Tag Archives: Goose Lake Natural Area

Farther Afield

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I started writing this post several days ago when it was cold and overcast, which was supposed to give me some extra time to get caught up on things. Between birding, swimming, planting, watering, playing piano and the general maintenance of the home crowd, not to mention sorting through photos every day which usually necessitates a nap or more coffee… I all but ran out of leftovers which means I need to do more cooking soon. The watering routine supplanted my kitchen energy, no pun intended.

We did get a little rain Sunday morning. It wasn’t all that much, but I accepted the gift as gratefully as possible and did not water the new plants. I went back to watering that evening, however. There have been too many forecasts of “possible” rain which didn’t sound too firm to me. More recently, yesterday, we had a very slow, steady, but somewhat soaking rain. I was surprised to find my rain barrel full.

So much for the weather. I took off for a few different locations the last week of May/first week in June and here is somewhat of a report. I went first to the Hebron Trail/Goose Lake Natural Area in McHenry County on May 28 to see some Yellow-headed Blackbirds. Below, a shot of the trail leading to the marshy area and an Indigo Bunting that was in one of those trees.

In the marsh, there are always other breeding birds I expect to see, like Willow Flycatchers.

Yellow Warblers are not too bashful there.

There were several Yellow-headed Blackbirds singing on their territories. They were just barely close enough to get in focus with a 400mm lens. I went back through my photos from previous years’ visits later and determined that the birds were easier to see closer to the observation deck and the trail in late June and mid-July, so I will be going back to try my luck again with these pretty fabulous birds. I should be able to see juveniles and some females in July. It was still worth the trip to see how many of them were on site, and to hear their songs fill the air.

At one point a Sandhill Crane flew over the marsh.

The water level is low, so there were not too many birds in it. I managed to find one Pied-billed Grebe.

I had a close encounter with a demonstrative Gray Catbird.

Hardly any American Robins in this habitat, but I caught one taking off from its perch.

It was nice to see a Black Swallowtail butterfly, even as it was trying to make do with Dames Rocket. I have seen this blooming in several locations this spring. It’s been years since I first noticed it in my yard and started accumulating a list of invasive species.

I have always seen little holes in the path, but this time it became apparent that are homes to Chipmunks.

Even though the Yellow-headed Blackbirds were so far away, I was compelled to attempt too many photos.

More of a challenge, although closer, was capturing a Marsh Wren.

I thought this pair of Mallards looked nice in flight.

My best subject turned out to be one of two Great-crested Flycatchers in the tree-lined section of the trail.

A few days later, I considered that I missed all the spring migration bird walks with Henry G., but I was curious about one location I had never been to. G.A.R. Woods turns out to be an area south of Thatcher Woods in River Forest. I went there on May 31. It was one of those rather chilly mornings but there was some good woodsy habitat. All the spots where water accumulates were bone dry, but I could imagine them in wetter times. I was a day or two late for most of the migrants Henry reported but was content to see and hear an Acadian Flycatcher which oddly enough had not been on his list.

Before the inundation of Prairie Warbler photos, a word or two about a few other birds I saw at McGinty Slough. Field Sparrows were numerous and easy to see.

There was also a Brown Thrasher at some distance.

And a very nice-looking Eastern Kingbird too.

But the Prairie Warbler was the highlight.

So now that we’ve become all too familiar with the Prairie Warbler…I’ve been so busy I could almost use a vacation from retirement. It’s often hard not to just curl up and take a nap. But I have seen and photographed even more beautiful birds lately, so I will try once more to be back sooner to this page.

The Other Goose Lake and Beyond

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On Tuesday morning, I made it up to the Hebron Trail in a little over an hour and a half. I didn’t leave quite as early as planned; I woke up to some sort of a circuit-breaker issue in the kitchen which had disabled my Internet access but it was a temporary fix after all and it became more a matter of resetting clocks on the coffee pot and microwave and WFMT on the boombox.

As I started to write this yesterday, we were experiencing a lovely downpour. When I went to empty out places where rain accumulates later it looked like we got an inch in about 20 minutes.

Even though Goose Lake Natural Area has received more rain and is no longer considered in drought status, the water levels are still extremely low and that continues to make it really hard to see Yellow-headed Blackbirds. I walked the trail to the lookout, and stood there for maybe a half hour or so, not seeing too much of anything. I thought how nice it would be if a Yellow-headed Blackbird came close enough to the platform so that I could see it well enough, and then one did. It looks to be a molting adult male.

