Double-crested Cormorant flying down river

With the insect apocalypse in the back of my mind, I was encouraged to see a few Chimney Swifts close to the water.

A Double-crested Cormorant was enjoying the sunshine.

I encountered an Indigo Bunting on the paved trail who sang beautifully for me until I tried to record him. I had to follow him as he sought other perches to sing from. I thought he had a rather distinctive twist on an Indigo Bunting song. A short recording is below the photos.

When I got to the swinging bridge, I first noticed a gathering of Canada Geese.

I took too many photos of the male Belted Kingfisher who is also at the top of the post. Between trying to stand on my toes so I did not have the top of the bridge in the photos, I was also having a hard time focusing. I hadn’t gone to pick up my new lenses yet.

A juvenile Common Grackle jumped up for a look.

I had been talking to a fisherman when I first reached the bridge. He called me back to the edge of the bridge to see a Smallmouth Bass sitting in the water. When he told me what it was, I was immediately reminded of Peter Mayer’s song, “Little Jimmy.” If you’re curious, here’s a link to a YouTube version. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_XCOynKJ3M

Smallmouth Bass

So, about the overgrown grasses obscuring the trail. I tried to take a photo or two. Walking through here after a rain is a good way to get soaked. It was dry this time, but I may skip completing this walk for a while during the summer.

From the river’s edge, I tried to capture a Northern Rough-winged Swallow.

I was attracted to the Red-winged Blackbird below. This is either a female or perhaps a juvenile.

On the Riverside Lawn trail, where I always see them, there were a few Blue-fronted Dancer damselflies. I was thrilled to see them, although there were not as many as previous years.

A Northern Cardinal popped up to sing.

The last birds I saw on my way out were three Double-crested Cormorants sitting in a dead tree. The one easiest to focus on is in the cropped photo below.

Way back on June 25, I saw tagged Canada Goose 98H again.

And a Mallard mom was with her offspring. My, how they had grown. I haven’t seen many Mallards since.

I followed a Ring-billed Gull as it flew over the water.

There was also a Killdeer.

I had a female Belted Kingfisher that day but I had an even harder time focusing on her.

I captured an adult male Common Grackle in semi-flight.

And a fly-by American Robin finished my walk.

It has taken me a while to get temporarily accustomed to not going for a walk every morning. Working in the yard has been a somewhat worthwhile substitute, but I can’t help but wonder what I’m missing. I hope to get back to Riverside soon, but with a lot of heat and rain in the forecast my visits will remain sporadic. Storms are possible tonight, which sounds like a nice, if temporary, break in the heat and humidity. Indoors, my birds have been keeping an eye on me to make sure I don’t take too many naps.

Blackened Ground and Blue Sky

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What a surprise to visit the Chicago Portage Tuesday morning and find that there had been a controlled burn last Saturday. I had gone to McGinnis Slough that morning and remember passing by the Portage on the way back home and seeing a lot of vehicles in the parking lot. Although I think the intervention was long overdue, the timing couldn’t have been more precarious. The ground was still somewhat damp from all the earlier rain. But the subsequent hot, dry and windy forecast would have been prohibitive. Below are some views of the charred ground.

A Red-winged Blackbird perched on some remaining vegetation

The female House Sparrow below was the first bird I noticed when I started walking from the parking lot. I thought the buds on the tree and the blue sky background made her look extra special.

An American Robin was by the first bridge, fluffing its feathers as if it had just taken a bath,

It was a beautiful day for photos of the regulars.

Later, when I was on the inside trail, the Belted Kingfisher saw me and took off.

But he soon surprised me by hovering and flying over the water, as if he was happy to give me a little demonstration of his technique.

A male Brown-headed Cowbird caught my eye,.

By the second bridge, a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker put on a little show.

One Yellow-rumped Warbler paused just long enough for me to capture his image.

Two Canada Geese were flying back and forth.

Earlier the geese shared a log island with the turtles.

