Well it’s probably over, but we were basking in unseasonably warm weather and we could still stay above freezing for a while. The past weekend afforded two pleasantly warm days without rain, so I took advantage of them both and went birding. These pictures are all from Saturday morning at the Portage. In spite of the pleasant weather, there weren’t too many people on the trails early, so I had the opportunity to stand still and observe some birds without disruption. Below, a group of European Starlings hanging out, their antics and expressions which I found entertaining. If you click on one of the images you can scroll through them.
I expected to see sparrows and was not disappointed. The usual suspects were available. Below is a Song Sparrow I saw early on.
The return of Dark-eyed Juncos…
The subtle variations in plumage for Dark-eyed Juncos always intrigues me.
One White-throated Sparrow sat for more than a second. He was just far enough away.
It seems Fox Sparrows are always elusive.Fall colors at the Portage
The Downy Woodpecker below volunteered for a photo shoot – you can scroll through…
Then there’s always a fascination with cavities…
Last week there were Golden-Crowned Kinglets available, this week i had more luck with a Ruby-Crowned Kinglet.
More fall colors…
I rounded a corner such as it was on the trail and encountered a young deer, who was then joined by two others and they took off gamboling through the woods.
It was nice to see some Canada Geese in the water.
There were a few Mallards is the water too – and in the air.
Below, White-breasted Nuthatches…
I was surprised by a noisily chattering Carolina Wren and managed to grab a couple photos as it flew up into the tree.
Below, a little melange of Portage characters.
A calmly perched American Goldfinch
Then there were Purple Finches and House Finches – together – making identification a bit confusing. The only Purple Finch I managed to get pictures of is below, and it’s likely a juvenile female.
Some of the House Finches below look a bit on the purple or raspberry side of the spectrum but they still appear to be House Finches.
Always nice to see a Red-Tailed Hawk, however briefly.
An indication of how sunny it was when I arrived…
So the last bird I photographed was the Hermit Thrush at the top of the post and below. I first saw it in the woods far from the trail, but in true Hermit Thrush fashion, it responded to my attention and came and sat on a branch directly in front of me so we could exchange thoughts.
If I can manage it I will be back with a post from the Portage in April – looking a bit like it did on Saturday, with no leaves on the trees yet. I found a plethora of photographs I had never managed to develop and it will be an interesting contrast of early spring versus late fall.
I went to the Portage yesterday in the early afternoon, to take advantage of the sunshine and warmer temperatures for this weekend. I had spent the morning picking up my Chicago Audubon birdseed order to get us through the winter months and unloading the bounty onto the back porch. I placed the order after my accident, not knowing whether I would be able to handle it all myself, but I am proud to report I managed the entire transaction.
There’s even more around the corner…
I had no idea what birds if any I would see on such a windy day. The wind was blowing from the south yesterday. Today it came just as fiercely from the northwest, and our temperatures are reflecting that change, along with clouds that increased the wintry feeling all morning. But yesterday, I was pleased to be greeted first by the Dark-Eyed Junco above who sat patiently for several shutter clicks. After spending much of last fall and winter trying to get a good picture of a Junco, this behavior was extremely welcome.
The female below Northern Cardinal was actually cooperative in that she stayed in one secluded spot for more than a second…but turned her back on me after she figured I’d seen enough.
So I wasn’t hearing or seeing too much of anything, but I decided to go through the opening in the fence anyway and walk back on the trail leading to the train tracks. Nothing much going, but walking back I encountered a couple Golden-Crowned Kinglets who were enthusiastically foraging at my feet. They made the outing for me.
An odd-looking tree stump profile from the trail on the way inGone to seed
I feel like I should have seen more sparrows, but they were keeping well hidden. The Fox Sparrow below was through a fence.
There were more White-Throated Sparrows but I barely saw a couple – I was able to capture this rather distant one only.
A disgruntled-looking American Goldfinch – she was being blown about quite a bit on her perch.
