City Visitors, or Where the Birds Are

Posted on May 20, 2015 by Lisa Rest

Black-and-White Warbler, Lake Shore East Park

Apologies to all my followers for not posting sooner (and all those I follow for not showing up), but I have been busy with work and trying to spend every free moment paying attention to birds indoors and out, so by the time I get around to reviewing photos I fall asleep. So there have been about 10 potential blog posts running out of my head over the last two weeks before I could hang onto them.

American Redstart, 155 N. Wacker Drive

So before I fell asleep again last night as it was past my bed time, I decided to simply share with you some of my favorite subjects over the past week from a couple city parks and green spaces. Except for the Least Flycatcher, I have limited this post to warbler species.

Black-Throated Green Warbler, Union Station

The first day I found the Black-Throated Green Warbler at Union Station, there was also a Black-Throated Blue Warbler singing and a Baltimore Oriole singing as well. Actually it was the Baltimore Oriole’s song that drew my attention to the now-fenced-in-for-no-obvious-reason garden area. The fact that the garden area was inaccessible to me and the smokers who like to sit on the benches probably made it more attractive to the bugs and the birds who were eating them. I did not get a great picture of the Black-Throated Blue, but was glad to see him. The Oriole was coy but uncooperative.

Male Common Yellowthroat, Lake Shore East Park

Lake Shore East Park has been my most constant afternoon destination, and there were a couple good days, but it doesn’t seem as birdy as last year or the year before. The weather has been a factor all spring too, with alternating warm fronts and cold fronts confusing everything. We are presently about thirty degrees cooler than we were on Monday. Monday was hot.

Least Flycatcher, Lake Shore East Park

Least Flycatchers were fairly common for a couple days. Catbirds have been regular sightings in every nook and cranny.

Gray Catbird, Lake Shore East Park

Male American Redstarts come in two plumages. The first-year males still look a bit like the females, only orangey instead of a paler yellow. The after-first-year males are black and orange-red.

American Redstart

American Redstart, first-year male

Hardly a day has gone by that I have not seen or heard a Northern Waterthrush. I usually see them on the lawn, so it was nice to catch one resting on a branch.

Northern Waterthrush, Lake Shore East Park

Ovenbirds are still around, too.

Ovenbird, Millennium Park

Spring would not be spring without male Magnolia Warblers.

Magnolia Warbler, Millennium Park

Redstarts are everywhere now. The adult males seem to like to show off.

Below is a first-year male, looking eager to start his first breeding season.

I hope to get another post or two in order over the Memorial Day weekend (thunderstorms are predicted for Memorial Day). As always I think I will be able to conquer my entire to-do list because I have an extra day. So far Saturday’s weather looks best, so that will be a birding day. Passerine migration is nearly over, but I need proof.

Baby, It’s Cold Outside

Posted on December 31, 2014 by Lisa Rest

Gray Catbird, Thompson Center 12-30-2014

2014 goes out with a shiver for us. Yesterday the temperature dropped to 20 degrees Fahrenheit (that was the high), and today it’s even colder with a wind chill of minus 15 below. I am blessed to have the day off from work, which turns out to be that much more fortuitous since the trains were not running this morning due to mechanical failure and I would have been shivering at the station shelter trying to figure out the next best way to get to work.

Chicago River Fog

There was ample sunshine yesterday which is often the way with extra cold temperatures, so I stopped by the Thompson Center on the way in with the camera already assembled this time to see if the Gray Catbird was available for a photograph. I found it first shivering under a bush and looking not too happy.

Then when a woman asked me for directions, it gave the Catbird a chance to perch on a twig while I wasn’t looking, and when I turned back to see, it posed for several photos before taking off for the top of one of the small trees planted in the sidewalk by the curb. The next time to check on this bird’s status will be Friday, the second day of the new year.

Later, after noon when the sun was shining full blast, I set out for the lakefront parks to see if I could visit some crows before next year. It’s been weeks. I decided to check out Maggie Daley Park first as it is partially open in time for ice skaters to use the skating ribbon.

While a lot of trees have been planted and there is sod and whatever else, the immediate lack of green space and preponderance of human kitsch is disappointing to me.

I suspect this is the “Climbing Wall”…?

I have no idea what this bodes for hungry migrants along the lakefront come spring, but I suspect I will continue to find more migrants at Lake Shore East Park than at Maggie Daley for quite a while.

Another view – the lakefront is beyond. Are those wooden trunks recycled trees “planted” upside down?

