When I first started thinking about this post over a week ago, it was mainly going to be a way to send off an accumulation of photos taken over the last few months that I thought would soon look totally ridiculous as the days get longer and the landscape gets greener. I didn’t envision answering the title question with a yes or no answer, but maybe it’s best expressed as “maybe not” as a wind storm prevented me from going anywhere on Friday and then we eventually had snow last night and temperatures are plunging beyond that.
So, here we go. First, a left-over gray squirrel from January 12 by the Des Plaines River.
On January 17, I went on a walk at Sand Ridge Nature Center in Calumet City with Steve and Joann, and the highlights of the walk for me were ridiculously easy views of a Pileated Woodpecker on a fabulously designed suet feeder, and glimpses of a male Purple Finch.
On Feb 4, in very low light with a lot of ice on the Des Plaines River, I found an American Robin tempted by a frozen berry, and a Muskrat next to the ice.
February 6th in Riverside looked like this. The Mourning Doves made interesting subjects.
On February 9, the Cooper’s Hawk which is at the top of the post flew into a tree by the river and then out again.
I am looking forward to seeing more signs of spring. I know the birds are getting ready in spite of the weather challenges. We do seem to be getting more precipitation lately, which can only be good for growing things. Keep the faith.
It’s turned really quiet over the last few days with hardly any birds to see or hear anywhere. All the robins disappeared and seem to have taken nearly everybody else with them. So I am here with photos from last week on the Des Plaines River, when there were still birds to be found.
In Riverside on January 5, more ice sculpture. These resemble trivets to me.
A Northern Flicker and two Mourning Doves made brief, calm appearances.
I decided to walk further along the river from the paved trail. as it was a nice day and I had heard about some Common Goldeneye in that direction. A Herring Gull passed by me with something quite substantial in its bill that I can’t identify.
Then I saw a Bald Eagle across the river.
I did find six Common Goldeneye closer to the bridge at Ogden Avenue. Only five fit into the photo below, but the renegade who was swimming far in front of them is at the top of the post.
I found some fungus in the wooded area where I was now on a dirt trail.
I also found a Brown Creeper. I’m thinking this extended walk is definitely going to be on my agenda come spring migration.
I took a look back at the swinging bridge and decided it had definitely been worth the extra distance.
As it turned out, I encountered only a Downy Woodpecker on my way back through Riverside Lawn.
Two days later, back in Riverside, I was surprised to see a Great Blue Heron standing in the river. It was a few degrees warmer that day.
I decided not to walk all the way down, but instead took a view of the bridge at Ogden.
I did see a couple of Common Goldeneye close enough.
I’ll be back with a few observations from the Chicago Portage, again before everything got so quiet. We are enjoying a brief warmup today before we plunge into single digits and below by the end of the week. Thanks for stopping by.
I started writing this post on Wednesday when it seemed prudent to stay home for the Winter Storm Watch. It turned out to be a hurry-up-and-wait kind of day. The snow came later than predicted and did not amount to as much as forecast, but I stayed in to monitor the bird feeders and sidewalks, attend to miscellaneous projects and get mentally ready to drive to choir rehearsal that evening. Unfortunately, choir rehearsal was canceled for the second week in a row due to weather. We will have to work that much harder the next few weeks for our upcoming Choir Sunday on March 16.
Now it is Saturday, and we are digging out somewhat from yesterday’s snow, with more snow in the forecast this afternoon, evening, and tomorrow morning. The choir sings tomorrow. I have gotten quite used to the snow by now and I anticipate shoveling before driving off tomorrow morning. At least there should not be a lot of traffic to make things worse, although I can never exactly predict when a slow-moving freight train will impede crossing the tracks.
Here are photos from my last walks by the Des Plaines River in Riverside. Beginning with February 3, the ice on the river was gone except for large pieces of it still on the river banks.
I noticed a Common Goldeneye struggling with its catch which looked at one point like a crayfish of some sort.
I saw more ice on the river bank as I crossed the swinging bridge, and still more in Riverside Lawn.
The Ring-billed Gull at the top of the post was showing off its catch. More photos of this bird below, along with one with a plane flying over.
On February 5, it was still overcast and quite gloomy. Not much to report.
Never know if I will see even Mallards these days
I try to keep track of the Common Goldeneye.
