Following the River

Posted on September 28, 2025 by Lisa Rest

I haven’t seen an Osprey lately, which makes me wonder if they have left. Despite the fact that it still feels like summer around here, the days are getting shorter and migrating birds have schedules to meet, even in confusing weather. While I have been obsessed with the short spurt of warbler migration we have had the past couple weeks, I am taking a little break from those sightings with this post from September 12 near Riverside.

I first saw a Great Egret dancing across from the Hofmann Tower, near the wall left by the old dam. The river has been getting lower and lower, and the forecast for rain over the next ten days is nearly nonexistent.

Also that day, I spotted a Killdeer on the rocks.

I took one more look at the Great Egret before I crossed the street to walk along the river.

On the paved trail, I took note of a spider web and a Monarch Butterfly on boneset

A Great Blue Heron was fishing nearby.

A Common Grackle stood out from his perch.

I encountered another Great Egret in the river.

And then, the Osprey came looking for a meal.

I took several shots as the Osprey soared backlit against the clouds, but I am publishing just these two. The one below marks that incredible 63-inch wing span.

Crossing the swinging bridge, I took the view gazing north around the bend in the river.

There’s always a Mourning Dove or two by the swinging bridge, but that day there were several.

In Riverside Lawn, I saw a Gray-cheeked Thrush.

A Chipmunk also posed for me.

And a flower I did not recognize – it may be a Wingstem. The leaf looks particularly unusual.

Without anything else of note happening in Riverside Lawn, I was back at the Hofmann Tower, talking to my friend Gregory who sometimes fishes there, when first I saw a juvenile Great Blue Heron.

And then, the Osprey came in for some wonderful acrobatics. This time, the light was perfect. Unfortunately for the Osprey, as much as I appreciated the show, there was nothing for it to catch.

I have seen an Osprey on the river once or twice since, but this one day when little else was happening was a real treat and I wanted to share it with you before I return to confusing fall warblers. I will be back in Riverside tomorrow morning, as much as I dread seeing the river as it ebbs even lower. Some people mention they have never seen it this low. At home, I am grateful for my rain barrels which allow me to water my chiles and refill the birdbaths two or three times a day.

‘Round Riverside

Posted on May 24, 2025 by Lisa Rest

Just when I think I’m going to get caught up with all the photos I’ve taken in the last few days, let alone weeks, I go out and take more photos and, well, the rest will be history. I’m going to try one day at a time here. How about May 19?

Swallows are back on the river. There was a profusion of Barn Swallows that day, more than I have seen in a long time. But there were also Northern Rough-winged, Tree and Bank Swallows.

I was lucky to find a couple perched young Barn Swallows. They were a shot of welcome color on a gray day.

Ring-billed gulls were busy looking for prey in the shallow river.

The gull below looks like a Herring Gull.

I encountered a pair of Baltimore Orioles on the ground in the midst of a courtship display

I caught a brief glimpse of a Brown Thrasher. The camera didn’t do it justice.

After hearing about Wilson’s Warblers from other people, I finally found one.

I kept seeing Swainson’s and Gray-cheeked Thrushes that morning and found quite a bit of variation in the photos.

I took note of a Common Grackle. These birds have been hanging out on the shoreline.

The thrush below is a Gray-cheeked Thrush.

I did see one rather distant Indigo Bunting. I hear them more often than I see them at this location.

Red-eyed Vireos have been everywhere and they are singing.

A Blue Jay with nesting material posed for me, a rather uncommon occurrence.

An Eastern Phoebe was blending in with all the gray.

I am always hearing Song Sparrows but I don’t always see them. This little guy wanted me to pay attention to him.

Brown-headed Cowbirds are here and there. I am not seeing lek-like groups of males anymore.

The bird below is a Gray-cheeked Thrush. The last photo of the bird standing on the ground is a different individual but also a Gray-cheeked.

I was quite surprised to find a Wood Thrush hiding in my photos.

I glanced behind me out toward the river and saw a Great Blue Heron being monitored by a Red-winged Blackbird.

I think the light or the lack thereof was playing tricks on me that morning.

After having gone quite a while without seeing any warblers, I found a couple. Below is a male Yellow Warbler. I often hear these birds singing but they’re getting harder to find.