I hated Millennium Park when it was first built, but after I started seeing things like a flock of Golden-Crowned Kinglets on the lawn and the crows adopting the Pritzker Pavilion for a nesting site, not to mention the birds that visit Lurie Garden, it has become bird friendlier with time. So maybe in 5-10 years Maggie Daley will be okay for birds too. But I feel as if the more improvements being made lately to the lakefront, the less friendly they are to any species other than humans. Which in the long run means they’re not really human-friendly improvements either.

“Howdy, Stranger”

It wasn’t until I was practically on my way out of Millennium that I found my crows.

There were some adjustments to be made. Has it been so long since we had peanuts that we can’t remember how to carry more than one at a time to a cache location?

Eventually I was joined by a few Black-Capped Chickadees, and almost out of the park I located the Northern Cardinals I heard earlier but they were not interested in becoming visible. Maybe they’re waiting for snow because they know it makes a better picture.

I think I will stay inside most of today. The sunshine does a good job on the indoor crowd, we all feel a bit more possible. Maybe I can post an update of the indoor birds’ status for the new year.

Happy New Year and Thank You to All Who Visit, Read, Follow, Comment, and Fly By my blog – Who ever thought we’d see a year called 2015? This is pretty amazing. 🙂

Unexpected at the Portage

Posted on September 29, 2014 by Lisa Rest

Gray Catbird managing to pose nicely but hiding its rufous undertail coverts

After hours spent slaving over a hot laptop (not really, just metaphorically speaking), I am still not entirely finished processing last weekend’s photographs, and there are some from this weekend as well… but the last two visits to the Chicago Portage, last Sunday and yesterday late morning after attending the Douglas Park walk, about which I hope to do my next post, produced surprises.

Nothing was as surprising as seeing Wild Turkeys on the gravel path yesterday. Even more surprising was the fact that they did not dash off, but rather seemed to keep their slow, cautious pace, as if they were new here and checking out the place. I suspect they are the same turkeys I saw last summer by the railroad track bed.

The remainder of the photographs here are from last Sunday, the 21st. I am not sure if I realized when I took the pictures of the Canada Geese that three of them very obviously had neck bands, I was so busy paying attention to No. 63B harrassing No. 68B. I have to look up the Fish and Wildlife Service webpage to see if these geese are reportable.

Canada Geese with neckbands

Last weekend I finally got a chance to see a few Ruby-Throated Hummingbirds in the gobs of Jewel Weed. Surprisingly they were not far from the south side entrance to the preserve, where I normally hardly see anything. The light was poor so I was not able to get anything sharper or more representative than what is below. I haven’t been able to catch the few hummers that have found my feeders either.

Ruby-Throated Hummingbird

Below is a Chestnut-Sided Warbler looking nothing like its spring version.

The turkeys always remind me of Joe Hutto and his book, Illumination in the Flatwoods, upon which the film “My Life As A Turkey” was based.

Somewhere over the last few days my eyes grazed past an article I have not yet read, in the New York Times: “When Blogging Becomes a Slog.” Maybe I’m afraid to read it. However, there’s apparently an entire whole industry devoted to the phenomenon. I am not burned out on the blog yet, but it has become harder to find the time to devote to it, so I apologize if my posts are getting to be less frequent than twice a week. I am still trying to figure out how to balance life and the new work situation, and now the choir commitment. But I will keep coming back here because in some small way, it’s good for the birds, and I realized years ago that what’s good for the birds is good for me.

“Rare” Late Migrants!

Posted on November 8, 2013 by Lisa Rest

Gray Catbird

Yesterday on my way in to the office I stopped by 155 N. Wacker Drive, as usual, to visit with the White-Throated Sparrows, see if the Hermit Thrush was still around… and to my surprise, a Gray Catbird jumped right out onto the cement edge of the elevated berm, looked me in the eye, and took off for the trees hugging the brick building. Whenever birds fly to those trees I can hardly ever see them and give up on any thoughts of getting pictures.

I heard the Hermit Thrush but did not see it. Incidentally, I hope to record this sound some day because this year is the first time I’ve become aware of it with Hermit Thrushes: it’s a whirry call that almost sounds like a purr, which I first identified by process of elimination a few weeks ago when I found a Hermit Thrush in my yard, then later checked on my Bird Tunes app and confirmed it.

So yesterday morning I figured I had a list of birds to submit to ebird and was not surprised when I had to write in the Gray Catbird. But I was later asked to prove it, at least by description if not a picture, and since I didn’t have a picture, I thought well, maybe I should go back and to see if it was still around on my lunch hour.