There are always plenty of Song Sparrows here and I recorded the one below singing.

Song Sparrow – Goose Lake Natural Area

Here are a few more Song Sparrow photos of various individuals.

Also present were several Common Yellowthroats, starting with one on the trail.

A look at the trail as it stretches out into the open, and then a view of the marshy area with a verbascum thapsis, or Great Mullein, right by the trail.

There were a few Canada Geese which I did not bother with, and. below, some American Coots, but hardly enough water for much else. I did see a couple Great Egrets come in for a landing later but they were totally obscured by vegetation.

I encountered a tree full of Red-winged Blackbirds. There may have been a Yellow-headed Blackbird in this group too. But between the backlighting and the distance I took it for mostly Red-winged Blackbirds and juveniles at that.

I am always intrigued by the female Red-winged Blackbirds.

The female Red-winged Blackbird below was showing off her captured bug.

Below, the bird on the left is a Gray Catbird and the bird on the right, a male Red-winged Blackbird.

Red-winged Blackbirds in the Compass Plants
A likely juvenile Red-winged Blackbird

After hearing a Willow Flycatcher or two, I managed to photograph this one.

As I stood on the platform, suddenly six Sandhill Cranes flew overhead and into the marsh, where they disappeared into the tall grass.

On the way back to my car I saw this juvenile Northern Flicker.

And followed a Barn Swallow as it swooped around. Bothering with this exercise in futility attests to my desperation.

I did see a sitting Ruby-throated Hummingbird on my way back out. Actually, a friendly young cyclist with binoculars had stopped to talk with me and mentioned she had seen this bird. She also told me I could check out North Branch which was only a few minutes away.

Even though it was getting late in the day and almost 11:00 AM, I decided to go and check out the North Branch Conservation Area. Indeed it was only a few minutes away by car. As it turns out, were one to walk the entire length of the Hebron Trail, you could cross Keystone Road and continue on the gravel-paved trail that runs through North Branch. Although this is a fine plan on a bike, I doubt seriously I will ever do this as I have never even walked the entire 5.5 miles of the Hebron Trail and it is another 1.5 miles at the North Branch connection, making it a round-trip 14 miles. Perfect on a bike, but not on foot. But it’s good to know the two are connected and provide extensive habitat.

The first thing I noticed when I started walking the trail at North Branch was dramatic billowing clouds in the blue sky.

Below are a few scenes of the prairie at North Branch. The middle photo features Cupplant which looks a lot tamer than the towering monsters that have overtaken my backyard.

That late in the day I didn’t know what birds I might see. I definitely wasn’t hearing much at that hour. But there were a couple very busy Eastern Kingbirds.

I did find a Field Sparrow here.

And I was happy to see a male Orchard Oriole, if obscurely.

There was an Eastern Bluebird checking me out.

Below, a Cloudless Sulphur Butterfly, some Rattlesnake Master and Wild Bergamot with a bee.

I didn’t make it as far as the bridge going over the Nippersink Creek, which is what the “North Branch” refers to, and I’m sorry that I didn’t go that far but it was getting late and I had that long drive home to look forward to. So I will definitely stop back here again, I hope sooner than later.

A Monarch Butterfly attracted to my lens hood

There were plenty of Dickcissels here too, although I could not see them until I spotted this one atop a utility wire. I think years ago I saw my very first Dickcissel on a similar perch.

The clouds were just beautiful that day and I liked the distant Great Egret using them as a backdrop.

American Goldfinches are going to be easier to see now that there are plenty of plants with fresh seeds to eat.

Two more parting shots of an Eastern Kingbird…

The Compass Plant is one of several well-presented species here. I suspect much has been planted, which is fine. I confess I just read a great article in The Atlantic extolling the beneficial aspects of grasslands that are often overlooked in our conditioned preference for tree cover, and it reminded me of how valuable these areas are. It has the somewhat unfortunate title “Trees Are Overrated” but I suspect that is attention-getting strategy.

All that walking on Tuesday gave me permission to only swim on Wednesday, and today after early rain and gardening was for shopping. I plan to return to the Portage tomorrow morning to see if anything new shows up.

Farther Afield

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After reading about someone’s trip to Goose Lake Natural Area on Saturday, I decided to drive up there Monday morning, weather permitting, as it has been a while since my last visit and as much as I try to drive less, I’m not flying anywhere so I can justify an occasional longer drive. I should have left earlier than 7:00 AM because with traffic I didn’t get there until almost 9:00 AM and it was getting warm already, but I still managed to hear enough birds if I didn’t see all that many.

