Here’s what was going on at the Chicago Portage the mornings of July 29 and 31. Pretty much what can be expected mid-summer. Feeding fledglings and molting. A busy time for the birds.
On July 31st there was what appeared to be a family of Eastern Kingbirds.
I didn’t manage to get them all in one photograph but there were four Eastern Kingbirds total.
I can expect to see an American Goldfinch in the duckweed this time of year, and I can never entirely resist documenting its presence.
Blue-gray Gnatcatchers were here and there, if not always easy to see. But then they hardly ever are. The bird in the tiled series looks to be a juvenile.
After barely seeing a Downy Woodpecker out in the open for a few months, it was nice to see this one out and about. It looks to be a young bird as well.
Tadziu the famous Indigo Bunting was busy with his feather upkeep, on a fallen log close to his bridge.
The distant Indigo Bunting below was more disheveled.
A young-looking Marsh Wren was investigating this fallen log.
A young American Robin was curious about the camera attention.
The American Robins below appeared to be sunbathing on the gravel path. I tried not to disturb them for as long as I could.
An juvenile American Robin caught in flight, below.
It’s not often that I catch a Northern Flicker still for a moment.
Below, two Red-bellied Woodpeckers. The first appears to be a juvenile.
The bottomlands near the Des Plaines were flooded both days. A little less on the 31st than the 29th.
My “first” bridge is the southernmost one, and here’s the view I’m getting these days from it.
In the photos below, first a Blue Dasher Dragonfly visible from the bridge on July 31. I saw the turtle covered in duckweed later after I set out on the path after crossing the bridge.
The Hobomok Skipper Butterfly was available for photos on July 29. You can get an idea of how small this creature is by the leaves it’s on.
It seems lately I have been seeing one female Brown-headed Cowbird on every visit. This was her best photograph.
The trees that darken the path over on the north side are such a contrast to the open areas of the preserve. Some are purportedly hundreds of years old.
Here’s another profile of the Eastern Kingbird who was featured at the top of the post.
I was in Riverside yesterday morning and I will have a post soon with what’s going on down by the river there. I had planned to go elsewhere this morning, but I am temporarily catering to the complaints of my right knee which caused me to wear the brace again and venture no farther than the grocery stores. If I can walk well enough tomorrow morning I will go out again.