White-Throated Sparrow

The White-Throated Sparrows were happy to see me again, and I stood still almost at the edge of the sidewalk so they would not feel pressured by me and my camera. While I was waiting to see who else might show up, the Hermit Thrush dashed out below me.

Hermit Thrush

And then the Catbird came out – cautiously at first – but then got used to me and let me get several pictures in the ever-darkening light. The clouds were moving in fast yesterday afternoon!

Just amazed to stand there and visit with the birdies, alone except for one woman sitting off to the side with her cell phone and cigarette.

And then suddenly I saw a Lincoln’s Sparrow and I knew this was probably going to be another rare sighting.

Lincoln’s Sparrow

The funny thing about the Lincoln’s was after I had taken several pictures of him, he flew up into the tree to my left to give me a better view. Or to check me out, or to say thank you, because by now I had scattered some more bird seed. It was the least I could do for such a cooperative bunch.

When I got back to the office I submitted another ebird report and I had to justify the Lincoln’s Sparrow because yes, it too was a rare sighting at this date. And then last night at the suggestion of the submission monitor, I discovered how to embed photos into my ebird reports, so I added the two rare sightings to support my observations. Now I feel like a citizen scientist…

Lincoln’s Sparrow

Hard to let go of the locals just yet. But a picture is still worth a 1,000 words, heh.

Sunday at the Portage

Posted on October 8, 2013 by Lisa Rest

Black-Capped Chickadee

After two days getting up before 4:00 a.m., it was wonderful sleeping in somewhat Sunday morning before going over to the Portage. I had no expectations, I only wanted to go out and explore. Perhaps that is the best thing about going to a place you know well: you are always primed for surprises. I started walking in slowly around 8:30. Mine was the only car in the parking lot, so I had the entire place to myself. And it was quiet.

I was not surprised to see Wood Ducks, indeed they have been there every time, but it was special to see the young drakes in their new grownup plumage.

The surprise was seeing two young raccoons behind them.

I managed to get a picture of one.

The last few visits to the Portage have been scarce on woodpecker sightings even though I knew they were always there…so it was nice to see this Red-Bellied Woodpecker.

Through a break in the trees, a Red-Tailed Hawk was visible, perched on a bare limb over the water.

Red-Tailed Hawk

While I was trying to photograph the Magnolia Warbler below…

Magnolia Warbler

a Winter Wren caught my eye. It’s always a surprise to see a Winter Wren. Especially after I had given up trying to find the Carolina Wren who was singing earlier.

Winter Wren

Downy Woodpeckers are always plentiful, but this one was busily drilling at eye level.

And not all the Gray Catbirds have left.

Heavy rainfall the night before filled the bottomland with water.

A lone Canada Goose was by the water near the Wood Ducks, standing on one foot

while many more flew overhead.

The most unusual sighting did not produce great pictures, but there were enough to identify a Northern Parula. My ebird sighting was questioned because I had to add this bird to the list; I did not dare add it until I was sure I had pictorial proof.

There was no shortage of Yellow-Rumped Warblers. Indeed, they were everywhere, although none were as photogenic as the week before. But I caught this one skipping across the duckweed.

The change of seasons renders the Portage a magical place.

Tri-County Revisited

Posted on July 20, 2013 by Lisa Rest

Barn Swallow

Here are a few more pictures from two weeks ago that I never got around to. Like the one above, where the Barn Swallows were close to the bridge, but I was not tall enough to take a complete picture. (Age creeps up slowly until you notice… I don’t feel shorter, but certain things are suddenly out of reach!)

I did get a shot of a couple nestlings in their shelter mud nest.

This Gray Catbird could not have picked a less colorful background…

Gray Catbird

or the Mourning Dove below. A lot of gray tones going on here. But the morning light gives the dove its pinkish color anyway.

Mourning Dove

I confess I am presently too lazy to figure out this wildflower. If you know this blossom, please chime in.

Wildflower

Widow Skimmers are pretty common, though. Enough to be readily identified.

Male Widow Skimmer Dragonfly

Then there was the Red-Winged Blackbird that took on the Red-Tailed Hawk.

The hawk was not happy.

Click on the pictures if you want to see them larger (I just figured out how to do this, it’s only been 2 years).

Even this Tree Swallow, which is normally quite blue-looking, looks gray here as it naps.

Tree Swallow taking a nap

To make identification of Empidonax flycatchers easier on us, ebird allows us to check off “Willow-Alder” instead of making it definitely one or the other. While I heard a Willow and I believe this is probably a Willow, I’m not so sure because I did not see it in conjunction with hearing its call.

