Tag Archives: Great Blue Heron

Great Egrets on the Des Plaines

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I had two days on the Des Plaines River last week with a lot of Great Egret action. First, on August 29, I counted a total of 23 Great Egrets. There were 19 south of the Hofmann Tower and I found 4 more fishing along the river as I walked. It wasn’t possible to get all 19 of the first group in a decent photograph, but here’s a look at 8 of them at once.

A Great Blue Heron was also present.

But the Egrets stole the show.

There were also a couple Mallards and a Mourning Dove.

This Great Egret flew over me.

An Osprey was hunting on the river that day, too.

On my way out of Riverside Lawn where not much was happening, I saw a Swainson’s Thrush.

Two days later on the 31st, Egrets were still present, but there were fewer of them. There’s also a Great Blue Heron farthest left in the tree shot below.

By the Hofmann Tower, one Great Egret was closer.

I noticed a lone turtle.

Then a Great Egret came flying down the river.

As I walked along the paved trail in Riverside, a Northern Flicker caught my eye and I had some unusual views.

I found only one Cedar Waxwing perched pretty far away.

A juvenile Song Sparrow caught my eye.

Back on the River, a Double-crested Cormorant took off.

A group of six young-looking Mallards were still together. I think I recall them as ducklings.

A Great Egret north of the swinging bridge struck a pose, and then started flying around.

For butterflies, I saw a Cabbage White and Pearl Crescent.

Here’s one more Great Egret flying by…

Fall warblers have begun showing up a bit more regularly the last few days. I will try to be back soon with photos of some of them. Tomorrow morning, Henry will be leading his first walk of the season in Columbus Park, and I suspect there will be many more birds to see. I will be trying to get my lens on them. There are still a lot of leaves on the trees, but it will be less windy than it was today.

Two Walks at Thatcher Woods

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Here’s a roundup of the birds I was able to photograph on two visits a month apart. The first was on April 26, and the second just this past Saturday, May 24. There will be one more organized walk at Thatcher this Thursday morning with Henry leading and if I can manage to get up before dawn, I will attend. Here are my photos, starting with last Saturday and a couple high-foraging warblers across the water by the Trailside Museum. A very large number of participants showed up for this walk after we received some publicity in the local Oak Park newspaper, and eventually we broke off into more manageable groups but that meant we didn’t all see the same birds.

Bay-breasted Warbler

I managed to capture the back of a Blue Jay.

A Canada Goose family was on board.

I barely managed to get images to identify this Blackburnian Warbler.

We crossed the street over to the woods and walked along the road, but saw very few birds. By the time we reached the grass where often birds can be seen along the edge of the woods, we started seeing a few species, such as this well-hidden Northern House Wren.

A male Eastern Bluebird was here and there. The female was present for a moment too but I didn’t get a good enough photograph.

Then, much like the edge of the lawn at Columbus Park the week before, we had another flycatcher extravaganza. They were all quite far away, so even with my big lens, some of these photos are unmercifully blown up and cropped.

Easern Wood-Pewee

We saw several Willow Flycatchers. Two had a brief disagreement.

We had a couple Olive-sided Flycatchers. We only see these during migration.

Eastern Kingbirds can be seen all summer, and they are mercifully easy to identify.

Eastern Kingbirds

I captured a Warbling Vireo in the mix.

I eventually added what i think is an Alder Flycatcher to the list.

And I caught a Great-crested Flycatcher in flight. It appears to be a young bird.

We were treated to several views of a young Red-tailed Hawk.

A White-breasted Nuthatch showed up for good measure.

At the end of the walk we were treated to a pair of Hairy Woodpeckers. The male was very vocal.

On April 26, we were treated to good looks of the Great Blue Heron that often hangs out by the Trailside Museum. It had caught a catfish but I was too late to get a good photo of that potential action shot.

We also had wonderful views of a Red-shouldered Hawk.

We also had a Great-crested Flycatcher that morning.

There was a Spotted Sandpiper foraging on the shore.

Back out on the grassy area we found a male Eastern Bluebird.

Ruby-crowned Kinglets are gone now, but we were still seeing them a month ago.

And there was a Red-headed Woodpecker although, between the lack of good light and branches in the way, I could only manage a half-baked photo.

