One day’s worth of photos seems worth going back to look at. These were taken on April 30 in Riverside. Spring migration was beginning, the temperatures were much cooler, and there were only a few leaves starting on the trees. I’m taking a break from the heat.
I first encountered a Killdeer by the Hofmann Tower.
I also took note of a Northern Rough-winged Swallow.
I noticed a Solitary Sandpiper on the rocks, and another on the sloping sidewall of the defunct dam.
Then they took off and I got some flight shots, with both of them in the frame of the last photo.
I was seeing Yellow-rumped and Palm Warblers pretty regularly.
Baltimore Orioles stood out.
I found two Tree Swallows perched on the swinging bridge.
A Ring-billed Gull was flying.
More Yellow-rumped Warblers.
A few Black-and-White Warblers were around too. This is the same individual as at the top of the post.
An Osprey flew over.
A female Downy Woodpecker went about her business.
And a Red-winged Blackbird attending to his.
I noticed a Great Blue Heron across the river when I walked through Riverside Lawn. It caught a fish and then swallowed it.
Warbling Vireos were arriving.
I got to see a male Eastern Bluebird who periodically checked with me this spring.
There were Ruby-crowned Kinglets here and there.
Then I noticed a female Scarlet Tanager.
One more of the Great Blue Heron.
Heading back to my car, I found a Northern Rough-winged Swallow on the wall by the Hoffman Tower.
We are promised some cooler weather and even rain later today. I worked in the yard this morning. and slowly but surely, there is more visual breathing space. It seems there is always something surprising going on and it’s not all bad. May we all be surprised by something good these days. I’ll be back shortly with some more recent observations.
It’s been a busy birding week and fall warbler migration is only getting started, but I’m already having a hard time keeping up. To add to my confusion, with the pool closed, the break in my routine is making it harder to figure out what day it is. But I have started getting up earlier to join bird walks and I will start leading Saturday walks tomorrow through the second week in October. It’s beginning to look like fall, even if it doesn’t feel like it just yet.
These photographs are from August 31st at Riverside, and I have also added the rest of the birds from August 26th at the same location.
I was happy to see a very cooperative Northern Waterthrush on Wednesday.
American Redstarts are the most numerous and well-distributed fall warbler species so far. I have seen them every day. The one immediately below looks like a first-year male.
Also fairly common are Magnolia Warblers like the one at the top of the post and below.
I discovered something about Blackpoll Warblers I never realized before. Apparently they all have orange toes – so when stumped by a decision between whether you are looking at a Blackpoll or a Bay-breasted, if you can see orange toes, that solves the problem. I was delighted to find photos showing beautiful orange toes. This is nearly impossible to see in the field, however.
I have also seen Golden-winged Warblers all week, starting on Tuesday morning at Columbus Park with Henry G.’s walk. They seem to have all come into the area at once and I have seen them everywhere I have been. I’m sneaking this photo in from Tuesday as it is the best one I have of the whole bird.
Below is another Golden-winged I just barely captured the next morning at Riverside.
Cape May Warblers seem to be numerous this season.
And not a day goes by without a Tennessee Warbler.
Below is a barely-captured Black-and-white Warbler
Thrushes are starting to appear as well. This is a Swainson’s Thrush.
Juvenile Gray Catbirds can’t get enough of the camera. They demand attention.
I don’t think this molting Northern Cardinal wanted to be seen like this but I couldn’t help myself.
In answer to the question, “Where have all the blackbirds gone?”, I have seen huge flocks all week at Riverside.
And Cedar Waxwings are on the move in flocks as well.
I have a feeling House Wrens will be gone soon but the youngsters are still around.
And Great Egrets are busy fishing. The water level has improved in the river.
I will try to come back sooner and more frequently, as the birds just keep coming. I also have some stored surprises still to share. We are starting out very warm going into the Labor Day weekend, with a promise of cooler weather after tomorrow. We could see a lot more warblers with winds from the north.
