Tag Archives: Cooper’s Hawk

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!

What’s Up at the Chicago Portage?

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We are presently experiencing a brief warmup with highs around 70 degrees Fahrenheit. Along with that we have been promised rain, but that remains to be seen as we always seem to be on the outer edge of the forecasted systems and we remain quite dry. Monday the temperatures will drop again for a few days. The photos in this post are from the past week and a half.

Two days before Official Spring on the 20th, birds were getting ready. I saw a Cooper’s Hawk.

I found a Red-bellied Woodpecker and a Downy Woodpecker in the same spot.

Poor light didn’t do much for these photos but it was good to see a couple Fox Sparrows.

I found one American Goldfinch.

And it was a definite sign of spring when a Great Blue Heron flew by.

The Cooper’s Hawk returned.

And then I saw a Red-shouldered Hawk after that.

Then, on the first day of Spring, snow was the main attraction.

I found a White-breasted Nuthatch.

American Robins have been consistent.

And I exchanged looks with a White-tailed Deer.

I barely managed to capture a Golden-crowned Kinglet.

Five days later, the snow was long gone, although we were still under cloud cover. I noticed Cooper’s Hawk action early. After watching for a while, there were two Cooper’s Hawks, and they seemed to be checking out a nest. I have not seen them return to it since, but I am keeping an eye on it.

More views of a Cooper’s Hawk.

There were also three American Crows harassing a Red-tailed Hawk in another area. I didn’t figure out who they were going after until I zoomed in on my photos.

Here’s the Red-tailed Hawk. I found the third and fourth photos in the panel below to be particularly interesting as the hawk flew behind some golden buds in a tree that made its underwings look like they were lit up.

Beyond that, three Mallards took to sitting on top of one of the muskrat huts. I haven’t seen a muskrat at all lately, but I can’t imagine it would tolerate this behavior. The hut looks pretty beaten up by all the weather.

That’s it for the moment. I’ll try to report back soon, as migration continues slowly but surely changes the avian landscape.

Winter Whatever

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I have not been to the Chicago Portage regularly lately due to weather or my right knee’s opinion, sometimes both. We had a spell of freezing rain Thursday morning that made it impossible to go down my front steps, so I snuck out the back to go grocery shopping. I would have gone for a walk yesterday, but we were again warned of incipient freezing rain or snow and even though nothing occurred until later in the afternoon, it was cloudy and dreary and I stayed in.

So I really looked forward to going for a walk this morning, just to get out and see what I could. There were some sunny moments and it wasn’t too windy. There were also very few people at the Chicago Portage this morning. That said, I always check back at the bridge near Harlem to look for a muskrat. I have not seen a muskrat in months. And then, this morning, there he or she was, sitting on the ice, chewing on something. That left me no other course of action but to start off with the muskrat in this post. I realize someone else now has been nicknamed “Muskrat”, but I defend real muskrats only.

Going back in chronological order, here are a few photos from January 28.

A European Starling checking out the statue

American Tree Sparrows are probably always on site, but I don’t see them in large flocks or too often.

After seeing a Red-tailed Hawk frequently this year, I mistook a Red-shouldered Hawk for it. The Red-shouldered was back for a couple days.

House Finches have been hanging out in small trees.

I noticed a nice-looking fungus close to the trail.

And briefly, there was a Cooper’s Hawk right off the inside trail as well.

On January 30, a dead deer was lying just off the entrance to the parking lot.

Looking for the muskrat, I saw an American Robin instead on a muskrat pile that did not become a muskrat nest.

I walked over by the train tracks to see if anything was happening in the Des Plaines River besides ice.

It really didn’t look like I would see much that day.

American Tree Sparrow
Two Canada Geese and a Rock Pigeon

Then, quite distant, I saw the Red-shouldered Hawk again.

Then, standing on the bridge near Harlem with Bob, we saw a large number of Canada Geese fly over. What looks like a Frontier Airlines jet appeared to intersect the flock.

On February 1, the ice was starting to melt.

There weren’t many birds to see. There was a deer.

Clouds.

A Downy Woodpecker.