There was also a Red-tailed Hawk present.

One of the last birds we saw well was the Red-bellied Woodpecker below. This photo and the individual in it are noteworthy for the fact that you can actually see the “red” belly.

And Brown Creepers such as the one below were more prevalent a month ago. I haven’t seen one for a couple weeks.

Blue-gray Gnatcatchers like the individual at the top of the post were a lot easier to see without leaves on the trees.

Here’s one more of the Great Blue Heron in flight.

I’m likely to be short on narrative for a few more posts as I don’t want to get in the way of so many photos. I haven’t seen as many birds the last couple days, and we are settling down to breeding season, which means most birds have gone where they intend to stay. I have many more birds to share with you and I’ll try to be back as soon as possible.

Two Days in May

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I kept trying to get caught up with April, but it’s already May and there are more birds showing up despite some really chilly, windy weather. The other thing is the days keep getting longer and yet there aren’t enough hours in one day. But I can stay inside today after singing two services with the choir this morning, and take some time to recap the last two days of birding before they too become ancient history.

Yesterday morning, the Oak Park Area Migration Bird Walkers (that is such a mouthful, but I think this is the Official Name) met at Columbus Park. It was chilly and partly cloudy, but we found birds. Here are a few photos of some of the birds we saw.

As we stood on the lawn looking over the larger water area, the Great Blue Heron at the top of this post flew in for a landing. Its choice of location was too close to a pair of nesting Red-winged Blackbirds, and I caught some of the action as the male blackbird tried to get the heron to relocate.

I then captured the top photo and the one below as the heron left for another location.

We saw a few Tree Swallows. They were easier to capture perched. I suspect they weren’t catching much for taking so many breaks.

While we saw Palm Warblers in numbers, it took a while before we started to see a few other species across one of the tributaries of landscape architect Jens Jensen’s “Prairie River.” As birds were foraging around near the bank, it was nice to see a male Black-throated Blue Warbler in particular.

A male Common Yellowthroat was more difficult to see.

There were a few Yellow Warblers. Although we heard some singing, I believe the bird below is the first female Yellow Warbler I have seen this season.

Blue-gray Gnatcatchers were showing off for us.

And we heard and saw at least two individual male Baltimore Orioles.

Here’s a token Palm Warbler.

I noticed a singing Warbling Vireo.

A pair of Canada Geese swam by with goslings in tow.

Toward the end of the walk, we got some furtive glimpses of a Cape May Warbler.

I will team up again with the Oak Park group in two weeks. As for now, looking back to Friday morning in Riverside, my walk was pretty tame but eventually rewarding. It only takes one unexpected sighting to make my day. Starting off more predictably, I got close views of a Mourning Dove and a Common Grackle.

As I walked on the paved Swan Pond trail, a Yellow-rumped Warbler was busy trying to catch bugs.

A Pine Warbler sang and sat rather still.

A sidewalk Chipping Sparrow appeared.

I saw a Hermit Thrush after a while.

After I crossed the river and started walking in Riverside Lawn, I was pleased to see a Great Egret across the river and a Double-crested Cormorant as it flew by.

Then suddenly, almost out of nowhere, my surprise bird showed up: a female Ruby-throated Hummingbird. She appeared to have some nesting material in her bill.

I caught a glimpse of a Nashville Warbler, and then the Nashville with a Tennessee Warbler. I didn’t realize I had captured the Tennessee until I developed my photos.

I expect things to get much crazier in the days ahead. That said, yesterday morning around 6:00 AM I was delighted to see one, and then another, beautiful, healthy-looking opossum in my backyard. I went back inside the house to grab the camera and the opossums apparently felt safe enough hanging out by the fence while I took their pictures. You can barely see the second opossum on the left of the third photo.

I know I always say this, but I will try to be back soon with some older photos before I whisk them away to make room for more spring migration.

Riverside Recents

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As the drought continues, with fall migration and everything slowing down along the river, like elsewhere, the search for birds amidst the changing leaves has become a little less frantic. But there are still birds to see. Here are the highlights, if you will, from three recent visits.

On October 18, a bird that rarely makes it into my photos insisted on having his picture taken.

House Sparrow

An unmistakable Red-tailed Hawk flew into a tree.