On February 7, a few more birds. I was surprised to see a lot of Red-winged Blackbirds, with some likely European Starlings, along with usual House Sparrows by the feeders behind the condominiums in Lyons.
I saw a Downy Woodpecker or two.
And several House Finches.
Still keeping an eye out for the Common Goldeneye.
As an added bonus, I saw 26N again.
And another Ring-billed Gull, this one having trouble managing its prey.
Beyond that, more ice, and a deer;.
On February 10, bright sunshine was welcoming. Although I didn’t see a lot of birds, I did get a closer look at a male Red-breasted Merganser that I have seen at more of a distance on occasion, all alone.
A couple Mallards swam by, and there were some more on an emerging island.
And a Common Goldeneye
My last visit was yesterday morning. It was almost prohibitively cold, but it felt good to walk. Ice is coming back to the river.
There were three groups of Canada Geese spread out along the river.
I barely captured the Common Goldeneye, but was glad to see at least five of them.
And there was snow.
We are getting more snow, and then tomorrow we start a very cold week, with lows in the single digits. The early morning low forecast for Tuesday is -2 degrees F. I don’t know how many walks I will attempt in those temperatures. I tend to make up my mind about a walk every morning when I go out back to fill the feeders. It’s all one can do lately to hold onto a routine, but it’s important for my and the birds’ survival. A few days ago I decided I need a new approach to writing the book. Maybe if I have to stay indoors more this coming week, I can make a little progress.
Last Monday, instead of walking in Riverside, I decided to visit the levee at Ottawa Trail. There had been storms and a lot of rain the night before, and more rain was in the forecast. It seemed like a good time to check out the levee and still be near the river.
From the parking lot looking out over a lot of lawn, a clear path to the Des Plaines River is not evident, but I found the foot trail leading up to the levee that was constructed a few years ago, without too much effort. The obligatory rabbit was on the trail. The levee isn’t too high to climb. Up above the river, the trail stretches out along this portion of the river’s length.
I soon encountered a mixed flock of American Robins, Red-winged Blackbirds and Common Grackles foraging in the vegetation along the river.
It wasn’t until I was going through the photos that I realized there was a water snake sitting right behind these Red-winged Blackbirds. It’s very well disguised: see if you can detect it in the photo below.
Not seeing many birds at first but perhaps drawn to the blue sky background, I checked out a European Starling.
Flooding was easy to see below the levee, and I started to reconsider my initial thoughts about the levee being intrusive. It likely helps to preserve the habitat.
My main reason for a visit was to check out the water on the opposite side of the levee. It’s a low-lying area somewhat similar to that of the Chicago Portage. I think this is where the Green Herons that used to nest at the Portage years ago have been hanging out. It is a lot more difficult to see this area since the levee construction. You could hike down to it before, but there is no longer access, and vegetation has grown all around it. But I did find one Green Heron. I apologize for the overexposure but there was no other way to make the heron visible.
Then in the distance, out of the corner of my eye, I saw a Belted Kingfisher hunting. I managed to capture his dive at a distance.
This trail has no nearby vegetation so the birds are generally at a distance and not easy to see. I barely captured a Song Sparrow.
But I did have a cooperative Blue Jay, who is also at the top of this post.
A couple Red-winged Blackbirds suddenly appeared, escorting a Red-tailed Hawk across the river.
Before the levee, if you reached the end of the trail along the river going south, you could cross the street and the railroad tracks and be right behind the Chicago Portage, but that access is now blocked off.
At the end of the trail, I turned around and headed back. There was a doe staring at me.
It looks like the Cook County Forest Preserves has been doing some habitat restoration by planting natives, which I am happy to see. It has also been a great year for Bergamot everywhere. And the butterfly, a Clouded Sulphur, is one I haven’t seen often elsewhere.
Young American Robins below.
A couple views of the river from the levee.
Where I could actually see the water more clearly, there were only a couple Mallards in it.
Red-winged Blackbird
Flooding persisted for most of the week, so I walked more often at the Chicago Portage. But this trail was good to visit for a change and I will probably return sooner.
I was going to combine some photos from a few previous visits to Riverside into one post, and I hope to do that eventually, but right now here is a quick recap of my walk this morning. It was cloudy, very quiet and I saw very few birds. I hardly heard even the Blue Jays. But the trees were beautiful.