On the way back from the Portage I stopped to buy a bag of candy. I had not prepared at all for trick-or-treaters but it wasn’t clear if we would even have any. I figured I had better be ready just in case. I put the contents of the bag in a basket on the front porch and proceeded to clean my living room as usual for Saturday night, maybe heard a child’s voice or two but saw no one, and the basket remained full of candy. I brought the basket in and went out front onto the empty sidewalk with the camera to try and capture the “Blue Moon” or second full moon of the month, as I understand it. It’s difficult to get a good image with the street lamps, but it was still so warm outside it was worth trying anyway. The neighborhood was eerily quiet for Halloween.
Two views of yesterday’s Portage in autumn…
One more of a kinglet somewhat in flight…
The forecast for the coming week – weather-wise – looks to be mild and uneventful. I hope I will be able to visit the Portage again next weekend. It’s still hard to imagine how topsy-turvy life has become. I am glad I was able to set the turmoil aside for a couple hours yesterday. In the meantime I will be trying to capture the Big Male Hairy Woodpecker that has been coming to a suet feeder. He looks like Attila the Hun next to my usual Downy visitors. Thanks for visiting, and I hope you have a safe and peaceful week.
Sunday morning I ventured out with the mirrorless camera, after not using it for a year. I determined the length of time when I found photographs I had taken on October 24, 2019 still on the memory card, and some of them are further down this post. I had been using the camera for my occasional walks around the part of the southwest Loop where the office is located.
When I went out Sunday, I didn’t have any great expectations for pictures of birds, but I did manage a few. The last post featured goldfinches foraging in the duck weed and this one has Yellow-Rumped Warblers.
Below is the only Palm Warbler I managed to capture in some focus. I may get more practice with this camera this weekend. It’s small enough for me to hold steady with my left hand.
I love fall colors.
The geese flew over this time. They didn’t land.
This is what the path looks like when I first enter the Portage.
Below are some pictures I took last October. Hermit Thrushes and White-Throated Sparrows in a city park-like setting. I miss seeing the park crowd.
Even the House Sparrows looked good that day.
Common Yellowthroat femaleWhite-throated Sparrow
Some things are still best depicted with a cell phone camera. Below is the loaf of bread I made Sunday night. It was finally cool enough to turn on the oven, and I had enough mobility in my left hand to manage the loaf and then even hold it still so I could slice it (that was the hardest part).
I just had my sinks routed out today after years and years of accumulated waste, likely from cleaning the cages in the basement and then more recently, hulling the sprouts I grow. I have learned my lesson, ordered some drain filters, and I can be more careful as I start to feel more capable doing my chores.
We are presently having a lovely spell of warmer weather – I suppose it’s what may still be called “Indian Summer” – before the fall and winter settle in. I have not been able to determine whether the term has met its socially approved expiration date, so I use it with caution and due respect here.
Today on the radio, I’m hearing things I used to play and find myself longing to touch the piano keys again. I’m not quite ready, my fingers are still a wee bit swollen and stiff. But there’s an element of renewal in recovery and I am embracing it for all its worth. I hope you are finding something good in your day to hang your hat on. Onward.
I think I will limit my posts to one-day experiences and work my way backwards in time since I won’t be taking m(any) pictures one-handed for a while…
The Red-Breasted Nuthatch at the top of this post was one of a few fall migrants I saw the last Sunday in August at the Portage. I regret missing seeing any birds the long Labor Day weekend save the ones in my yard, but I have rescheduled my first bird walk that was to have occurred on the 12th for the 19th, and hope to see many birds then, if not be able to chronicle their passage with photographs.
Swainson’s Thrush
It’s always a pleasure to see somewhat elusive Swainson’s Thrushes.
I had a brief encounter with the Ovenbird above, after hearing his loud, cheery song. A few Downy Woodpecker photos below, and one of a Hairy Woodpecker for comparison…
Downy…
Hairy…
I happened upon two Warbling Vireos disagreeing about something…
My last Baltimore Orioles of the season…
Below on the left, a bird hadn’t seen all summer, a Brown Thrasher. Also in the gallery, a Cedar Waxwing and a male Northern Cardinal.
Clouds worth noting…
My favorite fungus, a butterfly,and pokeweed berries…
A few more of the Red-breasted Nuthatch…
My last glimpse of Indigo Buntings – all juveniles…below.
Indigo Bunting
Northern Flickers were abundant.