The warbler below is a first-summer male American Redstart.

Too much cooperation will yield too many photos. This was such a nice, colorful individual.

At the end of the trail, I found a male Magnolia Warbler.

I will be back sooner, I hope. The frantic pace of spring migration is winding down, and concurrently, so are the demands of my social life. I have a little more time before I start working in the garden. Somewhat frustrated, I have been battling a virus that seems to be going around. I don’t feel so bad, it hasn’t kept me from birding, swimming, or even singing – although maybe I should have abandoned the latter activity – but it’s just a real messy wet cough and beyond that, I can’t smell what I’m cooking. It’s also been surprising to me how many birders I know who have had the same thing, so it almost feels inevitable, even for somebody like me who thinks she doesn’t get sick. I’m sleeping well, I have enough energy, and I am gradually getting better. It looks like a nice weekend – a bit on the cool side, but at least we have sunshine. Choir season is over, so I can quit trying to sing for a while and just get over it. Thanks for checking in.

II. Riverside Last Monday

Posted on September 24, 2024 by Lisa Rest

After Thatcher Woods last Monday, I stopped by Riverside to get caught up with more fall migrants. I’m taking advantage of some well-needed rain this morning and trying to catch up with last week, because this week got off to an even birdier start yesterday. But I digress.

After parking in my usual spot by the Hofmann Tower, I photographed a lone Rock Pigeon standing on the railing overlooking the river. It’s wearing two bands.

Then, off the Joliet Avenue bridge, a Killdeer approached. The drought exposed the rocky sometime-island where these birds love to forage – and blend in.

There were a few warblers around the bend off the paved trail by Swan Pond. I first spotted a busy Blackpoll Warbler.

American Robins don’t often grab my attention long enough.

Then I started to see an American Redstart scaling a tree trunk. I’ve see a lot of this behavior this migration season. This looks like a female.

Nashville Warblers have been hard to capture, especially when they are foraging low in messy flowers like this Boneset.

A Gray-cheeked Thrush was on the path before me with a very dried-out earthworm. I think this was on the shortcut that goes from the paved trail to the lawn leading up to the library.

After crossing the Swinging Bridge and walking into Riverside Lawn, I caught a glimpse of a Great Egret through the trees, standing in the middle of the river.

As I started through, I noticed a Black-and-White Warbler.

Black-capped Chickadees don’t often offer themselves up for photos, but when they do, they are entertaining little birds, always friendly.

I spotted a Magnolia Warbler in the hackberry leaves.

Here’s another female American Redstart.

The most subtle and confounding warblers could be Black-throated Blue females. I hope that’s what this is. I think it’s easier in the spring when they are sporting their little white “handkerchiefs” on their wings.

I could almost talk myself into thinking the bird below is an Orange-crowned Warbler, but the undertail coverts are white, so that can’t be.

More American Redstarts appear. The females seem to be abundant now.

And here’s the last Magnolia Warbler I was able to photograph.

A more distinctive-looking Blackpoll Warbler – perhaps.

And another.

Here’s a Bay-breasted Warbler.

I feel like I have seen more Gray-cheeked Thrushes this fall than ever.

And last but not least, the first-year male American Redstart who is also at the top of this post.

Now I will have the luxury of taking these photos off my hard drive. The craziness continues, but I suspect not for too much longer. We cooled off considerably on Sunday with some rain, and it looks like we are going to stay in pleasantly seasonal fall temperatures for the coming week. Millions upon millions of birds flew over Cook County the last couple evenings, according to Cornell’s Birdcast. I was lucky yesterday to have encountered several along the river, just one week after this visit. I’ll be back!

Sparrows and More at the Portage

Posted on October 16, 2023 by Lisa Rest

The prospect of rain cleared away Sunday morning and the sun was shining. In contrast, this morning was cloudy and drizzly. It seems fitting to do a short post about my Sunday visit to the Chicago Portage, seeing as how there’s always more from before.

I caught up with Bob S. and we walked the trail looking for activity. Yellow-rumped Warblers were reliably located by the Harlem Avenue bridge.

It was a while before more birds appeared.

We caught up with a lot of birds feasting in the marshy area. There were several Nashville Warblers.