Sunshine on February 4 seemed to help a bit. This American Robin seemed glad to see me.

There were a few Canada Geese in the Des Plaines River.

Northern Cardinal

A Black-capped Chickadee was close by.

I managed to photograph a White-throated Sparrow or two.

And one Dark-eyed Junco posed.

I dd not get back to the Chicago Portage after that until this morning. It was cloudy, cold and quiet, but bearable, and when the sun came out from behind the clouds, it was fine. There were traces of some snow we had late yesterday afternoon.

Canada Geese on the Des Plaines River under the railroad bridge

I dare you to find the House Finches and American Goldfinches in the twiggy mess below,

I revisited the fungus with snow on it.

The clouds were thick.

And then I noticed a raptor. This time it turned out to be a Red-tailed Hawk.

And then, back at the bridge near Harlem, I saw the muskrat.

There are a few signs of spring. Some trees have started to bud. I have heard Northern Cardinals singing. Red-winged Blackbirds were by the feeders in Lyons on Friday morning. All I know is I can hardly wait to be distracted by longer days, more sunshine, more birds, and yes, even more muskrats. A return to the rhythms and songs of renewal seems more important now than ever.

Back to McGinnis Slough

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Besides wanting to go somewhere else other than my usual stomping grounds, McGinnis Slough was on my mind the past week or so since my health club announced the pool will be closed this coming week. The logic here is that McGinnis Slough is on the way to another health and fitness center operated by the same enterprise and I can purchase a week’s membership to use their pool. I might visit Orland Grasslands too. Or any one of a number of places to find birds in the Palos area.

Anyway on my visit last Sunday, I first spotted a young Eastern Kingbird.

Then Cedar Waxwings appeared, with one in particular hogging my lens.

The slough is completely overgrown. As is everyplace else.

The Swamp Rose Mallow is blooming.

Some young-looking Mallards took flight as I walked to see what was in or near the only open water, where I found some more Mallards. I was surprised there were no Wood Ducks as I have seen them in this location other years.

Then a Great Egret flew right overhead.

Soon, Great Egrets were the focal point of my visit.

There was a distant large group of Great Egrets and some Great Blue Herons. A Little Blue Heron has been reported but I did not see it.

Only one Great Blue Heron stood out from its tree perch.

I caught a glimpse of a Blue Jay before it took flight.

And a Double-crested Cormorant flew over, for good measure.

On my way back through to the other end of the trail, more Swamp Mallow caught my eye

A Coyote and its mate ran out into the woods from the little stream that hugs the trail.

With nothing to see at the lookout over the large part of the overgrown slough, I headed back in the other direction, and inadvertently flushed a young Cooper’s Hawk who flew over my head and then sat for a while.

I’ve seen a few interesting birds over this week and I intend to get caught up with them before I run out of room and time. At least I am not leading any bird walks until the last Saturday of the month. I was confused and thought the walks started this weekend but it turned out to be my phone calendar lying to me, or perhaps I to it. More social events loom, with choir practice starting on Wednesday. Everything will fall into place as long as I keep swimming three times a week and playing piano for the birds every afternoon. And right now we are enjoying some blissfully cool weather.

Here’s one more of the Cooper’s Hawk, simply because I took too many.

Lazy Days at the Chicago Portage

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Heat. humidity and bugs are making even early visits to the Portage less inviting, if not quite prohibitive. In spite of shorter visits, I have managed to see a few interesting birds as they navigate their summer residence. What’s even more interesting lately is seeing more juvenile birds.

Walking in Thursday morning rather late, I heard a fracas in the trees which turned out to be two young Cooper’s Hawks that had just landed.

I observed them for a moment or two while they tried to figure out what they were doing there.

It was a cloudy morning, not ideal for photographs, but I managed to see a young-looking Baltimore Oriole.

Then I spotted a juvenile Gray Catbird.

A young Northern Cardinal lurked in the branches.

Most lovely was a female Indigo Bunting who stayed on a nearby branch long enough to check me out.

I also saw a juvenile Eastern Wood-Pewee.

Even the rabbits were youngsters.