I did have a nice moment with the Dark-eyed Junco at the top of the post.
On the other side of the Joliet Avenue bridge south of the Hofmann Tower, I spotted a Great Egret and a Double-crested Cormorant. I looked for the Great Blue Heron but it was not present.
Also at the tower were the Rock Pigeons doing flight drills.
The Great Egret decided to move closer to where the dam once was.
And I barely captured a Mallard flying by.
I saw a Mourning Dove land in a tree.
I could barely see a Downy Woodpecker.
I took two views of the foot bridge.
The trees in Riverside Lawn were towering in color.
When I got back to the Joliet Avenue Bridge, I checked to see if the Great Blue Heron was in its new favorite spot by the old dam. This is where it has been for the last couple weeks.
I will be back soon with more from Riverside. I am leaving soon to see a play tonight. There might be a little sunshine tomorrow. We have a couple more days above freezing with rain predicted all day Sunday. I suspect the leaves will have all fallen soon.
I’m taking a brief break from the spring warbler photos to document a couple drought-related observations down by the Des Plaines River last week. I thought I had the perfect title for this post two days ago but I forgot to write it down, so “slim pickings” it is.
On May 24, with the river so low, I noticed some fish having a hard time negotiating some of the rocky, shallower spots.
Then on May 26, I first noticed a black bird chasing an Osprey. In other photos the bird in pursuit appears to have been a Common Grackle.
I started to follow the Osprey with the camera as it began flying around the bend in the river, looking for a fish. These are only a few (!) of the photos I took, but they are basically in order. The Osprey was desperate to find something to eat. I was exhausted following it as it searched, not to mention wondering how long it could continue expending all that energy for nothing.
So busy was I following the Osprey I nearly forgot there were any other birds. I found a couple Chimney Swifts in my photos later.
The Osprey came around again, repeating the same exercise.
Finally it decided to go after something. I think that’s the library building behind it. But it came up with nothing from that dive except wet feathers (second photo below).
Not too much later, it was back again.
Finally the Osprey seemed to have found something. I wasn’t able to focus quickly enough to adequately capture the scene below, but I’m including it anyway as I realized later I had not even noticed the Great Blue Heron watching all this. Sadly to say, the Osprey flew off without anything in its talons.
When I got back to my parked car by the Hofmann Dam, I took a few photos of a Ring-billed Gull searching for food.
The forecast remains hot and dry. We are due to cool off around Tuesday, and I can only hope that brings some precipitation with it, but the forecasters are not optimistic.
I have started branching out a bit to check some other locations here and there. I also hope to be helping out with monitoring of breeding birds at the Chicago Portage this month. Garden work persists and a few native plants are starting to bloom. There’s lots going on outside, but I am grateful for air-conditioning. And my indoor crowd has promised to help me write a little music. To be continued…
As exciting as it was to see the Osprey featured in my last post, there was even more going on last Wednesday on the Des Plaines River by Riverside, such as a rather unusual confrontation between a Great Blue Heron and a Great Egret. It was surprising enough to see them together, but they were getting along until they weren’t. It has been so dry, the river is way down and I imagine the search for prey getting more contentious. Below is a series of photographs I took leading up to the one above.
The river was so low this past week, almost anyone could wade into the middle of it. Perhaps that was the animating force behind the Great Egrets moving around, trying to find the best place to fish when there was so little water. I captured the egret below perched on this debris-adorned rock after it had chased off the Mallard that was sitting on it.
Later on from the foot bridge I took this sequence of a Great Egret capturing its prey. This was several feet from the shore.
Cedar Waxwings are showing up everywhere lately. They’re about the only birds not on the river itself.
The Killdeer have been hanging out on the rocks by the Hofmann Dam all summer. They have multiplied.
Also on the rocks by the former dam, a Great Egret.
Seeing Common Grackles again down by the shore. This one was sporting several colors.
The Rock Pigeons caught my eye – flying in formation.
Canada Geese are starting to show up again.
Even House Sparrows were getting into the act in the river.
Mallards could stand in the middle of the water too.
Mourning Doves were noticeable above the river.
A few flight shots from two Great Egrets.
There were a couple Spotted Sandpipers with the Killdeer on the rocks but I was unable to capture them. However I did manage to zoom in on this one by the shore not far from the footbridge.