There were also plenty of American Goldfinches.

I started trying to capture distant birds to identify later. Below is most of a Song Sparrow. I also found a Lincoln’s Sparrow in my photos but the lighting and distance made it unsuitable for any representation here.

I was quite surprised to find an American Tree Sparrow, my first of the season.

There was an unmistakable male Eastern Towhee perched across the water. He or someone like him eventually flew right in front of us, but I was unable to get a clear photo as he disappeared behind leaves.

Another distant bird that we first thought was a wren because of its tail sticking up turned out to be a Swamp Sparrow.

Also across the water close to the shore were a Song Sparrow and a White-throated Sparrow.

There was a nearby Downy Woodpecker.

The third barely identifiable warbler was a Tennessee Warbler.

I have been seeing both kinglet species – Ruby-crowned and Golden-crowned – off and on over the past week or two. There weren’t very many available Sunday, but this Ruby-crowned was easy to see.

An Eastern Wood-Pewee sat still for a long time and I am sure I took too many photos.

The last bird to reveal itself was in the shadows and at first difficult to photograph. It turned out to e a Gray-cheeked Thrush. For as many of this species as I have seen this fall, on Sunday its presence turned out to be rare for the lateness of the date,

Three more photos below, of the Gray-cheeked getting ready to fly and then taking off…

Tomorrow’s forecast includes a little sunshine, so I should be able to walk with the camera and see who shows up. It’s fall. Chilly, windy, brisk, leaves falling. We seem to have had all the right conditions for fall color. Leaves resembling birds and vice versa.

A Little Migration Music, Please

Posted on September 15, 2023 by Lisa Rest

After seeing some fall warblers here and there, things remained slow until the middle of last week when a cold front finally pushed through. I had hoped to be more timely with this post but I’ve been busier than I thought.

At the Portage on Tuesday, September 5, things were still slow, with most of the birds being nearly too far away to photograph except for identification purposes. Still there were a few. Like this Tennessee Warbler.

American Redstarts are often hard to capture. Most have been females or first-year males.

Bay-breasted Warblers showed up early and persisted.

Another Bay-breasted Warbler, acting more like any old bird in that it wasn’t busy looking for insects but instead sat perched on a dead tree over the marsh. The next few photos were taken from somewhat far away, as I stood on the bridge closest to Harlem Avenue.

Not a warbler, but an American Goldfinch in the same tree

Back on the trail, I was trying for everything.

It’s always exciting to see an Osprey fly over. This one was carrying its prey, but it was too far away to get a good enough look at what it was.

A Downy Woodpecker and a Song Sparrow shared the same dead bush.

Ruby-throated Hummingbirds seem a bit more relaxed lately.

Below is perhaps the last time I saw an Indigo Bunting. This is either a female or an immature male.

A few Red-winged Blackbirds were still around.

And some American Crows flew over.

On the 7th, just two days later, the cold front ushered in more birds.

Below is a female American Redstart.

Black-and-White Warblers are easy to identify.

There were a couple Blackburnian Warblers. The warbler at the top of the post is also a Blackburnian.

Magnolia Warblers were in the flock.

I barely captured the Golden-winged Warbler below.

Tennessee Warblers really blend into the green leaves.

Below is a distant Cape May Warbler.

Then there were all those other birds. Red-eyed Vireos were also present.

American Goldfinches are busy now that there are a lot of seeds available.

I caught a couple views of a goldfinch family.

There was a Great-crested Flycatcher.

And a few Red-winged Blackbirds…

Gray-cheeked Thrushes have been abundant. The first picture below might be a bit confusing as it suggests a Swainson’s Thrush if you go with the somewhat more-prominent eye-ring, but its face has that more pinched look of a Gray-cheeked to me.

This was just the beginning. Earlier this week brought more warblers to my lens. I hope to be back a lot sooner with those photos. For now, I’m getting up early to “lead” a walk at Columbus Park tomorrow morning. It seems likely to be difficult birding. The last couple days have been rather slow. The forecast is for cloudy and cool. Then on Sunday, the forecast is for rain all morning. So it might not be too birdy a weekend… But the show must go on.