Few warblers are as exciting to observe as the male Blackburnian Warbler in springtime. I keep asking myself why I took so many pictures of at least three individuals on Tuesday, but the only answer I can come up with is “because I could.”
I mean, this is truly a good reason to give in to obsession.
And with so many opportunities, I kept taking them…
Another beautiful bird is the Bay-breasted Warbler. If you remember my fall posts at all, I had several of these birds represented and they looked almost nothing like they do now.
The thing that made it so relatively easy to keep clicking away was the combination of hungry birds in numbers. I really think the birds were less concerned about me than they were with fueling up for their flights north. Also, the leaves were just starting to appear, so it was easier to see the birds than even a day or two later.
A few more of the Bay-breasted…
If you have made it this far, let’s go for a third species.
Black-and-white Warblers I had already seen and photographed this spring, but it’s always a challenge to get a good image.
Just to let you know I did not ignore the Robins…
I will be back with yet more warblers from Tuesday and other birds observed. Thanks for your patience and understanding.
I saw some birds this week – in between practicing for the Spring Music Festival which will occur tonight. We had a rehearsal/run through last night and I survived. At least people like the song, so I guess that’s a good indication of something.
We canceled our scheduled walk at Columbus Park this morning because the weather was potentially threatening with the possibility of thunderstorms. We will more than likely have that kind of weather later tonight as we warm up to 70 degrees. But the overnight lows are still predicted to be in the 40’s for the coming week, which delays the yard cleanup even further.
These photos are from Monday at the Chicago Portage. I warn you, there are Way Too Many of them. The warm wave from the two days before brought migrants into the area. It was cooler on Monday so a lot of birds were foraging for food on the ground, like this Pine Warbler sampling seeds on the asphalt path.
Believe it or not these photos are of two separate individuals. I couldn’t capture them close enough to each other for a group photo.
The one Pine Warbler in the trees at first was not recognizable to me, but it turned out to be a Pine, albeit a drab one. The photo of the undertail helped me identify it.
A few more of this bird. Either way, it blends right in with the wood.
Palm Warblers have been all over the place in great numbers. it has gotten so that after taking all these pictures I haven’t bothered much with any of them the rest of the week.
I barely managed a few fuzzy photographs of the Black-and-White Warbler below.
it was delightful to see the return of a Yellow Warbler. One or two always stays the summer at the Portage so I expect to see this species again.
Warblers were not the only thing going on. There were lots of Chipping Sparrows, albeit most of them on the ugly asphalt.
There were a few group photo opportunities.
Palm Warbler and Chipping SparrowsChipping Sparrow and Field Sparrow
There were one or two Field Sparrows and then quite a number of White-throated Sparrows through the break in the fence.
Field SparrowWhite-throated Sparrow
I saw my first Baltimore Oriole of the year. My feeder will go up tomorrow. As you can see he wasn’t moving much.
Vocally and actively, the Blue-Gray Gnatcatchers are back. The lack of light emphasized the the Gray half of their name.
Here’s what the sky looked like that morning.
I had a cooperative White-breasted Nuthatch doing his thing.
Male Northern Cardinals are a little easier to photograph these days as they advertise their territories.
But the lack of light kept everything pretty cool-looking.
In her elusive stage, I managed half of a Red-bellied Woodpecker.
My volunteer American Robin. They are all over the Portage now.
The Yellow-rumped Warblers were the first to show up, but now their numbers are diminishing.
The return of water this year is making the place attractive to waterfowl again.
Blue-winged Teal and Canada Geese
It would have been nice to see the rest of the bird below, but I think after going back and forth between Hermit Thrush and Swainson’s Thrush, it’s the latter.
Northern Flickers are determined to not be seen and this one wasn’t any different.
The Great Egret stopped by to see if conditions were conducive to fishing. I can only assume the sight of me changed its mind. But it was back the next day, on the bank of the stream.