For a change of pace, a confusing juvenile bird which I determine to be a young Northern Cardinal.
These Blue-fronted Dancers are simply everywhere.
I think that about takes care of everything else on that day. I went back on Friday morning and the water was still low. We have since had some rain and I hope the river will look a bit fuller tomorrow morning when I plan to visit again.
One thing I am enjoying very much in my retirement and more-relaxed state of mind is encountering strangers and making new friends as I walk these places more often. Whereas before when I was working I was in a mental hurry to cram in as much birding as I could manage in my free time, weather permitting, I now feel freer to engage in conversation. I meet some lovely humans, learn some interesting things, and hope I am being a good ambassador for the birds.
My mother always used to call March the Adolescent Month. She must have been referring to the weather. It’s as if it is on the cusp of indecision – stay in winter or grow up into spring.
I went to Riverside on March 2 which was on the beginning of a brief warm front, and then back again on March 9. On the first visit it wasn’t particularly warm in the morning, but the winds were blowing from the south. I saw the Eastern Bluebird briefly.
There’s nearly always a Black-capped Chickadee somewhere. This one was close enough to photograph.
The sky wasn’t too encouraging.
This Blue Jay tolerated me long enough to focus on those few parts of him that weren’t obscured.
The Des Plaines River is flowing again.
Waterfowl are here and there now, the large groups of Canada Geese and Mallards have dispersed. Below is a female Common Merganser.
With the strong shift in winds from the south, Sandhill Cranes were taking advantage of a free ride. I saw the larger flock when I came back to my car in the health club parking lot after swimming the same day.
When I went back on March 9, the skies were clearer but the temperature was colder.
This Red-bellied Woodpecker was showing off against the blue sky background.
I took note of a River Birch tree. There are several on the Riverside side by the paved trail. The bark fascinates me. They are logical trees for a flood plain.
The foot bridge was clear and clean-looking that day.
Here’s another Red-bellied Woodpecker on the Riverside Lawn side of the river.
My biggest treat this past Wednesday was the Song Sparrow singing, below. It took me a little while to locate him but he was facing me, singing away, when I did. After taking his picture and recording his song, he starting singing a different song, which I also recorded. You can hear both songs below the photographs. I have never witnessed this before. I know Song Sparrows have a reputation for singing a lot of songs but I don’t believe I have never heard the same bird sing two distinct songs. It’s as if he knew he had a good audience. It also reminds me of the Shanahan New Yorker cartoon below, which is my favorite cartoon as it seems to sum up my life.
Song Sparrow – First SongSong Sparrow – Second Song
Mr. and Ms. Mallard were elegant on the water.
The clear blue sky provided a perfect backdrop for an adult Bald Eagle as well.
When I got back to my parking spot I was greeted by a Canada Goose standing on one foot.
But before I could get into my car, two Red-tailed Hawks started flying over, showing off. I didn’t manage to get them both in the same frame but a small sampling of the many photographs I took is below.
The last and most distant capture was of this hawk’s back against the sun.
Spring continues to push forward. We had some snow last night but it was a minimal accumulation. Even though it’s quite cold, the sun has by now removed all the snow from the sidewalks. As much as I am tempted to wonder what is the meaning of life these days, it seems to make as much sense, if not more, to just take note of as much of it as I can.
After a summer of hardly seeing any Common Grackles, on September 29th of last year I probably saw at least 100. The other Bird of the Day was Osprey. I am looking forward to seeing Osprey on the Des Plaines River this year, along with all the other regular big birds – Great Egrets, Great Blue Herons, Double-Crested Cormorants…
Dry conditions last summer and fall
A frequent visitor to the Des Plaines River was an Osprey or two. I tried to capture the juvenile bird below going after something.
The Common Grackles were perched in the trees along the river, but later on my way back through Indian Gardens they were all over the lawn with Red-winged Blackbirds. It’s likely they were gathering for migration southward. I never really get over those shiny blue heads.
Here’s an adult Osprey I managed to capture flying over the river.
I will always see Rock Pigeons at this location, which attests to its urbanity.
I think this is a juvenile Song Sparrow trying very hard to look like a female House Sparrow…
There was still one Double-crested Cormorant around on that day.
