Even though it’s not a great photograph, I am leading off this post from McGinnis Slough on July 17 with this rather rare sighting of two Trumpeter Swans and their three Cygnets. While one can normally count on seeing the swans, albeit from a great distance way on the other side of the slough, the largest part of the slough has virtually no open water, so the swans moved to the small portion of water that is closer to LaGrange Road. I saw them through the tall grasses and reeds that grow close to the trail. I posted close-ups of the adults in March of 2019 when there was excessive flooding which enticed them to check out what this side of the slough was like. Here’s a link to that post. https://wordpress.com/post/musicbirdblog.com/21280
Below are two photos of what the larger body of water looks like without much water in it. If the swans nested in their traditional location, I wonder how difficult it was to move the kids all the way across this marsh.
I heard more birds than I saw. The Marsh Wrens are always frustrating to me this time of year. I hope to start going back next weekend as fall migration approaches, and maybe I’ll get luckier. In the meantime, below are some more photos of the swan family. They were joined briefly by a Wood Duck.
Butterflies are not in great numbers, and I missed seeing the dragonflies I would expect to see. But it’s always nice to see a beautiful Monarch.
Below you might be able to see the Great Black (Digger) Wasps on the Red Milkweed along with the butterfly.
Northern Crescents seem to be everywhere this summer. They are very tiny but colorful so they stand out.
Here’s a new wildflower discovery for me. It’s called Self-Heal or prunella vulgaris.
A little more water…but no birds in it.
There were a few Great Blue Herons – which I managed to capture off and on.
And it’s bunny rabbit season…
I am trying to stay grounded but it’s hard. I am in limbo, shuffling work, my envisioned future without the stress of it, and the shape-shifting present we all share. Swimming, music and the birds will keep me going. I have had enough of the summer heat and look forward to spending more time outside. Fall migration will begin soon, and with it I will be leading several Saturday bird walks. I dream of visiting more places once with my weekdays are free.
Thanks for stopping by, I treasure your interest and support!
We had quite a bit of rain and it was welcome. We also had a couple very cool nights. The water level in the river improved, even if the trees still appeared a bit dried out. I went to the Portage on July 3rd to see what the birds were up to. Perhaps the most welcome sighting was of two Ruby-throated Hummingbirds arguing over some Red Beebalm a/k/a monarda didyma that I had never noticed blooming at the Portage before. Indeed, I was drawn to the color first before realizing there were hummingbirds in it.
Des Plaines River
So below is a little series of what photos I was able to get. Unfortunately the bright light was not favorable to capturing the male’s gorget but it was still fun to watch the hummers. The second bird sitting in the plant was perhaps a young male…
It was getting a bit hot and humid, if I recall, so the Red-winged Blackbirds were relaxing.
And after what seemed like months of never seeing or hearing a Downy Woodpecker, they are visible again.
The Goldfinch below is heavily cropped – it was sitting quite far away. I’m beginning to think all I need is a new prescription. I finally made an eye-doctor appointment. Anyway, bright sunshine helped in this case.
And a rabbit trying to hide…
While I am happy to see Monarch Butterflies, I never see more than one at a time. This makes me very sad, to be on the verge of losing them altogether.
I generally hear a White-breasted Nuthatch every time I go, but this is one of the first I have seen in a while. It was busy scratching an itch…
Come to think of it, I hardly ever see more than one butterfly of any species these days except for Cabbage Whites…
Silvery Checkerspot
I am splitting this up into two posts because as usual I have entirely too many photographs. It was such a nice day after all the unpredictable weather and hectic social schedule made weekend birding iffy. I shall return with Part 2 shortly.
I was quite surprised to see this visitor through my kitchen window about a week ago. I have seen an occasional leucistic American Robin but never in my yard. It was a one-time experience. Since it was preoccupied with its preening in my dying Staghorn Sumac tree, I managed to take too many photographs.
Also through the window in unsatisfactory light I did manage to see a Downy Woodpecker exchanging food with its likely offspring. There are two suet feeders hanging off the Sumac and they are star attractions for the woodpeckers and House Sparrows who have been feeding suet to their youngsters as well.
Worth mentioning, perhaps, is the fact that in spite of all the Brown-headed Cowbirds in the yard earlier this year, I haven’t seen any overgrown fledglings.
Meanwhile, in the front yard, pollinators have been busy. Visiting butterflies were a special treat. The series is of a Spicebush Swallowtail on a Purple Coneflower
Monarch Butterfly on the Common Milkweed
This is all for today. As always I hope to return soon…
After groveling about making the long drive all the way up to McHenry County around Memorial Day, I went back on July 5th to celebrate my birthday and then again on July 25th. Needless to say now I’m getting used to the drive and the trail and I may have a hard time staying away before October which is when I plan to go back for Sandhill Cranes that purportedly congregate in the fallow farm fields.