I can only imagine what these Mourning Doves were up to. If that’s the male on the right, his neck feathers are iridescent…
I think these are flowers of a Box-elder Maple Tree. I found them attractive.
So thanks to the canceled bird walk and my nap, I was able to finish this offering. If you made it all the way to the end of this post you are a rock star! I must go back to my chores and prepare for this evening’s performance. I hope to be back again sooner after all this. Thanks for checking in and Happy Spring!
Here it is the end of September and I am just getting around to photos from the 10th taken at – where else? – the Chicago Portage. The activity seemed to die down a bit that day so there aren’t quite so many to sift through. Magnolia Warbler above and directly below.
I’m not 100% sure but I think the bird directly below is a Pine Warbler. One of those confusing fall warblers…
This was the first time I had seen a Northern Parula in a while. A not-so-common warbler around here.
A few other birds seen that weren’t warblers…
Red-eyed VireoFor the record, a Ruby-Throated Hummingbird…Swainson’s Thrush
Blackpoll Warblers have been everywhere, or so it seems. Below is another.
Never confusing, a Black-and-White Warbler below. I suppose if you couldn’t see them well you might mistake one for a nuthatch as they behave the same way.
This Nashville Warbler could have been in better light…
The other ubiquitous warbler that is easy to confuse with the Blackpoll is the Bay-breasted Warbler, below.
Chipmunks are everywhere too – it seems like a bumper crop this year.
One more of the Northern Parula.
I’m afraid I will be back shortly with another surfeit of something. This birding every morning to make up for not being able to do it while I was working is…almost like going to work. But I am enjoying myself and it seems imperative to pay attention and keep track of the birds while I still can. Learning how to navigate retirement with…a sense of purpose.
The anticipation of seeing more birds after the long, hot summer is part of what has driven me to go out every morning. The other part came later – after doing so a few days in a row, it has occurred to me that I need these long, meditative walks every morning to stay sane.
The idea of retirement will be more than just finally having time to do what I want to do. It’s becoming more of a challenge of self-care and survival. I am becoming fiercely protective of what I have carved out to be Time Spent Not Thinking About Work – which to some degree unfortunately still exists and will lurk on the sidelines until I am finally completely done with it.
The Portage had warblers for three days last week and I took way too many pictures. These were all taken on September 6th. In spite of all the ones I discarded there are still too many. I am grateful for the Ovenbird at the top of this post. I have also become familiar with their cute little “blip” calls and I have heard many more than I have seen.
Magnolia Warbler
“Maggies” (Magnolia Warblers) and Redstarts seemed to be everywhere last week. I am beginning to sense the end of that now.
American Redstarts below.
The bright yellow throat of a Blackburnian Warbler is below.
Mixed among the warblers there have been a significant number of Red-Eyed Vireos like the one below.
Below, a far-away Blackpoll Warbler.
A Black-and-White Warbler blending into the tree bark.
Of course there are other birds besides warblers. Below is a young Gray Catbird.
And the woods have been filled with Thrushes. Below is a Gray-Cheeked Thrush.
Swainson’s Thrushes have been everywhere and every day since.
Swainson’s Thrush
The Thrush below looked like a Hermit Thrush to me but it was way too early. I didn’t feel like challenging my sighting with these photos – I suppose it could be another Swainson’s.
As if you needed more glimpses of the forever moving Redstarts…
Though every once in a while they sit still…
More photos of my one cooperative Ovenbird.
I caught the Starling below just after I got out of my car.
Chestnut-Sided Warbler
I was really surprised to find a Golden-winged Warbler in my photos. They aren’t great images but this is a bird I don’t see too often, so it’s worth posting it.
Below is a Tennessee Warbler.
Baltimore Orioles should have been gone by this date but I heard one call and then saw this one later.
Maybe my best bird of that day was the Yellow-throated Vireo below. I particularly love how its blue legs came through.
Way too many birds in one day. I am exhausted trying to finish this post, so I think I will be back sooner with shorter ventures before I dive into the next day.