Willow-Alder Flycatcher

And the most noble gray bird is also blue…and always a welcome sight.

Great Blue Heron

More to come from the field soon. I also have some recordings coming up. But tomorrow’s early rise calls.

Filling in the Blanks

Posted on June 18, 2013 by Lisa Rest

Green Heron

Somehow I managed to talk myself into getting up early both Saturday and Sunday this past weekend. Both days began on the cloudy side, with Saturday turning into rain by 10 a.m. But I finally saw some birds I had missed so far this season. Both Green Herons were at the Portage, for instance.

Flickr IMG_2961_1

Last weekend the woodpeckers eluded me, but this time I had the Northern Flicker above, in addition to Red-Bellied Woodpeckers, Downies and a Hairy.

Juvenile Robin

Some juvenile Robins are starting to forage on their own. And there were at least four Gray Catbirds on territories. Below is one of them.

Gray Catbird IMG_2785_1

This juvenile Red-Winged Blackbird sitting on one of the foot bridges was scolded furiously by her dad as I approached.

RWBB Child IMG_2890_1

Wood Ducklings revealed…

Wood Duck ducklings

Finally, the mirage I saw last weekend emerged. It was indeed a scurrying flotilla of Wood Ducklings. There are seven of them, and when they dart around en masse they look like a strange 7-headed creature.

Wood Duck IMG_2864_1

Above, mama Wood Duck.

Song Sparrow

Again, the same silent Song Sparrow. Maybe it’s a she.

Snapping Turtle IMG_3037_1

Still plenty of water on both sides of this path, when I caught the Snapping Turtle crossing.

Snapping Turtle IMG_3041_1

And a beaver going about his business.

Beaver IMG_3053_1

And Southwest Airlines flying over…

Sunday it was grassland birds at Plum Creek Forest Preserve, way down at the southern tip of Cook County, organized by Chicago Ornithological Society. The birds were often too far away to photograph, but we were surrounded by Dickcissels and Henslow’s Sparrows.

Dickcissel IMG_3118_1

The Indigo Bunting below was interesting from the standpoint of his plumage. I don’t know if he was a juvenile or more likely somewhat leucistic, since his song sounded adult.

Indigo Bunting IMG_3100_1

Always a delight to see a Great Crested Flycatcher.

Great Crested Flycatcher

And the only Henslow’s Sparrow of the seven or eight we heard who dared show himself was still buried in the grasses, for all practical purposes. Others ventured closer to him but I chose to hang back; Henslows nest on the ground, and I didn’t want to disturb anybody.

Henslow IMG_3171_1

I leave you with a shrug from one of the Green Herons who had just about had enough of sitting still for so long.

Green Heron Stretch IMG_2939_1

I’ll try to shorten the space between posts. If I can stay awake long enough. 🙂

Meanwhile Back at the Portage

Posted on June 12, 2013 by Lisa Rest

White-Tailed Deer

I visited the Chicago Portage on Sunday. Not as early as I wished, but I went out Saturday night and couldn’t get up before dawn. While I suspected by 8:00 a.m. I missed quite a bit not being there at sunrise, it was still nice to hear a lot of birds and even see a few now and then. The surprises were more the omissions: only a few Canada Geese flying over, no ducklings or goslings, not one Mourning Dove, no raptors. Yet the place was brimming with life. The deer came closer to the lens than most of the birds.

Cedar Waxwing

Cedar Waxwings often appear in flocks. But this was the only one I saw.

Tree Swallow

This Tree Swallow let me take his picture while he caught a breath in between sallies for insects.

Song Sparrow

This Song Sparrow was… not singing.

Gray Catbird

But this Catbird was. Actually, the song clip below is from another Gray Catbird that serenaded me but never showed his face.

Everything is so green, including the carpet of duck weed, after all the rain.

Chicago Portage IMG_2468_1

Painted Turtles were sunning themselves here and there.

Painted Turtles

Deadly Nightshade, also known as Beladonna, is in full bloom. I pull a lot of this stuff out of my yard every year, even if the bumblebees seems to like its pretty flowers.

Deadly Nightshade and the Bumblebee

Most cooperative was this beautiful damselfly, an Ebony Jewelwing.

Ebony Jewelwing

I start out counting Red-Winged Blackbirds and then give up. It’s impossible to tell if this is the same one I heard over there..I estimated the entire preserve had about 40 total.

RWBB IMG_2456_1

And below is a fledgling Red-Winged Blackbird, stuck on a dry spot, waiting to see what happens next.

RWBB Fledgling IMG_2606_1

I might not have seen the Green Heron below if a Red-Winged Blackbird had not chased him into this tree.