Mallard Green is a popular color this season.

Yellow-rumped Warblers were less frequent.

White-throated Sparrows are filling in.

On October 21, two Great Blue Herons were back on the river. The one below hangs out near the Hofmann Tower.

I was on the Swan Pond side of the river when I spotted a Red-tailed Hawk perched in a tree with its back toward me.

Then a surprise visit of Eastern Bluebirds occurred when they flew into the willows near the paved trail. I have missed seeing these birds all year, so this was a special treat.

An American Goldfinch tried to distract me.

There were a couple female or younger Eastern Bluebirds like the one below.

Eastern Bluebird and Brown Creeper

A Brown Creeper crept up a tree.

I spotted a Golden-crowned Kinglet in the willows.

Mallards in the river were navigating rapids created by the shallow water.

A younger Great Blue Heron has been hanging out at the bend in the river by the library.

Two photos of the swinging bridge framed by some autumn colors.

Northern Cardinals are a little easier to see these days.

A Yellow-rumped Warbler I had been checking out flew toward me.

Yellow-rumped Warbler

An American Robin sat still for me when I was unable to get clear photos of a Hermit Thrush.

I checked back with the Hofmann Tower Great Blue Heron again.

On October 23rd, the Hofmann Tower Great Blue Heron nearly faded into the rocks.

The water in the river was even lower that day.

I saw an American Robin and a Red-winged Blackbird among a few others, but it was less birdy in Riverside Lawn that morning.

One more look at the Great Blue Heron by the Hofmann Tower. There’s lots more to come. We did get some rain Thursday night to tide us over, and there’s more in the forecast for this Thursday and next week. It’s been a busy week and I’m looking forward to a little down time. Oh yes, and Halloween, of course.

The River Recedes – Part Two

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On August 9 there didn’t seem to be a lot going on. But it was reassuring to see the Great Blue Heron in a likely spot opposite the Hofmann Tower. The previous high water level had covered the rocky island in greenery.

The Rock Pigeons were doing their flight drills. They seem to be roosting under the Joliet Avenue bridge where it’s cooler than sitting on top of the Hofmann Tower.

A few Canada Geese and Mallards were hanging out on the rocks.

I started walking the paved trail along the river and saw a young House Sparrow.

There was not much else until I reached the swinging bridge. There, I saw another Great Blue Heron bathing in the shallow water.

I barely spotted a Warbling Vireo.

And then, as I stood on the bridge, an Osprey started flying over the river.

As I took photos, the Osprey saw me and decided to play with me by flying overhead.

With the Osprey gone, I looked over toward the Great Blue Heron again. The water was barely knee-deep.

In Riverside Lawn, insects were enjoying the sunshine.

A wasp on some boneset.

A sole Monarch Butterfly captured my attention by being extremely cooperative.

A Blue Dasher Dragonfly also waited patiently to be photographed.

And then, I obliged a Blue-frojnted Dancer damselfly for good measure. They always seem to be begging for attention.

A fawn appeared briefly.

The last couple days, fall migrants have begun to show up here and there. I’ve been to a couple different places as well. Anything could happen here.

Prelude to the Deep Freeze

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It’s snowing this evening, as I write this. I stepped outside to bring in bird feeders from the backyard earlier, and the humidity made it feel pleasantly warm. But we are plunging into cold tomorrow (the high will be 30 degrees Fahrenheit) and will continue to plummet to single digits by next Friday if the forecast is credible.

I was working on a lovely, bright, colorful post of a lot of birds seen on September 1 that I never got around to sharing, but decided to postpone that just a little longer because this morning, after disappointing outings all week, I went to the Chicago Portage, expecting to see nothing but up for the walk before my scheduled grocery run, and I was pleasantly surprised by a few birds beyond any expectations.

The first surprise: I heard, and then saw, a male Belted Kingfisher over the water. I can’t remember the last time I saw this bird here. More usually I see Kingfishers over by the Des Plaines River.

Things were looking a lot like this, at best, when I finally found most of the passerine flock just beyond the hill and the opening in the fence. The birds were pretty far away and it was hard to find them, let alone focus, in such poor light.