Another Day in May

Posted on June 5, 2023 by Lisa Rest

Here are photos from May 15 in Riverside. It was another beautiful for day for warblers, several thrushes and yes, Common Grackles. The Grackles remain for the summer. People kid me about the Grackles but I think they are beautiful birds in their iridescence. And I’m trying to stay on their good side so maybe they won’t rain acorns on me like they did last fall.

These photos are arranged pretty much in the order that I took them. So my first warbler was a Chestnut-sided Warbler.

It got a good if distant look at an Eastern Phoebe.

Below is a Swainson’s Thrush.

The Scarlet Tanagers were in town that week and I had to obey.

The photo below of a Palm Warbler intrigues me particularly because of the green catkins on the walnut tree.

And now for the star of the show that day. It’s always a joy to find a beautiful male Blackburnian Warbler in the spring.

I have seen more Gray-cheeked Thrushes this year than I have in a long time.

I encountered a singing White-crowned Sparrow. I was only able to capture a snippet of his song in the video below the photographs, but I love it, it always sounds a little jazzy to me with its syncopation.

Here’s another Palm Warbler.

I have heard about the snakes that like to warm up in the sunshine on the riverbank, but I had never seen or been able to capture them with a quick photo until that day. I believe they were Common Watersnakes.

I had a few brief looks at a female American Redstart.

I was particularly happy to see and hear a Canada Warbler.

This Swainson’s Thrush picked a lovely fallen log close to the river’s edge.

I never ignore Magnolia Warblers

I don’t think I’ve ever seen the view below before.

Chipmunks are back in full force.

A nice-looking Yellow-rumped (Myrtle) Warbler showed up to remind me that Magnolias are not the only black-white-and-yellow option

I found a fairly friendly White-throated Sparrow.

I think I have seen more Veerys this year too.

House Wrens are Everywhere. Rarely so easy to see as this one, but they sing almost constantly to let you know they’re there. This one wasn’t singing, however!

Gray Catbirds can be a reclusive bunch too.

Yes, another Gray-cheeked Thrush.

I try not to take our year-round red birds for granted…

I was very pleased to find a Lincoln’s Sparrow.

The second male Magnolia Warbler that posed was also singing. I barely managed a snippet of his song in the video below. By the way, I’m doing the videos almost more for the sound recording which is much clearer than what I get with my phone’s voice recorder.

Lastly, I was very happy to find a somewhat reclusive Wood Thrush.

Here’s another shot of the Common Grackle at the beginning of the post, showing off a variety of colors.

Oh there is so much more to report. I will return with something a little more current before I wade through any more photos from the peak of migration.

We have cooled off a little bit, but it’s still too dry. The next promise of precipitation is Sunday morning. I may have to go to church. A song we sang during the pandemic, written by Jan Garrett and JD Martin, “I Dreamed of Rain”, has come back to haunt me.

My Reward for Taking Too Many Pictures

Posted on October 20, 2021 by Lisa Rest

I went to the Riverside trail on October 15. It was extremely cloudy and I had no idea what I could muster photographically under such conditions. I walked as far as I was going to go in one direction along the river and then turned back, and found a very green-looking warbler foraging low in front of me. When I got home to review my photographs, I could not for the life of me figure out what it was. I could only surmise what it wasn’t. The pale-looking eyebrow, the darker green primaries didn’t fit the Orange-crowned Warblers I was used to seeing.

After a good night’s sleep it occurred to me that perhaps the way to approach the bird’s identity was to look closely at the bill shape and size. Color and feather arrangement might seem changeable in a photograph but the bill shape would be constant. And that led me to thinking this was a Mourning Warbler.

As it turned out, when I opened my copy of The Warbler Guide, I found one small photograph that exactly matched my bird. She is a first-year female Mourning Warbler. I was excited as it has been years since I’ve seen a Mourning Warbler altogether. I added some of my photos to my ebird report and made the email-generated Cook County Rare Bird Alert (“RBA”) – I guess she’s a little late making her way south.

A distant Northern Flicker accented the cloudy background.

I have really become familiar with Orange-crowned Warblers this fall. And while I’m looking at bill size and shape, this species has a distinctly small, sharply-pointed bill. Some photos of an Orange-crowned Warbler are below.