A small gaggle of geese flew over, and then surprised me by landing in the duckweed pond – I don’t know what else to call it at this point. I wondered if they were standing in it.
Scenes of the Portage.
Eastern Wood-Pewee
I’ve enjoyed seeing Eastern Wood-Pewees this year
Gray Catbird
And regulars are always welcome… American Goldfinch and Black-capped Chickadee…
My elbow surgery Friday morning went well. Courtesy of the hospital gown, the nurses showed me the immense bruise on my left upper thigh which confirmed the source of my pain upon standing and walking. I’ll be slowed down by my injuries for a while, but as I regain my strength I hope to return to this page more frequently. Thanks for making it this far with me. I treasure you all.
I spent the mornings of July 4th and Sunday, June 28th, at the Chicago Portage, mainly to see how the birds that spend their breeding season there are doing. Fledglings are starting to show themselves. Sometimes they look so different from the adults it takes a moment or two to figure out exactly who they are.
American Goldfinch
A Green Heron occasionally stops by to see what’s happening, perhaps to see if the water it used to fish in has returned. I suspect the herons miss the water even more than I do. A frequent dog-walker I have exchanged conversation with for years told me that he heard the amount of water flowing into the Portage was being controlled to discourage beavers. That’s extremely disappointing to me, if true. I had read somewhere that efforts were being made to restore the habitat to its original state but I really don’t know how that could happen. I will keep trying to find out the true story. In the meantime the habitat change attracts other species that were absent before, but I miss the old “regulars.”
Green Heron
All that vegetation in the middle used to be water…
Something else: just as I was beginning to explore farther afield, the fence gate has been closed and locked. I am not surprised, with all the extra foot and bicycle traffic – I am sure it is a matter of liability between the water reclamation district and the railroad. Of course I would be able to crawl through the opening on the righthand side of the gate but I don’t think it’s worth doing now. It might be hard to resist during fall migration though. I guess it will depend on how many people are still using the trails.
So the stars of both visits were the male Indigo Buntings. There were plenty of them everywhere and quite a few volunteered for photographs. Since I always take too many pictures and have a hard time deciding which ones to use I have just piled them up here.
There seems to be a good number of Northern Flickers this year.
I am always happy to see a Monarch Butterfly. But sadly I haven’t seen more than two at a time.
Starting to see more dragonflies too.
Blue Dasher
Common Whitetail (female)
European Starlings always look more interesting to me in their juvenile plumage.
I never know when I’m going to run into a deer.
Red-winged Blackbirds are less visible now that they’ve accomplished their mission of setting up territories and making babies. This may be the last time I will have seen a male singing.
I found the photos below confusing until I realized, upon closer inspection, that the breast is yellow and the tail has rufous coloration to it. Voila, this is a juvenile Great-crested Flycatcher. I don’t believe I’ve ever seen a juvenile before, so I am really happy I managed to capture it.
Great-crested Flycatcher (juvenile)
Another Indigo Bunting…
Here’s a Baltimore Oriole feeding his fledgling.
These are juvenile Red-winged Blackbirds checking out their surroundings.
This is the time of year when robins take on all kinds of plumage variations, particularly among the juveniles.
Downy Woodpecker (juvenile)
Below are photos of an adult Red-bellied Woodpecker and a juvenile, for comparison.
Juvenile Red-bellied Woodpecker
Red-bellied Woodpecker (adult)
I was intrigued by the House Wren below who disappeared into the cavity in the tree…
The Blue-gray Gnatcatcher below seems to have a strange sort of tumorous growth on its back.
My lucky one-shot of a juvenile Rose-breasted Grosbeak. I haven’t seen any of this species otherwise for quite a while so it’s nice to know they are here.
Well it’s taken me almost two weeks to write this post… I will try to keep up with posting. Today was a gift in that there were clouds and thunderstorms to keep me inside and less tempted to go out. If it were up to me, I would have as many mornings as I wanted each week to do everything I like to do.
There were still some warblers on May 24, but the Bird of the Day for me was Red-Eyed Vireo. I had been wondering where these birds were, and then they all seemed to show up at once. Usually you hear them singing and don’t see them very well as they move through the trees chasing insects. But this time they were more often seen than heard. In some of these photographs you might actually be able to see the red eye for which they are named.