For what it’s worth we are having our second choir rehearsal in the sanctuary tonight, masked, socially-distanced, and dressed in our black choir attire (to show off our custom-made stoles) – to be videotaped singing for insertion into the Sunday service. A step forward. It’s so good to sing in the ensemble again.
I had a lot of other photographs I was going to post from previous visits but they will have to wait. In spite of the rainy forecast Saturday morning, I went to the Portage and even though it was overcast, it was magical. Within a minute or two I had heard 10 bird species. I saw most of them and many more.
Perhaps the first bird I saw and heard was a Baltimore Oriole. There were easily half a dozen males staking out territories. This was the only one sitting out in the open.
I encountered a small flock of warblers fairly early. I was lucky to be able to sit on a big fallen log that has become permanent enough to attract graffiti. The opportunity to sit and look up into the trees was welcome. Below, couple Yellow-rumped Warblers.
I encountered small groups of White-Crowned Sparrows. They were delightful to see, but they weren’t singing. I have had them in my yard for a couple weeks and they have always started singing the minute I open the door. It was nice enough of these guys to pose for pictures.
I’ve been hearing Yellow Warblers for a couple weeks but hadn’t seen one yet at the Portage. But I found this one in my photos.
Yellow Warbler
And then, of course, the Indigo Buntings. I underestimated their ability to look gorgeous even in poor light.
Below is a series of Black-and-White Warblers. There have been times I haven’t been able to capture these guys and girls, so this was a real treat for me.
I think I’ve decided Hackberries are my favorite trees. The birds like them a lot, and the Portage now seems to be full of them. They are in the elm family and I suspect were planted to fill the gaps left by all the elms we lost over the years to Dutch Elm Disease.
Here’s a Black-capped Chickadee demonstrating why he likes Hackberries. They seem to attract good worms.
A few birds I would expect to see all summer…
This female American Robin looks a bit exhausted. She also appears disheveled with her brood patch.A male American GoldfinchGray CatbirdGreat Blue Heron flyover
There were at least 30 swallows over the water. I had three species – Tree Swallows, Barn Swallows and Northern Rough-winged Swallows. They are all represented in the slide show below.
I looked up and saw this Scarlet Tanager. I’m going back to see if I can find another.
I always hear at least one White-Breasted Nuthatch but I haven’t seen any for quite a while. This one made up for all the ones I missed.
Song Sparrow
Here’s what a Magnolia Warbler might look like straight above you. Below I have grouped several views of the “Maggies” who always seem to engage with the camera.
There were some barely-there birds…
Blue JayFemale Cape May WarblerFemale Downy Woodpecker
With one more Magnolia Warbler photo, I am done with this post. We are going to get warm over the next few days. I wish I didn’t have to work, it would be ideal weather to see more birds. But the somewhat crummy weather this morning created conditions for some nice encounters with beautiful birds. I really can’t complain.
I never intend to go birding in the afternoon, but on Friday I jumped at the chance when we were encouraged to take the afternoon off. It was cloudy, and you can never count on what birds will be up to after lunch. Sometimes I like the cloudiness, though, because it reminds me of birding in South America.
Cloudy at the Portage
Maybe cloudy was okay for capturing this Cape May Warbler.
Cape May Warbler
Then there was a very active, backlit Warbling Vireo. This is likely the only Warbling Vireo I will photograph this year. There’s always one. But they are all very busy singing now and protecting their territories.
Sometimes I hardly ever see goldfinches, and at other times they seem to be everywhere. All I know is they’re not in my yard too much anymore so I suspect many of them are at the Portage or other nearby forest preserves.
With all the rain and now warmer temperatures, the green-up is happening rapidly.
I often hear Killdeer but don’t always see them. I managed to capture this one flying across the compost piles on the MWRD property.
Killdeer
Starlings have been entertaining. I have seen one doing happy dances a couple times, although unfortunately it was hard to get him in focus on this trip. But I did capture him flying.