The turtles are ready for this weather. The Blue-winged Teal have been around for the last couple weeks, but I don’t always see them if they are tucked in to the vegetation by the shore.

I met a friendly White-throated Sparrow.

And I saw my first Eastern Phoebe.

I had gone to sit on a log by the shore off the inside trail, when a Bald Eagle flew over briefly.

We continue with hot, dry weather until late tomorrow night when the forecast is for cooling off, rain (I hope!) and then – wait, there’s more! – we are supposed to get some snow on Monday. I don’t think it will be with us for long because the temperatures are not likely to hit freezing, but this is really messing up with my plans to clean up my yard. All those insects that are starting to emerge will need a place to take shelter. In the meantime, however, I have been removing invasive Lesser Celandine from the backyard.

The Portage is already starting to come back through the ashes. I have much more to report and I will try to keep up the next few days.

River Rounds

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One snowy day back in February – the 17th, to be exact – I wound up spending a lot of time with a male Belted Kingfisher that I have seen periodically all winter long. As reluctant as I might be to show photos with snowy backgrounds these days, we have snow now in our immediate forecast, and sunshine beats all the odds as far as I’m concerned.

The snow made a great contrasting background for the Belted Kingfisher and it was a delight to have time to focus on his comings and goings along the river that morning.

The Red-tailed Hawk was calmly surveying the scene.

Below, what the river looked like from the Joliet Avenue bridge, and the snowy footsteps preserved in ice on the paved path.

Four days earlier, on February 13, it was a sunny day but without snow cover yet. Sunshine was nice on this Red-bellied Woodpecker.

A Red-winged Blackbird was chasing the Red-tailed Hawk.

Ring-billed Gulls are returning to the area.

That was the last time I saw the Common Merganser couple that was lounging around the river just beyond the Hoffman Tower.

Two last photos of the Belted Kingfisher – your choice – tail up or down?

The weather has been off-and-on crappy and I have not gone out every morning for a walk, but the birds are still on schedule. I hope to be back a little sooner with a few more.

Apologies for the boredom of this post . I kept falling asleep while writing it.

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.

Prelude to the Deep Freeze

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It’s snowing this evening, as I write this. I stepped outside to bring in bird feeders from the backyard earlier, and the humidity made it feel pleasantly warm. But we are plunging into cold tomorrow (the high will be 30 degrees Fahrenheit) and will continue to plummet to single digits by next Friday if the forecast is credible.

I was working on a lovely, bright, colorful post of a lot of birds seen on September 1 that I never got around to sharing, but decided to postpone that just a little longer because this morning, after disappointing outings all week, I went to the Chicago Portage, expecting to see nothing but up for the walk before my scheduled grocery run, and I was pleasantly surprised by a few birds beyond any expectations.

The first surprise: I heard, and then saw, a male Belted Kingfisher over the water. I can’t remember the last time I saw this bird here. More usually I see Kingfishers over by the Des Plaines River.

Things were looking a lot like this, at best, when I finally found most of the passerine flock just beyond the hill and the opening in the fence. The birds were pretty far away and it was hard to find them, let alone focus, in such poor light.

American Goldfinch
American Tree Sparrow

But then another surprise was seeing this Ruby-crowned Kinglet foraging on the ground to the left of the trail. I apologize for the lack of clarity in some of the photos, but the best ones I got were when the bird had its back to me. Of course.

Dark-eyed Juncos outnumbered every other species, but were hard to capture. I might have gotten some more photos except for a man walking through with his dog. Predictably the flock scattered to some unknown location and I never saw it again.

Enjoying the open water after yesterday’s rain were several Mallards.

And there were Canada Geese as well. No surprise there.

I was heading back out of the inside trail in my usual fashion, not expecting to see anything, and paused to look over the water. That was when I saw a distant Great Blue Heron. Surprise number 3! It won’t take long for the water to freeze the next day or two, so I don’t expect to see another one of these birds for quite a while.