A few Mallards, perhaps, in what little water exists

As far as I can tell this area has not yet recovered from last year’s drought, so the birds are still farther away than they were a couple years ago. It would probably make more sense to carry a scope than a camera but when I’m alone and faced with that choice it’s easier to carry a big lens.

The first bird to greet me just after I walked through the woody area was a Yellow Warbler.

There were several Song Sparrows posing and singing and they were hard to ignore.

I did eventually record a bit of the song from the bird at the top of the post.

Song Sparrow

Yellow-headed Blackbirds are always the draw here, but again because of the low water levels, they were extremely hard to see. However I checked my ebird records and in previous years up to 2020 I saw more of this species in the month of July, so I will try to get back up there next month sometime. One reason for the increase will be juvenile birds taking wing.

If you can see a tiny black spot in the middle of the photo below, that is the view I had of the Yellow-headed Blackbirds this visit. Below that are several severely cropped photos of a few males flying around. About all you can see is the yellow head and black body.

By contrast Red-winged Blackbirds were predictably everywhere.

And a few had time to chase a Turkey Vulture.

Early on, a Northern Cardinal brightened up the landscape a bit.

At one point there was a Common Yellowthroat which was extremely backlit but discernible anyway. I heard many of them singing but could not get one to pose. This one was distracted by the insect prey in his bill.

I always expect to see Willow Flycatchers, and I did have three individuals in my photos, but I can’t recall having heard them and they weren’t always so easy to see.

I took a little snapshot recording while I was standing close to the observation deck. You can hear a Northern Cardinal, Song Sparrows, Red-winged Blackbirds, Marsh Wrens, a Crow, and maybe other species carrying on in this short clip. The wind noise is a bit distracting.

Goose Lake Natural Area

I found a Gray Catbird in the willows.

Brown-headed Cowbirds are suddenly more scarce. I am seeing individuals instead of gangs of males. I suspect their mission is complete for the year.

I walked quite a ways past the observation deck. Here’s what the trail looked like beyond that point. I have never walked all the way to the end (is there one?) but I walked a total of 3.40 miles. according to ebird.

There were not a lot of birds to photograph on this part of the walk, but I did see a Monarch Butterfly and a Painted Turtle.

I couldn’t help but notice some Prairie Spiderwort. I have some of this growing in my backyard.

A nice surprise on the way out was a perched male Ruby-throated Hummingbird. He was far away and backlit but cooperative.

So that about sums up my birding this week. I have errands to run tomorrow when it will still be quite hot but I trust by now the traffic lights are functional. I likely won’t get out for a walk until Saturday morning, but that’s okay. I am looking forward to the cooler forecast.

Mellow Yellow

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I went up to Goose Lake Natural Area in McHenry County over the Memorial Day weekend to see if I could get any closer looks at Yellow-headed Blackbirds. Unfortunately, due to the drought, the birds were too far away from the trail side or the viewing platform. But I did get some nice looks at Yellow Warblers.

The easiest bird to capture, of all things, was Willow Flycatcher. I can remember having a hard time seeing these guys whenever we heard them years ago on our birding class walks – but at this location I can always count on seeing them well.

It was so hot and dry, this Killdeer looked desperate.

On the wooded part of the trail I spotted a Red-Eyed Vireo.

Even the Red-winged Blackbirds didn’t feel much like showing off.

I think this must be a female Red-winged Blackbird taking in some shade.

A Green Heron flew by.

I will never tire of seeing Sandhill Cranes, and there were two.

So I’ve been kind of in perpetual motion, or so it seems. Last Saturday’s Berwyn Historical Society inaugural Garden Walk was great fun. I never considered that I was doing much planning or had any theme at all for my backyard but it stood out because of all the trees I planted almost 20 years ago. People were calling it a sanctuary! Who in their right mind plants a small forest in a postage-stamp sized yard? I didn’t want the grass that was there, and I wanted birds, so I planted trees, especially as they were offered to me by the Arbor Day Society the moment I moved in. In retrospect, I’m even happier I did this because I lost the original Ohio Buckeye years ago – so I could have been without any trees at all.