And now how about paying some attention to the ladies? It seemed to be a good day to capture pictures of the girls. Maybe they thought they were less noticeable on a cloudy day.
Mallard female
Scarlet Tanager (female)
Red-winged Blackbird (female)
Brown-headed Cowbird (Female)
Brown-headed Cowbird (male)
I found the female Indigo Bunting below quite fascinating, in that she was preening or otherwise trying to get a grip on her feathers and the photos reveal her black and bluish feathers underneath. Who knew? (Forgive me for thinking “only her hairdresser knows for sure.”)
Indigo Bunting (female)
As a comparison to the above, here’s the male in all his glory and various feather colors.
Song Sparrows are more often heard than seen so it was nice to catch this one foraging for something.
And it’s not often I see a pair of Downy Woodpeckers. Maybe afternoons are lazier for the birds.
Pair of Downy Woodpeckers
I had a wonderful encounter with a Philadelphia Vireo a couple years ago. I hope to see more of this species. And this was the first day I saw the Eastern Kingbird. By Memorial Day there were two Kingbirds hunting for bugs from their perches over the water.
Philadelphia Vireo
Eastern Kingbird
Early on there was a small flock of Cedar Waxwings but they were hard to distinguish in the shadows and blended in perfectly with the tree colors.
Cedar Waxwing
Another elusive Black-and-White Warbler. These warblers are relatively easy to see, but so far had been defying my lens. However stay tuned because I have had some more productive encounters.
Part of a Black-and-White Warbler
Even the Baltimore Orioles looked a bit washed out. But I noticed a nest, and that was a welcome sign. The female builds the nest, so I can only imagine she was inside of it.
Baltimore Oriole Nest
It has been hard to go back to work after a long weekend, even though I have not yet returned to the office. Most amazing to me has been the time spent in the field, so to speak. I never feel like I have this luxury to fully absorb my surroundings except when I am on vacation. But something about the pandemic has slowed down everything after eliminated many social commitments. I can embrace birding religiously three days straight as a spiritual exercise. Even though I am encountering several more people on the trails, there is still enough space and quiet, with many moments left to witness how life continues beyond our immediate concerns.
I started writing this post on Friday, after I took a break from the work email and made a trip to The Feed Store to stock up on birdseed, peanuts and spray millet for those inside and out. Working from home is so strange. In my head I am still working, but home has all its necessary distractions. I keep thinking I will have gotten used to it only when I have to go back to the office. It was still good to get out, and even better to get exercise moving everything into the house and the back porch. It was a chilly, gray day, but it is March, which my mother always used to refer to as the “adolescent” month, so I endure its changeability with her blessing.
Speaking of adolescents, I suppose the bird below could be called an adolescent Purple Finch. I am at a loss as to why I took so many photographs of it, but when in this plumage maybe the last thing I’m thinking is “Purple Finch” so it’s a reminder.
Purple Finch
As I may have mentioned previously, I moved a lot of photographs off the laptop recently. Many were of winter scenes never shared, but I was tired of winter and it’s more than enough enduring this winter of the soul, so I have gone back to the remaining pictures from my trip to New Brunswick last August. And in that location at that time of year, there were a lot of in-between looking birds getting ready to make their first trips south for the winter.
Cape May Warbler
Black-and-White Warbler
I particularly got a kick out of this Yellow-Rumped Warbler. My friend Lesa tells me she has already seen some of these guys locally as they start to go back north. I could fantasize this was one of them.
Yellow-Rumped Warbler
I’m too lazy to go back and try to reconstruct exactly when we were wherever on August 20 but my notes say we were on the Salt Marsh Trail and Callendar’s Trail with a beach picnic area in Kouchibouguac National Park, which likely accounts for the shorebird images and others with wide open spaces for a background. We also visited the C. Irving Arboretum.
Thanks for stopping by and joining this visual journey. I will be back soon with more images from last summer. Spring is coming, and with it, hope for renewal.