Green Heron

This sole female Mallard Duck looks like she’s got a secret. Maybe I’ll see ducklings on my next visit.

Female Mallard IMG_2658_1

Portage IMG_2643_1

It’s hard to believe this little preserve, sandwiched in between the Chicago Metropolitan Water District, railroad tracks and an Interstate, has room for young deer.

WT Deer IMG_2605_1

WT Deer Young Buck IMG_2618_1

A female and a young buck, just beginning to grow antlers. Growing season for everything.

More Chicago Visitors – Lake Shore East Park

Posted on May 23, 2013 by Lisa Rest

The parade of colorful birds continues…

Magnolia Warbler, May 15, 2013

Unfortunately, I have had so much to do lately I have not been swimming (which makes me crabby) and I have not been blogging (which makes me feel guilty).

Gray Catbird

So I am taking a short break from my sorry state of affairs and going back in time about a week, the day before the St. Louis trip to be exact, to share some images from Lake Shore East Park, the new bird oasis.

Lincoln’s Sparrow

I try to take pictures every workday, starting at Union Station and 155 North Wacker Drive on my way in to the office, and then going to Lake Shore East Park on my lunch hour (and working late to make up for my lingering).

Common Yellowthroat

On the day the picture above was taken, I counted 12 male Common Yellowthroats in the park – they were everywhere. Such a dilemma: “Oh no, not another Yellowthroat.”

Magnolia Warbler

There were several Magnolia Warblers too. Above, a beautiful female.

American Redstart

The American Redstarts have been downright exhibitionists lately. This adult male gave me several photographs to choose from.

White-Crowned Sparrow

And my last image for now is a White-Crowned Sparrow. I have still heard them singing a bit too. They have a lovely, distinctive song, and if I find I have a recording of one I’ll add it later.

This is probably my last post until I return from the Chicago Ornithological Society trip this weekend, which has the Kirtland’s Warbler as its theme. I hope to see the Kirtland’s and a lot of other birds I don’t normally see, like Common Ravens! 🙂

City Visitors…Part Two

Posted on May 11, 2013 by Lisa Rest

Ovenbird

The Chicago Loop migrant watch continues. There was a lone Gray Catbird at 155 North Wacker Thursday morning, but yesterday he was gone. Mostly the last couple days I have been enchanted solely by Ovenbirds at the train station and Lake Shore East Park. However many times I have seen them downtown before, they never cease to bring a smile to my face. The one above was at Lake Shore East Park yesterday afternoon, blown about by blustery, cold north winds. Hey, it’s only May…!

What I don’t understand is why small birds I have never seen before seem to want to engage, interact, communicate with me on some level, once they have gotten over the fact that I am paying attention to them. Perhaps they are just curious, as I am. Why would I be bothering to pay attention to another species when all those other big clumsy humans milling by noisily never notice?

Lake Shore East Park IMG_5848_1

Lake Shore East Park IMG_5847_1

Above, a couple views of Lake Shore East Park from the street level before I descend down the steps to get to it. I’ve decided the steps are good exercise and I can already feel a slight difference in agility and strength. The crumbs you hang onto with age!

Northern Waterthrush

The only other warbler since the Kentucky last week is a Northern Waterthrush, who was still there yesterday, when I counted two Ovenbirds, one Waterthrush, about 37 White-Throated Sparrows and maybe 10 White-Crowned Sparrows. I didn’t see the Red-Breasted Nuthatch that’s been hanging out in the pine trees, though he might still be there. Not to mention that he was barely visible last time I saw him, below.

Red-Breasted Nuthatch

Here’s one of the White-Crowned Sparrows.

White-Crowned Sparrow

And I will never, ever be done taking photographs of White-Throated Sparrows. They seem to be clamoring for their own post soon.

White-Throated Sparrow

The white blossoms blown off the trees yesterday reminding me of snow, combined with the frigid temperatures. To get back to warmer thoughts, here are a couple more Ovenbird photos.

Ovenbird IMG_5882_1

Ovenbird IMG_6674_1

Think Spring!

Goldbird Variations

Why Birds Sing in Key with Music, or how I finally put perfect pitch to use.

Tag Archives: Gray Catbird

City Visitors, or Where the Birds Are

Baby, It’s Cold Outside

Unexpected at the Portage

“Rare” Late Migrants!

Sunday at the Portage

Tri-County Revisited

Filling in the Blanks

Meanwhile Back at the Portage

More Chicago Visitors – Lake Shore East Park

City Visitors…Part Two