Tag Archives: Osprey

More Lakes to Look At

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Onward to small lakes in northern Cook County. On April 4, we joined a Chicago Ornithological Society outing to five small lakes off the Des Plaines River. Beginning at Axehead Lake, we saw more Common Loons, Lesser Scaup, some Bufflehead.

At Lake Opeka, we saw an interesting Common Loon that was not in breeding plumage.

A Double-crested Cormorant flew by.

And so did an Osprey, eventually. It’s always exciting to see the return of these birds.

And a Great Blue Heron swept by my lens. On the return trip, it was carrying a fish.

In the woods, we found a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker.

And Yellow-rumped Warblers were just starting to appear.

The big surprise was seeing a Greater White-fronted Goose at Beck Lake. It’s a bit smaller than a Canada Goose. We rarely see this bird.

I couldn’t resist this flotilla of Red-breasted Mergansers.

Onward to Busse Woods, with more lakes on April 11. I can hardly believe I have managed to ignore all these wonderfully birdy places in Cook County. And there are so many more… A singing Song Sparrow welcomed us that morning.

Red-breasted Mergansers were a little closer, then later, I forget what flushed a lot of them but I was happy to document their take-off.

We saw Horned Grebes in breeding plumage both days, but with better light and closer views, they were really spectacular looking here. The bird at the top of the post is also one of them.

Mute Swans flew in.

We had a beautiful Vesper Sparrow, another less-common species.

American White Pelicans were in flight over the lakes.

I caught this Double-crested Cormorant in a pensive moment.

A Swamp Sparrow observed us.

Another Great Blue Heron flew past.

This Osprey was in much better light than the one the week before. I believe there is a nest platform somewhere in the area.

Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers were here too. I love the way the plumage compliments the catkins of an Eastern Cottonwood. I also realize I never noticed these flowers before.

I managed to catch a quick Caspian Tern in flight.

For the record, Yellow-rumped Warbers and Ruby-crowned Kinglets were seen and have been more frequent the last few days.

We have been experiencing colder temperatures, lots of wind and more rain, the exact opposite of last year. Everything is going crazy in my yard, but I will have a hard time again with clean-up as the overnight temperatures are not yet safe (50 degrees Fahrenheit or above). In anticipation of warmer weather, my first bumblebee appeared in the front yard on Wednesday or Thursday, and I was telling Linda about it as we sat on the front porch waiting for her ride home. As if on call, the bumblebee came to visit us, very sweetly hovering in front of us as if to say hello before it took off. I have encountered bees when the garden is in full bloom and they are always friendly, but this was a very special moment. I feel sometimes like I am living in a bubble or an oasis that provides not just sustenance for wild creatures and plants, but also some sort of spiritual connection between us. Life’s simplest pleasures far outweigh the manufactured ones for me.

September in Riverside

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I was going to try and be more current, but it’s been a really busy week. Life is short. So why not take a peek at some photos way back from September 8? A time of drought and young Mallards in the Des Plaines Reiver. But it looks like it was a beautiful day in Riverside anyway. I discovered afterwards that I was shooting on the second memory card because I had forgotten to put the compact flash disc back in the camera. I think the images are a little flatter, but crisp (I could be describing biscuits, or does it sound more like wine?).

A Great Blue Heron flew over the river and landed in a tree.

The Chestnut-sided Warbler at the top of the post gave me some nice views.

A young American Robin surveyed the scene before it.

A Great Egret fished from a mudflat along the curve in the river.

It was a good day for the Osprey to hunt over the shallow water.

It found something to go after and was successful.

Other summery delights were available in the bright sunlight: two Blue Jays, a Monarch butterfly, a Northern Flicker barely hiding in the tree leaves.

And then I found a Northern Waterthrush on the rocks.

Back to my parked car by the Hofmann Tower, I found a Great Blue Heron was preening its feathers across the river.

I still hear refrains from the wonderful music we sang on Saturday night for the Best of the Unity Temple Choir concert. It seemed nearly impossible at the outset that we would ever pull it off after several setbacks, but our indefatigable and inspiring conductor Martha (“Marty”) Swisher made it all happen with wonderful musicians and guest soloists, not to mention fabulous lighting effects and graphics which I hope to see eventually in a video replay.

In a few days I will get back to birding and more blog posts. In the meantime, I have been helping my lifelong friend since junior high school while she is in town, we have been going swimming, and I have been enjoying cooking up a storm for more than one.

Following the River

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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.

Meanwhile Back at the Portage

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It’s been pretty quiet at the Chicago Portage lately, but that’s not surprising.

On August 5, I first noticed an Eastern Kingbird flying off with a cicada.

A Blue Jay was in flight too. Looks like it was on the cloudy side.

American Goldfinches still like hanging out in the duckweed.

Butterflies and dragonflies are having a good time, I think.

I think this is a Hobomok Skipper
Female Pondhawk

Normally Gray Catbirds are quite elusive, but this one wanted to do a photo shoot.

Back down on the ground, I saw an interesting caterpillar.

American Dagger Moth Caterpillar

Sort of along the same color scheme, a turtle covered in duckweed stuck its head up from its shell.