Red-eyed Vireo
Many of the warblers I saw that day were females. The females tend to migrate later than the males who are in a hurry to set up their territories. Spring migration this year seemed strange for many reasons – the pandemic affecting where you could go to find birds, the weather which is always a factor, and I guess the knowledge in the back of your mind that birds are in decline and you wonder just how many you’re going to see anyway.
Magnolia Warbler (male)
Magnolia Warbler (female)
Wilson’s Warbler (female)
Bay-breasted Warbler (female)
Blackburnian Warbler (female)
Below is a Yellow Warbler who likely is on territory for the summer. I recorded him singing, and you can hear him three times in the little clip below his picture. Some people find the mnemonic “sweet sweet sweet I’m so sweet” helpful in distinguishing this song from others they might be hearing.
Yellow Warbler
I feel fortunate to have seen a Canada Warbler more than once this spring. Unfortunately they prefer somewhat shady spots which I guess they blend into better than bright sunlight. I love the steel-gray blue color of their backs. I would support a Pantone color called Canada Warbler Blue.
Canada Warbler
Northern Cardinals are all around but not seen too often. This one was far away but distinct.
A Blue Jay on the fly.
Baltimore Orioles are getting harder to see now that they are busy rearing families.
Baltimore Oriole nest
Indigo Buntings are busy too but there are so many of them, they are easier to see.
Indigo Bunting
Indigo Bunting (female)
This might have been the last time I saw a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher. Actually I’m surprised I got to see more than its tail. I still hear them, but only on occasion, certainly not constantly like a few weeks ago when they first arrived.
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Even Red-Winged Blackbirds are assuming a lower profile.
Scenes from the Portage
Two Mallards navigating the flood waters adjacent to the Des Plaines River which were still quite high that day.Double-Crested Cormorant – an occasional flyoverThe back of a Chipmunk
House Wren
A couple more warblers – there seemed to be fewer American Redstarts this year, at least where I was. And I just learned something I never bothered to look up before about distinguishing the female Chestnut-sided Warbler from the male – the bright chestnut sides don’t extend as far down the side on the female. So the pictures below are of a female. And since I continue to hear a male singing at the Portage I can only wonder if there might be an actual breeding pair.
American Redstart (female)
Chestnut-sided Warbler (female)
I still hear the Eastern Wood-Pewee but this might have been the last time I got photo ops.
The big surprise walking back in the opposite direction across the first bridge was to see this Robin’s nest right off the side of the bridge, in plain sight – and I had never noticed it before. Mom was in a nearby tree, waiting to revisit her brood.
A bird more often heard than seen..Gray Catbird.
Red-eyed Vireo
I love this last picture of the Red-eyed Vireo. Having said that, I realized a few days ago that I need to bring more control to my blog posts when I take so many pictures and can’t decide what to do with them and invariably end up with too many – believe it or not, this is a pared-down selection. I really need to use my flickr page more often, so I stuck some other photographs there and if you’re really curious, follow the link to them. I will try to be back sooner with the final installment of the Memorial Day weekend excursions and reports from other destinations since. Hope you are staying safe and well and rising to the daily challenges.
Yesterday I was fortunate enough to participate in the Spring Bird Count in DuPage County. I have done this count for a number of years, but this time, with social distancing, it was different. We split up so we each covered one area. I was assigned the Silver Lake part of Blackwell Forest Preserve, a location I was not familiar with, but was easy to navigate with the map Jody gave me, and I can get lost anywhere. Since I could only do the morning and there was no time limit, I had a wonderful experience listening for and spotting all the birds I could identify at a leisurely pace.
One of several Yellow-Rumped Warblers
I felt especially privileged because under the current New Normal, I would not have been allowed to visit DuPage County preserves because I am not a resident. The county decided last month to limit parking to its residents. We speculated there was an overflow of people from Cook County, where I live, due to the closing of the lakefront. So I don’t know when I’ll be able to revisit this lovely place, but now that I am more familiar with it, I plan to do so when restrictions end.