American Goldfinch
American Tree Sparrow

But then another surprise was seeing this Ruby-crowned Kinglet foraging on the ground to the left of the trail. I apologize for the lack of clarity in some of the photos, but the best ones I got were when the bird had its back to me. Of course.

Dark-eyed Juncos outnumbered every other species, but were hard to capture. I might have gotten some more photos except for a man walking through with his dog. Predictably the flock scattered to some unknown location and I never saw it again.

Enjoying the open water after yesterday’s rain were several Mallards.

And there were Canada Geese as well. No surprise there.

I was heading back out of the inside trail in my usual fashion, not expecting to see anything, and paused to look over the water. That was when I saw a distant Great Blue Heron. Surprise number 3! It won’t take long for the water to freeze the next day or two, so I don’t expect to see another one of these birds for quite a while.

I won’t know until tomorrow morning whether I want to walk in Riverside before I go swimming. But I am getting mentally ready for a long, cold but convivial Christmas Bird Count on Saturday by the Fox River. Sunday will be even colder, but the sun will be shining. I will be indoors singing in the choir. There are more sunny days in the forecast – but even colder. Glad I still have some earlier, warmer-looking photos to revive.

More Birds on the River

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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.

(A Little) Riverside in July

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I visited Riverside only twice in July, specifically July 7 and July 20. I’m not exactly sure why I made it to this near location only twice last month, except that when I look at my “drivel” which is a monthly accumulation of journaling, it seems I thought about it often enough. Perhaps it had more to do with the weather – did it rain the night before, was it particularly hot? – or other things that come up and compel me to action or inaction.

There were not a lot of birds on either occasion, but I managed some interesting captures anyway. The light on the 7th was full of stark contrasts. The pose of the Great Blue Heron below intrigued me as he emerged from a dark background.

When I moved and took his photo again through some vegetation he appeared a bit brighter and still looked as if he was laughing or trying to say something. Maybe he was just hot.

Later, a Great Egret was also available for a distant pose.

There were some Common Grackles on the shore. This may have been the last time I saw them.

House Sparrows rarely pose for a picture, so when this one posed, I obliged.

I don’t remember exactly when we had the big storm that knocked down the trees but it was back in June. In any event, a couple large logs remain on the trail. I am able to scale the one below, and the other one is now a walk-around, unless the river gets really high as the detour runs very close to the water.

There has been a Mallard hen and her ducklings tucked into one of the little inlets by the Riverside Lawn trail and I have been monitoring their progress. Here’s what some of them looked like on the 7th.

Red-winged Blackbirds were scarce. I barely recognized the darker one.

But it was a good day for turtles.

This was not the most beautiful background for an Eastern Comma Butterfly, but I took its picture anyway. I’m just happy to see any butterflies these days.

On the 20th, a Great Blue Heron was present again. The water levels were low that day.

I counted three Great Blue Herons that morning. The one below is fond of this spot on the Indian Gardens side of the river.

It was another day of bright and dark contrasts.

Brown-headed Cowbirds

This White-tailed Deer was in the tall grass close to the paved walk in Riverside.

The shallow water left a raised area out near the middle of the river where it turns a corner, and there was a lone Killdeer foraging in the mud.

There are usually a few Mourning Doves near the foot bridge…

Mourning Doves

A view from the foot bridge yielded distant birds standing in the shallow water.

Canada Geese were lounging on another rocky raised area.

And at the end of my walk, a Mallard, still a bit wet, was walking out of the water.

As of this morning, I have been to Riverside four times already this month and have seen more birds, so I hope to be back soon with more photos. And as long as my knee holds up and the weather is nice, I will continue to go out every morning. Because you never know what you may see.

McGinnis Magic

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I went to McGinnis Slough yesterday morning. It’s been on my mind for a week, and since there isn’t a lot of trail on the east side by LaGrange Road, I decided I could manage it with my knee, which I later took to the pool for a therapeutic swim. The Slough, of course, looks more like a bog.

But it was good to be somewhere else for a change and at first I didn’t see very much. There was a nice Eastern Kingbird. This seems to be the bird of the week.

The Rose Mallow is in full bloom. I always look forward to seeing this.

There was a beautiful Great Black Wasp on some Queen Anne’s Lace.

