Tag Archives: House Wren

Singing at the Chicago Portage

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Baltimore Oriole

Baltimore Oriole

The usual disclaimer: this will be a short post because I am still going through pictures and there’s not enough time to get it all together. Having said that I would have posted this a lot earlier if I did not run into a snag with my no-longer-free audio editing program. Below is thia Baltimore Oriole’s song.

Yesterday morning was eventually beautiful, although it started out a tad windy and chilly. I haven’t been to the Chicago Portage for a couple weeks and feel responsible for reporting its inhabitants, so that was my destination. The first bird I heard as I crossed the south bridge was an Indigo Bunting. Below is his picture and his song.

Indigo Bunting

Indigo Bunting

A little farther down the path, I heard a House Wren singing, and eventually located him high up in a tree, blending in with the branches of a trees that hasn’t leafed out yet. There is also a Red-Winged Blackbird singing on this clip, but the House Wren is the chattery one in between.

House Wren

House Wren

Portage 5-18-14.jpg-2273

The Portage itself had a dreamy, sleepy look to it, and in the moments planes weren’t flying over and I could forget the traffic noise, time stopped, I joined the alternate reality, and nothing else mattered. I had no ultimate goal but to observe. This is the real reason to spend time in nature, in my book.

There were several Indigo Buntings on site and a while later, I encountered another whose color shone in just the right light.

Indigo Bunting

Indigo Bunting

A lot of trees have come down at the Portage and I am curious how it has affected breeding birds. I could find no trace of the Green Herons or Great-Crested Flycatchers I am used to seeing. But this is the second time in a month I have seen a Great Blue Heron and an Osprey. They are such large birds I suspect the Portage is probably just an adjunct to Ottawa Trail Woods and the Des Plaines River next door. But it’s still exciting to see them.

GBHE Portage 5-18-14.jpg-2328

Osprey

Osprey

The turtles are still in place.Portage 5-18-14.jpg-2250

I was originally going to cover much more in this post, as a lot more happened and there were quite a few more birds – busy birds – yesterday. I will try to return with another installment soon.

Baltimore Oriole

Baltimore Oriole

 

Once upon a Wren

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Carolina Wren

Carolina Wren

Actually this is thrice upon a wren. Last Sunday I visited the Chicago Portage, and although I did not see the Carolina Wren, it sang three beautiful songs for me that I was fortunate to capture. The picture above is from two weeks before, the last time I saw him. Here are his three songs (second clip has two songs):

Winter Wren

Winter Wren

I also was lucky enough to hear (and briefly see) a Winter Wren. This is a bird whose song I have wanted to hear for a long time. Now I can hardly wait to hear it again. The picture above is not the same winter wren, only the last picture of one I could find easily. It’s hard to believe such a tiny bird can make so much music.

House Wren

House Wren

Forward one week to yesterday. I could not access the Portage because of flooding, but I did manage to visit Ottawa Trail Woods North where I heard and saw this House Wren. Maybe he’d been up all night with the weather, but he managed to sing and show his face.

I have already noticed one thing in the field. When I stop to record, it’s as if I suddenly become part of the environment. The birds almost seem to lose their fear and start appearing from everywhere. I suppose the simple explanation is that I am not moving, but I can be very still without recording and it does not produce the same results. Maybe I am more relaxed than watchful, or attentive in a way that only birds could respond to. I suspect they know I am listening to them and they prefer that sort of attention to gawking at them! Whatever it is, it’s pretty amazing.

Summer Sunday

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Well, I was writing this post, and just as I added another picture I lost the whole thing, so let me start over. I think I started out by saying I can’t believe it’s July already, although we’ve had July-like weather for weeks.

Trumpeter Swans and a Great Blue Heron

I went to McGinnis Slough early this morning, just to see how the habitat and the birds were faring with the drought and the heat. The water level is so low, the Trumpeter Swans that are usually way over on the far side were in what is now the middle of the slough, so I was able to get some sort of picture even though they were still far away. I think I like the reflection in the water about this shot, and the fact that they had the Great Blue Heron between them.

Barn Swallow

When I first ventured from the parking lot, this juvenile Barn Swallow was waiting to be fed by a parent. Unfortunately I wasn’t fast enough to get that shot as the parent swooped in to drop off a bug and kept going.

Cedar Waxwings

Also found these Cedar Waxwing kids holed up in a nearby tree.

Walking down the mowed path in either direction summoned deer flies, which I was forever swatting. I wished I was a horse with a tail I could switch at them (in which case then I would have called them horse flies). Stopping along the way was prohibited.

Great Blue Herons

I saw easily 30 or more Great Blue Herons, most of them in the water, although these two are in the trees. The only Great Egret I found was in a tree also. Normally when the water level is higher, I have seen what seemed like hundreds of Great Egrets at McGinnis. I suppose that could still happen, summer has a long way to go.

Great Egret

Herring Gull

There were a lot of Caspian Terns but they weren’t close enough for a picture, unlike this Herring Gull.

Marsh Wren

My reward for enduring the heat this morning was getting to see a Marsh Wren singing. I heard at least 10 of these guys in the grasses along the path, but hearing Marsh Wrens is always easier than seeing.

House Wren

I stopped at the Portage on my way home. Here’s a House Wren for comparison.

And now a word of thanks to all who follow this blog! I apologize for not responding immediately to your likes and comments. At the same time, it occurs to me this blog is almost one year old. So I guess my “new year’s” resolution is to try to be a more conscientious blogger.

And to remember to save every draft so I don’t have to start over!

Breeding birds at the Chicago Portage

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Young Rabbit

I dropped by the Portage early this morning trying to beat the heat – we went up to 97 degrees today. After I was greeted by this rabbit, I saw 39 species. Not remarkable, but not bad given the strange weather we’ve been having. There has been no rain lately, so the water level is way down at the Portage and the nearby Des Plaines River.

But breeding birds have returned, and I managed to get some pictures of a few. Almost from the very beginning I heard Red-Bellied Woodpeckers calling, so perhaps it was inevitable that one would be available for a photograph.

Red-Bellied Woodpecker

The House Wrens are back in full force too.

House Wren

A female Wood Duck sat on a log with her seven ducklings. I imagine the youngest was staying closest to mama.

A Great Blue Heron flew over faster than I could get its likeness clearly. But down below, one of the two Green Herons that I have seen here every summer was trying to stay cool.

Green Heron

Indigo Buntings were singing everywhere, and doing their best to elude the camera. Here’s one not completely hidden.

Male Indigo Bunting

I have been awaiting the return of Cedar Waxwings.

Cedar Waxwings

Song Sparrows are on their territories, singing, of course.

Song Sparrow

It’s sad when I think of this beautiful Yellow Warbler…

Yellow Warbler

being a favorite prey species of the female Brown-Headed Cowbird. Cowbirds lay their eggs in other birds’ nests so the other birds can raise them, often at the peril of their own offspring. Note how this Cowbird matched the twig she’s behind so well, it looks like part of her.

Female Brown-Headed Cowbird

On my way out I stopped on the north bridge, where I saw the other Green Heron in the distance, but my attention was drawn to two Great-Crested Flycatchers setting up housekeeping. Look carefully and you can see the male sitting below left and the female hanging out from a cavity at the right of the frame.

Great-Crested Flycatchers

The male flycatcher remained on lookout while his mate investigated the cavity in the dead tree for nesting possibilities.

Great-Crested Flycatcher