For comparison, below are some more photographs of the Mourning Warbler.

Fall is a good time for woodpeckers.

Fall is also a good time for squirrels and nuts…

I have really enjoyed seeing Great Blue Herons here.

And Great Egrets were present too.

Only Mallards are showing up in the waterfowl department.

There are always some Northern Cardinals but this was not a good day to capture one.

The other bird that made the RBA was the Gray-cheeked Thrush below.

Golden-crowned Kinglets have been fun to follow the past couple weeks.

The river looks a little fuller than it did. I envision being unable to do this trail when we start getting a lot of rain…

Here are a few more photographs of the Orange-crowned Warbler who was my best model.

Below is a female House Finch.

I thought the Great Blue Heron against the clouds was worth capturing.

One more of a Northern Flicker…

I have been back to the Riverside trail twice since this cloudy day. We are finally starting to cool off. This morning the Great Egrets were all gone. To be continued… but now, I need to get ready for choir rehearsal.

A Walk in the Neighborhood

Posted on October 11, 2021 by Lisa Rest

There’s a huge park in Berwyn — it takes up several blocks! — that I always thought was much farther away than it actually is. I have not been walking as much as I used to the past five years, and definitely feel the need to get out and walk without having to drive somewhere first. So I walked over to Proksa Park a couple times last month and found a few birds to photograph. The round trip is about three-and-a-half miles which only half a mile less than the total mileage I used to walk every day when I worked closer to the lakefront.

I was happy to see a crow flying over on my first visit. I keep hoping to see more crows at home.

There are a lot of native plants and you can always count on American Goldfinches to take advantage of them.

The park has some nice water features that attract Mallards.

And the occasional heron, like this Great Blue Heron in the distance on my first visit.

Spacious, paved paths for walking and running…

I saw a few Magnolia Warblers here as I did almost everywhere last month.

And an American Redstart or two.

Below is a Blackpoll Warbler.

I almost forgot this lovely Gray-Cheeked Thrush. I have corrected the identification thanks to Vera’s comment – I thought it was a Gray-Cheeked to begin with but it was late and I was tired (or that’s my excuse for now). The heavy spotting gives it away and I don’t think the eye-ring is Swainsony enough.

This is a very pleasant destination and I will be visiting off and on throughout the year when I feel like getting out for a good walk.

We just had a downpour, with more rain to come. This is very welcome indeed since I have been removing plants and planting new ones around the yard and the house. We are long overdue for a good soaking. I’ll have to check the river later in the week and see if it made any difference.

More Portage Warblers and Friends

Posted on September 20, 2021 by Lisa Rest

I’m taking advantage of the rainy forecast – we’re not getting much rain yet but it is quite cloudy and we could get more. I needed a morning off from birding anyway as my left foot was complaining about something of unknown origin yesterday. It’s better this morning, but I’ll defer the walking part of my day and swim a mile in the pool later this evening.

These photographs are from my second visit to the Portage now almost two weeks ago – on September 8th. The clear skies gave way to intense light which made for some interesting contrasts when I found a cooperative Black-throated Green Warbler.

I found it hard to resist taking one photo of my favorite shelf fungus which is conveniently located close to the trail.

Two-year male American Redstarts have been few and far between and avoiding me, but I sort of managed a furtive representation of this one. The first-year males have been plentiful, but I think that’s a female below as the flank color isn’t quite orangey enough.

I have seen a good number of Blackpoll Warblers this fall, like the one below.

Here’s one of my favorite combinations – Canada Goldenrod and Boneset seem to have an affinity for each other. A closeup of the Boneset is below.

Here’s a European Starling in the Pokeweed berries.

I had a nice look at a light morph Red-tailed Hawk.

Certain birds tend to stand out and the number of Eastern Wood-Pewees I have seen well fall into this category.

Swainson’s Thrushes have been everywhere. Period. But sometimes they look like Gray-Cheeked Thrushes and vice versa…

This looks like a Gray-Cheeked Thrush to me.

Here’s what the Des Plaines River looked like two weeks ago – it’s even lower now.

Red-eyed Vireos were abundant.

Maybe – just maybe – the bird below was a Wilson’s Warbler. Sadly, I have no other views of it. I am still trying to codify warbler colors. This looks like Wilson’s Warbler Yellow to me.