I found a young Northern House Wren.

And I caught a very brief view of a Muskrat.

I had a singing Indigo Bunting, for good measure.

Hackberry Emperor butterflies seem to like bridges and walls.

I was taking not great photos of a young Northern Flicker at a distance, when it suddenly left, upside down.

Two days later, on August 7, things were even a bit quieter. I focused on a bee checking out the prairie coneflowers.

And I found a Pearl Crescent Butterfly.

Pearl Crescent

A Blue Jay looked pensive and very blue behind the leaves.

Then, an Osprey flew over, carrying a strange-looking object. It doesn’t appear to be prey, but perhaps nesting material. But who’s nesting in August?

A short while later, another Osprey came flying through with a branch. I’ll never know. I think it might be nest repair, after the kids fledged and tore it up. Getting it ready for next year?

I found a juvenile European Starling and a female Red-winged Blackbird.

A juvenile American Robin flew at a distance.

Here are two Indigo Buntings, a female or more likely an immature bird, and a male.

And an Eastern Comma Butterfly for good measure.

I still have to make more room on the hard drive so I will try to be back again sooner. A new wave of extreme heat and subsequent rain should make that even more possible.

Return of the Osprey

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Along the river and beyond, this is the part of summer I always look forward to. I have seen Osprey more frequently the last two weeks, and now that they are hunting over the river in the morning, it’s sheer bliss.

Last Friday morning began auspiciously enough with a Great Egret fishing by the wall left after the dam removal, across from the Hofmann Tower.

As I started to walk along the paved trail, a Northern Cardinal came decidedly into view, perhaps emboldened by his state of molt and the fact that he hasn’t been a constant object of attention lately.

Then, as soon as I got past the trees, an Osprey began flying over the river. It’s hard to decide which photos to include in this post, but rest assured there were way too many of them.

As the Osprey moved behind the trees, I caught a few interesting maneuvers.

Meanwhile, a Great Egret was busy preening on a dead branch sticking up from the middle of the river. The water levels have been quite low lately.

Then, much to my surprise, I encountered a juvenile Black-crowned Night-heron tucked under the trees by the bend in the river where I step off the paved trail to walk through the grass behind the library. This is the first Black-crowned Night-heron I have ever seen on my walks along the river. My friend Chris has frequently told me he sees them periodically, but I had never seen one until Friday.

My walk through Riverside Lawn was uneventful after all that excitement.

The Osprey had taken to sitting on top of a distant dead tree overlooking the river. Since those grainy backlit photos aren’t worth reproducing, I will leave you with two more closer views of the Osprey flying over the river.

I’ll be back soon with more of this sort of thing. Fall migration has already started for shorebirds, and nesting season is coming to a close. We are finally getting some rain, which is good for everything even though it will embolden my jungle which I have to try taming a bit today.

Cooler Times: A Look Back at April 30

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One day’s worth of photos seems worth going back to look at. These were taken on April 30 in Riverside. Spring migration was beginning, the temperatures were much cooler, and there were only a few leaves starting on the trees. I’m taking a break from the heat.

I first encountered a Killdeer by the Hofmann Tower.

I also took note of a Northern Rough-winged Swallow.

I noticed a Solitary Sandpiper on the rocks, and another on the sloping sidewall of the defunct dam.

Then they took off and I got some flight shots, with both of them in the frame of the last photo.

I was seeing Yellow-rumped and Palm Warblers pretty regularly.

Baltimore Orioles stood out.

I found two Tree Swallows perched on the swinging bridge.

A Ring-billed Gull was flying.

More Yellow-rumped Warblers.

A few Black-and-White Warblers were around too. This is the same individual as at the top of the post.

An Osprey flew over.

A female Downy Woodpecker went about her business.

And a Red-winged Blackbird attending to his.

I noticed a Great Blue Heron across the river when I walked through Riverside Lawn. It caught a fish and then swallowed it.

Warbling Vireos were arriving.

I got to see a male Eastern Bluebird who periodically checked with me this spring.

There were Ruby-crowned Kinglets here and there.

Then I noticed a female Scarlet Tanager.

One more of the Great Blue Heron.

Heading back to my car, I found a Northern Rough-winged Swallow on the wall by the Hoffman Tower.

We are promised some cooler weather and even rain later today. I worked in the yard this morning. and slowly but surely, there is more visual breathing space. It seems there is always something surprising going on and it’s not all bad. May we all be surprised by something good these days. I’ll be back shortly with some more recent observations.

Looking Back a Bit

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While I’ve been stuck inside, more or less, during the heat wave, it’s been almost refreshing to look back at photos from the end of April still on the laptop. Spring migration was starting, and even though many of the trees did not yet have leaves and the temperatures were chilly, birds were on the way.

But first, I found even more photos I didn’t know I still had, from April 17 at the Chicago Portage. Below, an American Robin sneaking nesting material, and a late American Tree Sparrow.

Northern Flickers were coming back.

An Osprey flew over.

A Song Sparrow was checking out the marshy area.

On April 21 in Riverside, Yellow-rumped Warblers were easy to find.

A Northern Cardinal, a Song Sparrow and a White-throated Sparrow made the cut.