I feel like I could start giving some of the individual birds names, like the Willow Flycatcher at the top of the post. I even heard a confirming “fitz-bew” on the last Saturday.
Yellow-headed Blackbird (female)
Yellow-headed Blackbird (male)
I expected to see more Yellow-headed Blackbirds. On the fifth, the males were really too far away for decent photographs, but I did get to see a female close to the observation deck. I went back on the 25th because I wanted to see many juveniles like I did years ago, but I couldn’t find one Yellow-headed Blackbird anywhere. I must have just missed them. But that’s okay, because I saw some other interesting birds, and it’s just so peaceful to be there. In fact on the second visit when I got there, I had the whole place to myself. I didn’t stay long though because it was very hot.
Pied-billed Grebe
I found the Gallinule below in my photographs from both visits. This is a great place to go if you carry a spotting scope. But I don’t have the energy to carry a scope and a telephoto lens. Perhaps I should rethink my philosophy of cutting corners. For instance, the combination of two visits in this blog post – it’s becoming evident as I write it that it’s entirely too long.
Common Gallinule
I did see a pair of Sandhill Cranes on each visit. I have not seen any with offspring, which is a bit disappointing.
Sandhill Cranes
Another “only in my photos” discovery – a last Black Tern seen on the 5th. Well, my camera saw it.
Black Tern
Here’s the turtle covered with duck weed that appeared in the background of one of the Yellow-headed Blackbird photos above. If you click on the pictures you can see how the duck weed makes it look like something from another planet.
There are still a lot of Red-winged Blackbirds here and everywhere. They are in no hurry to leave, I suppose, because they won’t have so far to go in the fall.
Red-winged Blackbirds (mostly juveniles)
Not a Red-winged Blackbird but a juvenile Cedar Waxwing
I was hoping I would find a Yellow-headed Blackbird when I blew this up but it turned out to be a Red-winged Blackbird. That’s okay, it’s kind of nice to see the feather pattern, albeit faded. Below the photo, two different Red-winged calls I heard on these visits.
A Killdeer in flight…
The “other” blackbird – Brown-headed Cowbirds.
Dragonflies like this place.
On both occasions there were swallows, but in particular on the 25th there seemed to be a lot of them. It was nice to see the Bank Swallows – I don’t see them very often.
Barn Swallow
Bank Swallow
The Song Sparrow below was on the 5th. There are two more individuals further down the post whose songs I recorded and put underneath their photographs.
This Yellow Warbler was the last one I saw, on the 5th.
Yellow Warbler
I am quite sure this is probably the same Great Blue Heron, although the photos are from both occasions.
I always seem to startle this Great Egret, which must have been right by the viewing platform as I approached.
A Green Heron flew by twice on the 25th.
Here’s Song Sparrow No. 1 and Song Sparrow No. 2. Song Sparrows reportedly have thousands of songs so it’s not unusual that they were singing different tunes…
And another singer I was happy to record – and manage to photograph, as they are often elusive in the marsh – a Marsh Wren.
My most cooperative subject at this location has been a Willow Flycatcher.
Willow Flycatcher
There were a couple distant Wild Turkeys hanging out not far from the Sandhills on the 25th.
Always happy to see a Monarch Butterfly… – I stand corrected. The two on the left are Viceroys!
I think it might be a ground squirrel on the left… there are holes on the trail that look perfect for a ground squirrel. But they could both be Chipmunks…
I found this feather interesting on my walk back to the car on the 25th. I thought it might belong to a hawk or a turkey, even, but none of the extensive feather identification webpages have given me the answer. My first thought was a crow, actually. Maybe I should go with that…
My reward for showing up on the later visit was to see these two Black-crowned Night-Herons arrive and perch not far from the viewing platform. One is an adult, and the other a juvenile.
Black-crowned Night-Herons (adult and juvenile)
Many thanks for making it to the end of this long post. As hot as it was a week and a half ago, as I finish writing this, we have dropped down into fall-like temperatures for a couple days. A reminder. I suppose, that nothing stays the same, as if I needed it. No, honestly, it’s absolutely delightful to have the windows open: I feel less confined and it’s delightful. Stay safe and I will see you again soon in another post. 🙂
When I came home from the Portage on the 4th, I found the female American Goldfinch above and some butterflies enjoying the front yard. The Common Milkweed was blooming with its heavy perfume. The blossoms are all gone by now and it’s moving on to seed pods.
The little girl below (female Ruby-throated Hummingbird) was visiting the hummingbird feeder hanging on my front porch, where I was sitting with my camera. She took offense to the camera and landed in a nearby tree where I got this shot and the one below.
One morning when I was out walking before work, as I approached my house, I saw her checking out each of my neighbors’ porch fronts to see if they had feeders hanging. Smart little bird. I like her logic. Unfortunately, my neighbors don’t have feeders on their porches.
There have been a few butterflies, individuals of different species.