On the way out, I saw a House Wren hanging off its nest tree.

When I got home, I checked the front yard briefly. We’d had a little rain. That’s a Red Admiral butterfly on the Joe Pye Weed and two of several Wild Petunias in bloom.

Two days later, it was only partly cloudy. I stopped to take a photo of some Tall Bellflower which is blooming all around the Portage. I have some in my backyard as well.

Red-winged Blackbirds are seen sporadically as their young start to leave the nest.

I caught a very brief look at a Cedar Waxwing from far away.

I had a somewhat closer look at a Blue Dasher Dragonfly perched on a stump off the bridge near Harlem.

Just as I was on my way out after not seeing much else, a Black-crowned Night-heron flew in and disappeared into the vegetation. I reminded myself that for all the times I don’t see these birds they could easily just be hiding. I did relocate it briefly when someone flushed it and it took off.

I found an American Goldfinch checking out the profuse duckweed.

A Red-bellied Woodpecker flew by

Tadziu, the Indigo Bunting, made an appearance in his tree and sang for me.

And I got a rare look at a Blue Jay.

My very last photo was of a young American Robin taking a break as the heat started to build.

There’s more to come. I’m starting to see some more birds in Riverside as well. The prospect for an early morning walk is a toss-up weather-wise, but if I can’t go for a walk I could find more time to address my backlog of photos.

Almost No Crow Post

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At the end of February, I was doing my usual walk around Riverside Lawn when I suddenly heard, and then saw, a significant number of Crows – around 20 or so – which qualifies for a murder of crows around here. This is certainly more than I have seen together locally for years. They reminded me that I have not been down to see the Lakefront Crows for over a year and my visit was long overdue.

American Crows in Riverside

So last Saturday morning I took off for downtown with peanuts and the Crows’ favorite cookies (peanut butter-oatmeal-raisin). It was a beautiful day. Maybe too beautiful. It was all I could do to find a total of 5 individuals.

There were two Crows around Jackson Park who noticed me but did not approach the food I left. I am sure I made an observant squirrel quite happy.

So I crossed DuSable Lake Shore Drive to walk along the lakefront, hoping to see at least a few Crows north of Monroe. On previous visits I perceived that this was a separate territory for a different group of Crows,

In the water, there were only one or maybe two female Red-breasted Mergansers.

But as I rounded the path going north toward the Columbia Yacht Club, I heard and saw a couple Crows. As I approached them, they seemed to perceive myt intent to feed them. But all total, there were only 3 individuals.

I was at least gratified to see that one Crow appreciated the cookies.

Then I made my way to the end of the dock to see if there were any more ducks. No ducks, but plenty of Ring-billed Gulls.

After the Gull Frolic a couple weeks earlier I was not in any mood to pore through the gulls too carefully to see if any other species were present. As I walked back toward the shore, I spotted a very content-looking House Sparrow and took his photograph.

Having nearly failed at my mission, I decided to return home. I took one last parting shot of the skyline before descending into the underground parking garage.

Incidentally, before I left that morning, it was perhaps more interesting in my backyard. I looked out the kitchen window and saw a dead rat. I went out to remove it immediately. Take my word for it as I am not prone to photographing such things: it was a miserable sight. The rat’s mouth was open and covered in blood, indicating severe internal bleeding. I realize this is the objective of rat poison, which I do not use but there are plenty of rat bait boxes in the alley.

Five or ten minutes after I got back in the house and looked out the kitchen window again, an immature Cooper’s Hawk landed in the yard in the same spot where the rat had been. It kept looking around for something. I can only surmise that it had flown over earlier and had seen the rat lying there. I am so glad I saw the rat soon enough to dispose of it or likely this beautiful hawk would have been poisoned.

Cooper’s Hawk – through the kitchen window

I was able to get a couple clearer shots through the porch windows when the hawk moved into a tree, before it saw something else and took off.

So go the trials of attempting to provide space and support for wildlife in an urban landscape.