I won’t know until tomorrow morning whether I want to walk in Riverside before I go swimming. But I am getting mentally ready for a long, cold but convivial Christmas Bird Count on Saturday by the Fox River. Sunday will be even colder, but the sun will be shining. I will be indoors singing in the choir. There are more sunny days in the forecast – but even colder. Glad I still have some earlier, warmer-looking photos to revive.

Reconnected – Two Days Later

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My two days without Internet service are over. With enough access on my phone, I confess I hardly missed it. But now that I am able to publish photos from the camera again, I want to get this post out of my system.

I was thrilled to find a Winter Wren in my backyard on Thursday afternoon. I had been to the Chicago Portage in the morning seeing very little. And after about a week of seeing or hearing Winter Wrens every day I was not encountering them anymore. Then this little delightful creature showed up in my yard. My messy, full of trees, leaves and spent tall native flowers and grasses yard – just the place for a fall migrant. I think the wren was actually attracted to the remaining mess by the back fence where the tree stumps had been removed. When I have encountered Winter Wrens they often seem to be messing around in dead wood.

Fallen leaves from my Hawthorn Tree

Here are a couple more fleeting photos of the Winter Wren.

I had first seen the wren when I went out to refill the birdbaths, so I went back in the house and grabbed the camera. It was a nice enough day to sit in the yard for half an hour or so and observe whatever activity was available. There was a predictable, endless stream of House Sparrows.

But then I saw something moving in the clump of spent flowers that had planted themselves just off the back porch stairs. It turned out to be a Nashville Warbler, which is late and therefore “rare” for this date. It wasn’t easy to see all that clearly but it is definitely a Nashville with that white eye-ring, gray cap and yellow body.

It occurred to me that, after all these years, this is exactly what I had in mind when I moved into my house and began by replacing the lawn with trees and native plants. I just wanted to attract birds. It seemed obvious to me at the time, but it was not initially very popular with City Hall or some of my neighbors. Perhaps awareness of the climate crisis and species extinction is tilting the scales more in my favor lately. I may even be participating in another garden walk next year. I hope so – it will motivate me to work in the yard more than I have been lately!

So was anything happening at the Chicago Portage on Thursday morning besides leaves?

There were a few – very few – birds. I am always excited to see an American Crow, of course.

And there were a few well-camouflaged American Goldfinches.

But in general, flora and colorful leaves provided the most interest. There was a small stand of some late-blooming Evening Primrose out in the middle of the marsh.

It would probably be enough to stop here, but I am going to move on to the next morning’s visit to Riverside, which produced more birds, and by the time I reached the health club to go swimming, a message on my phone saying my new router had arrived.

It is always good to see a familiar face in Riverside. This Great Blue Heron was present again just off the Hofmann dismantled-dam location.

Here’s a view of the Des Plaines River from the Joliet Avenue bridge, looking north.

As I stood on the bridge, I heard and then saw two Belted Kingfishers rise up and fly over. I was able to capture one of them.

The bird species of the morning, though, was definitely Golden-Crowned Kinglet – they were everywhere, in numbers.

By the time I reached the spot where I was about to cross the footbridge, just past the police and fire station, there were Golden-crowned Kinglets hugging the trees lining the path.

Walking along the river, it was hard to ignore Mallard males gleaming in the sunshine.

A couple more photos of the river and trees, which were hard to resist.

At Riverside Lawn, there weren’t a lot of birds, but enough to make a morning. I saw a distant but brightly-lit Red-bellied Woodpecker.

Dark-eyed Juncos were easier to see when they were preoccupied on the ground.

White-throated Sparrows were here and there.

And it’s always special to see a Fox Sparrow.

When I got back to where I park my car by the Hofmann Tower, I was happy to see a Great Egret in the river. As you can see, the water level is low.

Here are a couple more images from Friday morning.

It’s a season of change, from day to day. I will be back soon with more scenes from what has been an exceptionally beautiful autumn of birds and their surroundings.