The week in preparation for the walk was hot and somewhat hectic but I loved working outside in the yard almost every day. I also had fun discovering the names of many plants I had never managed to identify. Best of all was the day itself. I had a fabulous time talking to people and in the process learned more about myself and my gardens. Maybe it wasn’t so haphazard after all. I look forward to having the time to really take care of the yard through all the seasons and continue to learn what the plants can teach me.

I will be back. I haven’t been birding for over a week, but I did manage to visit the Portage a couple times prior to the garden walk. Now we are in line for thunderstorms, making up for some of the rain we didn’t get in April, so that might curtail my birding activity this weekend. Life goes on, sometimes to my amazement.

Spring Slowly Unfolds

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The weekend before last was warm – but very windy. I went up to the Hebron Trail/Goose Lake Natural Area anyway to see if I could find any Yellow-Headed Blackbirds. I did eventually see them as tiny little yellow-headed black dots far away. It was almost too windy to see any birds well at all.

Farm buildings adjacent to the trail…
The view going…

Where there was a break in the trees, I was surprised to see this one Eastern Kingbird sitting quietly for me to take its picture. I had to think a bit about its identification at such close range!

There were several Blue-Gray Gnatcatchers but they were hard to see.

I don’t know why I make a fuss about Brown-Headed Cowbirds but I still think the males are beautiful.

I had heard Indigo Buntings the day before at the Portage but this was the first one I saw. The closer photographs below are from last year. I will likely get more opportunities this year after the birds establish their territories and start defending them.

Red-winged Blackbirds are easy to see at this location, even on a windy day.

Although it was a hard day for warblers, it was still warm enough for bugs and worms, and I managed to see this Nashville Warbler.

On the trail, coming and going, I saw a Brown Thrasher.

After I had exhausted my patience with the Yellow-headed Blackbirds heard but not seen from the observation deck, I walked a few feet past and stood – only to see a Sandhill Crane take to the air a few yards away. There is nothing quite like seeing a bird with a 77″ wingspan coming toward you.

A few more views…

I was surprised to see a Gray Catbird sitting and calmly looking at me. They are usually quite secretive.

Playing the hiding game was a Yellow Warbler.

Even Song Sparrows were laying low…

A little more Sandhill Crane action…

One more warbler – a Palm Warbler…

Canada Geese are easily dismissed, but they are still striking looking birds.

We are not on the Brood X Cicada a/k/a 17-year locust map this year, but here is a cooperative Cicada from last summer. It hitched a ride into my post with the Indigo Bunting photos.

I have as many more photographs to share as I have other obligations preventing me from doing so. I hope the space between posts will narrow a bit in the not-too-distant future. Hope for the promise of spring.

Finally, Pine Siskins

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After reading about the irruption of Pine Siskins for weeks, I kept wondering how I could have possibly missed seeing them. The species showed up in my yard for the first time in January of this year and I fondly remembered their cheery presence. I thought I might have seen one or two last week but I couldn’t be sure, and had to discount it as wishful thinking. Then last Sunday morning as I stood on the back porch, there they were. Only two of them, but they were all I needed to restore my faith in something. They didn’t stay long. Maybe they were playing hooky from some large flock somewhere.

The House Sparrows outnumber everybody else, of course.

Last Saturday was the first time I dared go out with my usual camera setup. The camera weighs two pounds and the lens is another three and a half. It doesn’t sound like a lot of weight but it’s dense and massive. Then there’s the issue of adjusting the focus with my left hand. My fingers are still slightly swollen and stiff, and I can’t maneuver entirely without pain. But I am in the painful stage of physical therapy now so I may as well enjoy my suffering and take pictures.

I had come to see if there were Sandhill Cranes – and there were, a few – but the skies were dominated by Canada Geese. Unfortunately the owners of the surrounding farms were hunting them. I didn’t see any fall from the sky but I wasn’t looking either, it was bad enough to hear the gunshots. Something else to think about when I visit this place in the fall.

Canada Geese

Some flora caught my eye.

The first two birds I saw on the trail going in were Cedar Waxwings.

A burning bush?

It was nice to see this young White-crowned Sparrow.

So there were some Sandhills. I won’t be able to get back up there this year to see hundreds or thousands that sometimes come through, but I did have a good time talking with a crane enthusiast who visits there a lot and knows their habits. He said he was waiting for a big push of cold weather from Wisconsin and that would bring down a lot of cranes. He is hoping to see a Whooping Crane this year.

Not a lot of land birds but it was a beautiful morning. I was surprised to see the Blue Jay arrive and announce himself, and pose for a couple pictures.