As for the Lakefront Crows, I don’t know what to think. It could be I was just there too late in the season or it was the wrong day. It also crossed my mind that if nobody else was feeding the Crows along the lakefront downtown, perhaps they are congregating somewhere else. I will have to think about when or whether I want to try this again. I can’t go downtown often enough to build up a following anymore. It’s likely unrealistic to think the Crows are going to be looking out for me forever. I do miss their company.

One last photo of a Ring-billed Gull flying overhead.

The unseasonably warm weather last week provided for some interesting and unusual sights last week more locally, and I will try to be back soon with them. For now, I dread setting the clocks ahead an hour Saturday night before getting up early the next morning to sing.

Cold and Getting Colder

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I managed to walk in Riverside the first week and a half of the year, and I’ve been to the Chicago Portage a couple times too, but it’s been generally very quiet and gloomy. But now, I would take a quiet, gloomy walk almost anywhere. In fact, the sun has been shining brightly, but the temperature was -2 degrees F when I started writing this yesterday. It was -13 this morning, warming up to 1 degree this afternoon.

Before this all started, on Friday, my heat stopped working. After trying almost everything and texting back and forth with a repair person, I finally tried replacing the batteries in the thermostat and lo and behold, the heat came back on. Lesson learned. To be on the safe side I bought a copious supply of new AA batteries and I will change them every year in October before the heat comes on, unless I need to do it sooner. Period.

Our choir managed to sing yesterday. The service and the songs we sang were a tribute to the vision of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

I am going to swim today, and if possible, I will take some photos of the birds in the yard that have been busily emptying the feeders. I was surprised to see my Robin in the yard a couple days ago, until I realized he came back to eat all the hawthorn berries. But I likely will not be walking anywhere until this polar vortex business is over with. It’s just too cold to be out very long.

So here are some photos from a few visits to Riverside, and then of one enterprising Cooper’s Hawk in my backyard.

January 1, I photographed the new osprey platform.

On January 3, there was the Blue Jay at the top of the post.

And Canada Goose 68B made an appearance.

On January 5, there was a Downy Woodpecker.

No large mixed flocks, nothing happening. Then on January 8, I hit the jackpot. I managed to capture a female Belted Kingfisher before she took off, rattling all the way. I usually see a male, so this was special.

There was a female Downy Woodpecker, and a brief view of a Red-bellied Woodpecker as well.

It’s been hard to even find a Dark-eyed Junco that will sit still long enough these days. But this one was happily foraging in the mud. On a gray day, you can’t complain.

But most exciting was seeing 3 Brown Creepers, although I could only photograph one at a time.

I also had a brief visit with a Song Sparrow.

And now, here are some cloudy photos of the Cooper’s Hawk that was in my yard the next morning. It was ripping to shreds its prey, which I could not see well enough to identify – a bird, but from what few little feathers I found later under the tree, but which species I could not tell. At first I started taking photos through the kitchen window.

And then, when I ventured out on the porch later for a better view… the hawk remained for a while to digest.

While the hawk was still in the yard, a Black-capped Chickadee came to check out the feeders, cheerfully making comments. I guess it either knew the hawk was satiated, or maybe it is just too small to be considered a Cooper’s Hawk snack.

Through it all we did not get the predicted accumulation of snow on Friday. It was warm enough to turn into rain in the afternoon. So we were lucky in that regard. As the temperature started to drop we got a little more snow. Now it is too cold to snow. But not too cold to keep on singing.

What? Winter? Left Overs

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My windshield looked like this, this morning, when I went out to start the car so I could sing with the choir for our first choir Sunday in two years.

It fits this post, which is a little collection of wintertime visits that I never managed to mention. The first was a visit to Columbus Park on 12-30-21.

I had gone to see if a Greater White-fronted Goose was still visible after it had been reported for several days. But by this time the water had frozen and so many Canada Geese were sitting on the ice it was too hard to tell.

Still, it was a beautiful, sunny day with lots of virgin snow.

Another beautiful sunny day a month later, on January 30, 2022, I decided to visit the Little Red Schoolhouse after another snowfall. Below is a view of Longjohn Slough which borders the trail starting at the Nature Center.

A few birds were visible.