Eastern Bluebird (male)
I was beginning to feel like I am the only person on earth who hadn’t seen a Rose-Breasted Grosbeak yet so I was happy to find one singing high up in a tall tree.
Love was definitely in the air, albeit chilly after freezing temperatures overnight, for local breeders. I usually can’t get a glimpse of a Blue Jay long enough to photograph, but this pair united for some courtship behavior, exchanging some tiny seeds you might be able to see if you click on the images below.
And when it was all over I somehow managed to catch this Blue Jay in flight.
Yellow-Rumped Warblers are usually quite common, however brief the period of spring migration, so it’s easy to overlook how truly beautiful they are. This one was happy to display all his yellow parts except for his namesake.
I have no idea what was going on with this European Starling but I could swear he was dancing and singing.
This Tree Swallow was saving his energy for later when the sun would start warming up the ground and the air and there would be bugs to catch.
At some point Blue-Gray Gnatcatchers are going to become impossible to find, let alone photograph, but that hasn’t quite happened yet.
Here’s two more of the goldfinch pair featured at the top of this post.
This distant Northern Flicker would have been impossible to capture were it not for the bright, clear sunshine.
I kept hearing this Common Yellowthroat and he was confusing me by not singing his “witchety-wichety” song, only a slow trill, if you will. So finally he came and sat right in front of me and continued singing. I have never had a Common Yellowthroat volunteer to be photographed. He must be a novice. Anyway, you can see in the third photo how windy it was.
Another warbler, only this one was harder to capture. Black-throated Green Warbler.
Robins are predictably everywhere but they get short shrift. I try not to take them all for granted and capture at least one.
A less-frequently-seen bird, also in the thrush family – a handsome Veery.
Song Sparrow taking a break.
This Canada Goose flew right in front of me so I couldn’t resist.
I heard the Orchard Oriole before I saw him. What a lovely tune.
Palm Warblers become commonplace too, but they are still pretty birds.
I miss seeing spectacles like 150 White-Crowned Sparrows or more on the lakefront, but am glad I was able to report the only White-Crowned Sparrow seen in our area on Saturday.
There were at least four Baltimore Oriole males. These two got into a little bit of a stand-off.
The victor for this spot.
Downy Woodpeckers are busy this time of year and not quite so visible.
Here’s another one of the Bluebird.
So this morning I wasn’t planning on going out at all because of the forecast for all-day rain, but the rain stopped, so I went to the Portage to see if I could find anything. The cloudy sky was a more dramatic backdrop than usual.
I took a snapshot of Pere Marquete from the parking lot sculpture to see what kind of exposure settings I might be able to use.
Just my luck – the male Bluebird who has been at the Portage now for weeks happened to be hanging out. The exciting news which I meant to report a couple weeks ago is that we have a breeding pair. I saw his mate with nesting material a couple weeks ago. As long as I have been going to the Portage, Bluebirds have never nested there. Apparently they found a log or a tree stump with a suitable cavity for a nest. So I will be watching for their offspring in the coming weeks.
It started to rain, and I had to decide what to do – go back to the car, or keep walking? I put my camera in my backpack, kept walking, and then ran into a flock of warblers high up in the trees. Oh great – no light, it’s raining, and the tiny warblers are nearly impossible to see. These few images are what I could capture.
Yellow-Rumped Warbler
Nashville Warbler
Palm Warbler
Tuesday morning I am going to try to go to the Portage early in the morning – when there is sunshine and warmer temperatures – and come home to work in the afternoon. I hope I get permission to do this because the forecast from Wednesday through the weekend is for rain and thunderstorms. My hope is to see more warblers. You’ll hear about it if I do!
Too many birds, too many pictures and not enough time. How can that be? I give up, at least for the moment. Yesterday’s summery sunshiny weather produced some wonderful encounters with birds that simply cannot wait. Pushing all my other planned posts, aside, here we go!
Blue-Gray Gnatcatchers have arrived in abundance and were generally the first to distract me. They are notoriously difficult to photograph but yesterday was the exception. In the sequence below this perched bird, I happened upon a Blue-Gray at waist-level, focused on obtaining web filaments for its nest.
It was a treat to see this Swainson’s Thrush, however briefly..