A Mallard hen in the bright sunshine…
I look forward to the Great Blue Herons that will adorn the river this coming spring and summer. I suspect the Great Egrets had just left by this date, but I expect there will likely be quite a number of them too this summer.
Never to be turned down, no matter how bad the light – a cooperative Blue Jay.
I frequently heard Killdeer and sometimes saw them, got lucky with this one flying overhead.
Also never ignored by me, an American Crow flying. There is nothing like a Crow. Period.
Thanks for stopping by and helping me clean up some space on my hard drive. Larger posts are likely ahead with spring migration just around the…corner. As I start to post more often the hard drive glut will be less of an issue, or so I tell myself.
As the weather improves and I go out more, there will be fewer of these retrospective posts. In the meantime it’s nice to dream of the excitement seeing these birds again.
I was almost going to revert back to sunnier and greener times – and I probably will in the next post – but it occurred to me that in the middle of summer, no matter how unbearably hot it gets, I won’t be going back to any cold, grey, icy scenes as something to look forward to, so I may as well organize a more recent outing here.
I went out yesterday morning to Riverside, where I hadn’t been since the end of December. The forecast was cloudy but warmer – and anything warmer than the 5 to 10-below wind chills sounded possible to me. Still I decided to carry the little mirrorless camera so my agility negotiating icy spots would not be compromised. I was sure there would be plenty of ice but at least there are no hills to navigate on the Riverside trail, unlike the Portage. Below is what the river looked like going over the Joliet Avenue bridge.
There was open water here, which was not always the case farther down the river. As I walked across the bridge I thought of the Yellow-rumped Warbler I saw close to the bridge back on December 22nd.
I started down the paved path, and I began to see some ducks in the water – but I was hearing an insistent little ticking call behind me. I turned around, and the Yellow-rumped Warbler was up in a tree telling me it was still here. I am glad I managed to get a photograph of it.
I don’t know exactly what it is, it’s probably a combination of things, but I think a point of mutual exchange occurs with birds sometimes that is plainly a result of my paying attention. This was not a “coincidence” but rather, the Yellow-rumped Warbler was responding to my thought about it. I remember a dear former boyfriend who was an electrical engineer, who used to say “thoughts are things.” Indeed they are.
I am also reminded of some lyrics from one of my favorite Peter Mayer songs, “World of Dreams”:
“In the smallest measure of anything at hand Entities of energy are alive in a whirling dance Even our own bodies are not as we perceive But made of the same stuff our thoughts are made In this world of dreams So do we live and move amidst illusions? Has what we’re seeing fooled us And only exists in our minds? And what are we to do with such conclusions? For what cannot come true in a world of a Mystical kind?”
Anyway, this encounter with the Yellow-rumped Warbler was special. It was encouraging to know it had survived the awful cold. I was beginning to wonder how much more cold I could take. Yesterday was the first day I managed without long underwear.
There were perhaps 50 Mallards total – where two weeks before there had been a couple hundred Canada Geese. There were no geese in the water yesterday. But there were diving ducks, which I had never seen at this point in the river before. Common Mergansers and Common Goldeneye.
It was gloomy all morning. The sun kept trying to get through the clouds but it didn’t happen.
Here’s how the river looked closer to the foot bridge.
And the foot bridge itself.
The closer I got to the ice, the more serious it looked.
But at least the foot bridge had a railing, and I was able to grasp the suspender cable at the end to go downhill toward the foot trail, which was a lot safer.
Not knowing what kind of pictures I could get of birds with that camera under these conditions, I just tried when I could, and got lucky with the one cardinal at the top of the post – they have been difficult subjects lately – and a few mixed results otherwise. There weren’t a lot of birds out. And yet I managed to report 16 species.
A Downy Woodpecker and a Dark-eyed Junco
And yes, another Brown Creeper. I’m just amazed the little camera did such a good job.
Not much else from yesterday – just snowy ice and predictable gloom. The temperatures rose quite a bit by the afternoon. Today was supposed to be cloudy and I started cursing the sun when it came out because I only had plans to go grocery shopping. But I decided to make more oatmeal cookies before I went out. I’ve been hooked on these lately – I’ve been making them with yogurt instead of milk and they’re not too sweet, just full of oats and raisins.
The last cookie – and the new batch for future consumptions…
May as well go out with the same color as the beginning. I will be back shortly with greens.