The Portage colors match the birds.

There was a Canada Warbler that day.

And American Robins are so ubiquitous that when one stands out, I sometimes have to capture it. The bird below looks to be very young and quite curious.

It’s been a rewarding fall migration season so far for me, albeit tucked away in my location limits. Eventually I will have to go down to the lakefront and other places a little more far-flung but for the moment I feel like I am enjoying my morning outings around here.

Two Visits to an Old New Place

Posted on September 18, 2021 by Lisa Rest

Thanks to a dog walker I met twice last week… I visited a new-for-me place which has been in my backyard, so to speak, all along. I had been meaning to check out the Riverwalk on the Lyons side of the Des Plaines but never realized the other side had a park along the river called Indian Gardens. Many thanks to Ken the architect from Riverside who told me about it. It’s actually closer to home than the Portage, even, by about a couple minutes.

These pictures are from two days’ visits. I parked on the Lyons side and then walked across the bridge and through the Indian Gardens park. I didn’t venture past the tennis courts the first day, but on the second day I walked through them and found where there is an “unmanaged” trail along the river where I will be going more often.

The Lyons side has a fantastic Hoffman Tower which provides a place to hang out for a sizable number of feral pigeons. It occurred to me that I hadn’t seen a flock of pigeons in flight for quite some time.

Blue Jays seem to be everywhere lately. They’re carrying on noisily and are even sometimes visible.

Time to get your fill of Magnolia Warbler photographs because I just barely saw one the last couple days – I think they have moved on, after dominating the warbler migration scene for two weeks. You can click on any of these pictures to get a better view.

Monarch Butterflies are still migrating here and there.

There are a lot of Northern Cardinals at this location, but they are more often heard than seen. I did manage to capture a few females, though. I’ve never seen one capture an insect – it looks like a grasshopper. And then the one perched in a tree with its leaves already turning – she nearly blends in.

It’s absolutely wonderful to see the Great Egrets – even if it’s mainly due to the fact that we haven’t had any substantive rain for at least a couple weeks and it’s been hot, so the middle of the Des Plaines River is very low – perfect for waders.

There were 4 Great Egrets on my last visit – only 3 visible in this photograph

Gray Catbirds have evaded my lens nearly all summer and now they are getting bolder as they prepare to fly south. The young bird amongst all the dead leaves was right at my feet on the Lyons side.

Canada Geese are moving around and I always love to see them in flight.

Not as many Great Blue Herons as Great Egrets but they are also taking advantage of the shallow river.

On occasion, a Double-Crested Cormorant. Since they are divers, I can’t imagine this bird was too happy with the shallow water situation.

European Starlings are not in huge flocks like they were several years ago. Here’s a few staked out on a dead tree.

I was delighted to see a Belted Kingfisher fly by noisily on my second visit, as I crossed the bridge.

A sneaky closer view of this Great Egret.

Below is a busy Blackpoll Warbler, blending in with the leaves.

An American Robin – I liked its perch choice

I saw the Osprey on both visits. On my second visit, just as I discovered the access point to the trail closer to the river, I inadvertently disturbed the Osprey – it was perched in a large tree right past the trail head, until I approached – so I will be more careful to look for it before I venture forth next time. The bird flew across the river to perch on the tree below. It was quite something to have a bird with a 63″ wingspan take off right over my head.

I was happy to find a Canada Warbler and took advantage of its willingness to stick around for several shots, albeit at a distance. This looks like a first year bird, with a faint necklace.

I was trying to capture the Gray-Cheeked Thrush below and was photo-bombed by a Magnolia Warbler.

I thought it would be easy to combine all these photos into one post but it seems I have overshot my limit again.

Many more photos to come – if I can keep up with it. I have to get used to my new routine, while it lasts anyway. I have a feeling I will be delving into the archives over the winter months playing catch-up. This morning started off cool and cloudy at Columbus Park where we had a scheduled walk. We didn’t see very many birds and those that we did were not easy to capture in low light. I feel like I’ve been given the rest of the morning off to finish this post.

Goldbird Variations

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

Tag Archives: Gray-Cheeked Thrush