Another skulker I don’t think I’ve ever seen here before was the Northern Waterthrush below. I was sitting down on a rock-like seat that looks over the water and noticed something moving.
Every year when I hear House Wrens I have to refigure them out, I don’t know why. And then they just sing ad infinitum before I ever see one. I managed to glimpse this one way up high in a treetop.
Not that I’m lacking for pictures, but this Tree Swallow didn’t make it into the last post and is here to represent the ones I saw yesterday but did not get a chance to photograph.
So now we come to the highlight of my day. It had been a sort of slow morning, actually, compared to the day before – which I hope to get around to in a not-too-distant future post – and I was a bit disappointed that I was seeing hardly any warblers. I speculated maybe the warm and calm winds on Saturday night were favorable to migrants continuing their voyages north and they weren’t stopping if they didn’t have to. So as I walked slowly back down the trail from where I’d seen the Waterthrush, I stopped when I heard a call that might be described as a sneezy trill followed by raspberries. It had been so long since I studied warbler calls, I wasn’t sure, so I checked the Sibley app on my phone as quietly as possible, and sure enough, I was in the presence of a Blue-Winged Warbler. I haven’t seen more than an unsatisfying glimpse of a Blue-Winged in years. So when two of them showed up in front of me, I was temporarily transported to bliss, away from the extra weight of being human lately. I could almost hear them saying “Hey, lady, nice Portage you got here.”
Among the other creatures coming back to life at the Portage, turtles and frogs.
Painted Turtle
There was this Chorus Frog American Toad crossing the trail. He sang for me. I have placed a brief recording of his song below him. Unfortunately, there’s a slow-moving freight train in the background. – Thanks to my friend Leslie, I have been corrected. I thought he looked more like a toad but I didn’t know toads sing!
In the sparrow department, a Chipping Sparrow, one of several elusive but very vocal Song Sparrows and a couple somewhat backlit photos of a Swamp Sparrow.
Most numerous at the moment are probably the White-Throated Sparrows but they’re just passing through.
White-Throated Sparrow
Warbling Vireos are back in force. I heard more on Saturday than I did yesterday but I managed to slightly photograph this one.
Warbling VireoNorthern Cardinal in a nice spot, if distant
A Great Blue Heron flew right over my head.
Two common species of butterfly have been around this week, the Painted Lady and the Red Admiral.
Baltimore Orioles have arrived. I wonder if they’re possibly the same ones that visited my yard for the last time on Friday (I had three at once).
I was almost at the parking lot when I heard, and then saw, three Indigo Buntings – on the paved trail. They must have just arrived – getting their bearings, so to speak, because I have never seen them so tame. I’m sure I’ll be struggling to get any pictures of them the rest of the breeding season.
Here’s another Indigo Bunting I saw a bit earlier.
One of many singing male American Goldfinches
Ruby-Crowned Kinglets are still around, although I think these must be the females as I haven’t seen a red crown patch on any individuals for a week or more. But this one sure is a cutie.
A few views of the landscape.
Turtles basking in the sun.
The Portage is starting to green up. Pretty soon the water will be entirely green with duck weed.
This has to be my favorite photograph – the Blue-Winged showing off his worm.
Maybe you can tell I’ve been writing this post in fits and starts. It’s a bit disorganized because I inadvertently clicked on the “group” feature which seems to have cemented some unintended parts together, but I’m too lazy to start over again.
We have dropped thirty degrees back into cooler temperatures, and I guess that’s okay for Monday, but I want to hold onto the beauty of this past weekend as long as possible. I am thankful for spring migration and for my indoor birds, making it easier to get out of bed in the morning – albeit earlier and earlier as the days get longer!
I don’t think I’ve ever been so happy to see Red-Winged Blackbirds arrive at the Portage and start singing. It’s likely an intense desire to embrace any sense of Normal.
All these photos are from a quick trip to the Chicago Portage last Sunday morning, after the clocks were set ahead. There were not a lot of birds, but I managed to capture a few.
I’m happy to see the Robins returning too. The anticipation of spring is palpable. Now, if I can just get over the time change. It’s hard to get up in the morning, in the dark. Even harder perhaps knowing that nearly everything has been put on hold for voluntary, and increasingly involuntary, “self-distancing.”