American Tree Sparrow
Blue Jay
Dark-eyed Junco
White-throated Sparrow
Red-bellied Woodpecker

As I walked the trail, I came across a sign denoting the original location of the school for which the forest preserve is named.

Then in my yard on February 15, a Cooper’s Hawk sat for a long time in the redbud tree right outside the porch windows. I could not resist taking too many pictures. Here are a few.

I miss a lot of beautiful sunsets and can barely see hints of them through my kitchen or porch windows, but I tried to commemorate the winter clouds anyway.

I am full of music from singing at the service which was devoted to the Spring Equinox. What began as a cold morning has turned into a beautiful day. The sun is shining brightly. I hope this is my last windshield ice for a while.

Fall Warblers – Getting Ready for Spring

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I had planned on this post days if not a week ago… This could be my last ancient fall warbler photos post. Even though we will still have some cold weather to deal with, spring and the longer days are gaining attention from the birds. It won’t be long before the trees leaf out and warblers start to arrive. Red-winged Blackbirds have already started setting up territories as of March 1.

So here are a few reminders of what the warblers looked like in the fall. Below and at the top of the post is a Bay-breasted Warbler.

Below is one quick capture I managed of a Northern Parula.

Yellow-rumped Warblers like the ones below will look quite different in the spring.

Male Nashville Warblers have a tiny red spot sometimes visible at the crown. If you click on the first image below you might be able to see a hint of red on this one.

One sought-after warbler that I saw a few times but didn’t manage to photograph until a later visit in October was this male Black-throated Blue Warbler.

There were a lot of Black-throated Green Warblers this past fall.

And many Blackpoll Warblers were available for observation.

I will never tire of Magnolia Warblers although they were ubiquitous this past fall. I really think they like to flirt with the camera lens.

Not a warbler, but there was a very well seen Cooper’s Hawk that day.

Things are getting a bit more interesting as spring approaches and I will be back as soon as I can with more photos and reflections. Life goes on. Sometimes surprisingly so.

Oops, I almost forgot the obligatory American Redstart.

Sunshine before the storm…

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I couldn’t stay inside another day, so I went to the Portage yesterday morning, armed with my walking stick but braving the sunshine without long underwear or my warmest hat. It was still cold, and there was plenty of ice, but the sun was shining so brightly it demanded my attention.

With the exception of the Northern Cardinal at the top of the post, and some Canada Geese flying overhead, there were no birds available for photographs until I was almost done with my walk. Due to the ice cover I decided not to do the inner trail on the opposite side of the pond. I wasn’t hearing any birds so I probably didn’t miss much.

Canada Geese flying over

I took a lot of pictures of snow and ice. This will all turn to mud today and fresh snow will cover it tomorrow.

Frozen deer tracks
Des Plaines River iced over

As I headed toward the last part of my walk, I heard the Red-bellied Woodpecker calling, and then a couple Black-capped Chickadees joined him. A pair of White-Breasted Nuthatches also appeared. We had a nice visit. This Red-bellied Woodpecker likes to get his picture taken and I can’t help but oblige.

There was a pair of White-breasted Nuthatches. First I saw the male, and then the female.

The chickadees have not been engaging with the camera lately. I suspect all their food sources are higher up in the trees.

But there was a Grey Squirrel who was curious.

When I got home, the only bird in my yard that I could see was this Mourning Dove.

I kept looking outside and not seeing any birds in the yard. I decided around 1:00 to go out and start cleaning up what I could under the feeders before it turned into a soggy mess. The minute I opened the back door, I saw the Cooper’s Hawk sitting in the redbud, facing me. The explained why there were no birds in the yard.

I have decided it’s too windy to visit Riverside this morning on my way to the health club for my midday Wednesday swim. Although the Winter Storm Watch for tomorrow has been revised to a Winter Weather Advisory, a Wind Advisory has been added for today. There were no goldfinches in the yard this morning and so far only the House Sparrows and a few House Finches have flown in frantically and flown out.

It’s already quite warm and we will be in the fifties by afternoon. It should be raining by the time I leave for choir rehearsal. The rain will turn to snow Thursday morning with snow continuing of and on the entire day. Winter is not done with us yet.