Walking north toward the overlook of the slough, I saw two Eastern Kingbirds in the Elderberry.

And there was an obligatory Rabbit.

There are usually a lot of dragonflies here but it was cool and a bit overcast so I only managed to capture this Blue Dasher Dragonfly and a Blue Fronted Dancer Damselfly, species I have been seeing all summer.

There seemed to be what looked like Evening Primrose all over the place. I used to have some in my yard years ago.

There was virtually nothing to see without a scope over the slough, and I could barely make out seven or eight Great Egrets, but that was a sign of things to come.

As I walked back south along the trail that follows some nearby open water, such as it is, I encountered a few delightful House Finches. They appeared to be juveniles and as curious about me as I was about them.

And then, through the tall grass, I saw a Great Egret perched on top of a branch of a fallen log that I have seen other birds on before.

As I tried to capture the Great Egret clearly through the grass, I noticed something else. Lo and behold, two Trumpeter Swans and their three Cygnets. I saw this configuration last year, but it must have been earlier because the Cygnets were much smaller. It’s good to see these three have survived to this age.

It then became evident that the Wood Ducks were hanging out on their favorite fallen log nearby.

Here’s a closer cropped image of the transforming male in the tree above.

But that’s not all that was going on. There was a Great Blue Heron behind all the ducks.

I was back there for some time, and not terribly far away from the birds, but I guess they felt safe behind all that grass that got in the way of my photos.

Then at some point another Great Blue Heron flew over, squawking somewhat vociferously,

There wasn’t too much to look at in the rest of the open water, but this little group was nice.

2 Mallards and 2 Wood Ducks

On my way out, as I stopped to look at something in a tree, I noticed there were three Great Egrets perched in another tree which reminded me of how this place used to look years ago when there were scores of them.

Needless to say I was restored by my encounter with these birds. And then swimming made it a nearly perfect day as I was able to work on my knee without injuring it further. I’m trying everything. Exercise, different shoes, whatever. It’s encouraging. Then I celebrated by getting my second Covid-19 booster, figuring it was probably a good idea to get it done before choir rehearsals start soon. The booster has left me feeling a little down, but I guess that means I needed it. Who knows? Everything is a gamble these days. Playing fast and loose with an ice pack on the futon.

Riverside Walks

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I hadn’t walked around Riverside for a while so I took a walk Monday while it was still comfortable to be outside. There were lots of Canada Geese and only a few Mallards but I was happy to see the hen below with her two ducklings. I admit I cropped dad out of the picture.

It was also nice to see herons on the water. There were two Great Egrets but they were quite distant, so I photographed only one. I also saw one Great Blue Heron. The water level is so low they are standing in the middle of the river.

I was reminded of the storm the week before, both by the paved walk and later on the Riverside Lawn trail where I had to negotiate three downed trees.

I love the spotty plumage on young American Robins like the one below.

The damselfly treat of the day was a Blue-fronted Dancer.

I often see Common Grackles in the rocks by the river. This is a female.

Almost two weeks earlier, on June 8, I visited Riverside and the first bird I saw was a Cliff Swallow sitting on the wire for quite a while. I don’t see this species very often.

It was a cloudy day. and it was much cooler as well. Again, a Common Grackle caught my eye, this time, a male.

It seemed unusual to see a feral Rock Pigeon on the riverbank.

Canada Geese were in the river. Nothing unusual about that.

There was this little family taking a walk.

I struggled to see and photograph Killdeer that day. They blend in well with the rocks by the former Hoffman Dam.

Here are the first photos I took, literally just pointing the camera in the direction I was hearing the Killdeer.

At some point there was a Turkey Vulture being chased by a Red-winged Blackbird. I love to see the vultures in flight, they are so graceful. A series of several photos is below.

I managed to capture a Baltimore Oriole that day. The photo opportunities have decreased since nesting season has taken over everything.

Here’s one more of the Cliff Swallow.

There were a number of Variable Dancers on the Riverside Lawn trail. They are very tiny,

Summer is official now and hot weather is baked in, so to speak. I have a busy agenda this week and heading into July with the possibility of a house guest for a couple weeks, so my posts may be a little scattered or scatterbrained, but after all it is summertime. Hope you are enjoying the longer days and staying cool enough, wherever you are.