After a fairly well-attended choir rehearsal on Wednesday, we received notice yesterday that the temple will be closed for the next four weeks, which totally puts on hold our entire schedule. We were to sing on Sunday and prepare for our special Choir Sunday on the 29th, but that’s not going to happen. No rehearsal, no services. We will stay tuned, but I know without rehearsal, it will be harder to hold those notes when we resume.
I managed to capture this Rusty Blackbird flying in with the Red-Wingeds, likely on his way north.
Rusty Blackbird
Even European Starlings are returning. They used to be present year-round but in the last few years I’ve missed their presence in the dead of winter.
There are always Downy Woodpeckers, though I might not always see them.
Same goes for the Black-capped Chickadees. It was chilly and windy but the days are getting longer and the birds have their work ahead of them.
Flyovers included a singular Ring-Billed Gull and One American Crow. I suppose Crows are a reminder of what happens if you don’t “self-distance”, as in the spread of West Nile Virus.
On the trail that runs behind the opening in the fence and runs parallel to the Des Plaines River, I witnessed a flurry of White-Breasted Nuthatch activity with what appeared to be one male and two females.
I missed any opportunity to snatch the last Super Moon because it was pouring rain on Monday night, but here’s a glimpse of what it looked like back home after swimming on Tuesday.
One more of this buff blackbird.
The extra time to lay low has given me an absurd sense of precarious calm, in that, I suppose, it takes a little pressure off the time crunch that normally accompanies my daily routine, even if it adds a new, rapidly-changing stress. Suddenly all the solo activities that I squeeze into tiny time fragments are clamoring for attention. Among them are playing more music, processing more pictures and writing more blog posts… There’s a desire to commence spring cleanup too. The challenge will be to stay awake. If I’m at home and sitting on the futon with my laptop, naptime is a real threat.
I hope for your wellness and safety, wherever you are. As much as we must distance ourselves physically, we need to come together in spirit all the more.
I have been trying to take advantage of any better weekend weather since I got back from Mexico, specifically just to wander the Portage and see what’s going on. Last weekend, Sunday was beautiful and warm, but I had to spend the morning indoors singing in the choir, but even though I didn’t have high expectations for an afternoon walk, I thought anything might be interesting. As it turned out, I heard only a few birds and saw absolutely nothing save some Canada Geese and a Red-Tailed Hawk. I went out again yesterday morning, to take advantage of the only sunshine this weekend, and after walking for nearly half an hour to only hear a few birds, I finally caught up with a flock of foraging sparrows and the woodpeckers and Blue Jays I had been hearing.
Last weekend’s Red-Tailed Hawk
Canada Geese – when there was open water
Yesterday’s stars were a couple Red-Bellied Woodpeckers.
The Downies were busy too.
When the flock first appeared it seemed to be mostly Dark-Eyed Juncos and White-Throated Sparrows. They weren’t particularly interested in coming any closer to me. But it was a delight to just stand still and watch the flock forage and move through. And when the sun was shining, it was nearly warm on my back. It was otherwise seasonably cold yesterday, with hardly any open water.
White-Throated SparrowDark-eyed JuncoAmerican Tree Sparrow – found in my photographs later
There were likely a few more cardinals around than the two I saw briefly. Below is one of them.
Northern Cardinal
One of a few storyboards along the trail…dressed in snow and ice.
And right behind the storyboard location appeared something I wasn’t expecting so late in the morning – a foraging White-Tailed Deer. I didn’t want to disturb her so after we connected with a few photographs I turned back and made my way out of the preserve.
I was surprised to turn around and see a Brown Creeper busy poking up this tree.
Brown Creeper
Throughout the morning the Blue Jays were noisily carrying on but they were quite distant when they finally appeared.
In all maybe there were four robins yesterday morning. I’m sure there’s a larger flock somewhere.
Grey Squirrel…Song Sparrow – as at the very top of this post
I will be back soon with warmer memories from Mexico. As of this moment, it has just started snowing. In the interim, I would like to leave with a quote from Bill Penzey which I read this morning:
“When they do their best to get us to abandon all hope is when we must embrace it more tightly than ever.”