On April 24 at the Chicago Portage, I found two American Robins preoccupied.

Yellow-rumped Warblers were easy to find.

I noted the return of a Green Heron.

Blue-winged Teal had been at the Chicago Portage for weeks.

Palm Warblers were showing up too.

Palm Warbler

On April 28 in Riverside, I saw an Eastern Bluebird. While they were setting up a territory, I saw the bluebirds quite frequently, but now that they are busy raising young I haven’t seen them lately at all.

An interesting fungus

Palm Warblers were showing up everywhere.

A pair of Northern Cardinals were enjoying the sunshine.

And a Great Blue Heron was in the river.

Then on April 29, back at the Chicago Portage, I had a Field Sparrow.

Warbling Vireos were arriving and claiming territories.

One of several Palm Warblers…

A Yellow Warbler was most likely heard first and then seen. There are at least two if not three breeding pairs at the Chicago Portage this year.

A Green Heron first appeared in a tree and then flew down to the water.

An Osprey flew over.

Then, the surprise bird at the top of this post, a beautiful male Rose-breasted Grosbeak. I don’t believe I have seen one since. If they are nesting here, they are extremely well hidden.

White-throated Sparrows didn’t seem to be as plentiful this spring.

Just before the leaves would make them nearly impossible to see, Warbling Vireos were singing and reminding me they were going to be everywhere.

I managed to go for a walk yesterday before the heat increased again. We did get some rain last night and we’ve cooled off a bit, so I will go for a soggy walk by the river and then immerse myself in the pool. I will be back with more current reports, and I still have a lot of notable leftovers from spring warbler migration to share.

Elsewhere on Sunday Morning

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I decided to visit Little Red Schoolhouse, a Cook County Forest Preserve in the Palos Area, for a change, just to take a bit of a longer walk and perhaps see a different bird or two. I did not see the Common Loon there (at the top of the post), but I’ll get to that later.

Almost immediately as I walked around the back of the nature center along the path close to Longjohn Slough, quite a large body of water, there appeared an abundance of Tree Swallows. These days, an abundance is anything three or more…

Observing the slough from a small platform blind, waterfowl was dispersed and distant, but things perked up quickly when an Osprey flew in. The Osprey picked up something that appeared to be nesting material and flew off with it.

Ironically, there is a nesting platform for Osprey in the middle of the slough, but it was serving as an observation deck for some Double-crested Cormorants. This Osprey must be nesting somewhere else.

A little while later, a Bald Eagle was flying around very distant, I couldn’t make it out until I went through my photographs. It looks like a first-year bird. The cloudy sky didn’t help.

I did manage to capture a couple Wood Ducks that were not out too far.

I also found a female Bufflehead. There were several Common Mergansers and likely a few other species but they were too far away to capture well.

I started to walk the trail through the woods and found a willing Song Sparrow.

I encountered a couple Tree Swallows up close.

I looked back out toward the slough and saw that two Canada Geese had taken over the osprey platform.

After a while I found some Yellow-rumped Warblers. There may have been half a dozen of them in a loose group.

I have seen a few Ruby-crowned Kinglets the last week or so, but they’ve all been hard to capture in poor light and this one was no exception.

Then when it seemed like there was nothing else, a bright Pine Warbler sang and hung around long enough for a few photos. Lack of light added to the fuzziness of these photos, but it was just so nice to see a new bird for the season.

Done with this location and ready to go home, I looked at my phone and noticed Lori from the Oak Park Bird Walkers had been trying to contact me to tell me there was a Common Loon in the lagoon by the Trailside Museum parking lot at Thatcher Woods. At first I dismissed the idea of going up there to see it, but then I thought it over, realized it was only a 25-minute drive, and that the bird would likely not be going anywhere soon as it was off course and stuck there for whatever reason. So that explains the photo at the top of the post, and here are a few more.

There were plenty of other people with large lenses taking pictures of the loon and I didn’t feel like hanging around. It always upsets me to see a bird that has somehow gotten lost. Lori was kind enough to let me know later that the bird was eventually seen trying to cross Chicago Avenue which is quite a busy street, while being protected by people who thought it might be injured, and was taken eventually to DuPage Wildlife Conservation Center. That was probably the best possible outcome.

Our weather is still on the chilly side of things, but we are starting to green up, and I am still taken by surprise with the ever-increasing daylight hours. This is perhaps a side-effect of messing too much with reality. (/s) More encounters to follow.

McGinnis Morning

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This morning started off cool and a bit cloudy, but I was feeling up to an outing and, after checking eBird for recent sightings, I decided to visit McGinnis Slough. I haven’t been there in months and it was time to see some more birds in a different habitat. It was especially gratifying to see that the recent rain has improved the water level from last year.

Predictably perhaps, the first birds I saw were some American Coots. They weren’t in huge numbers but they were just about everywhere.

And this is a very popular place for Red-winged Blackbirds. In addition to scores of males on territories, I saw my first female of the species.

Then I started seeing some distant Ring-necked Ducks. All these photos were taken at quite a distance and have been heavily cropped.

There were a couple Pied-billed Grebes.

Pied-billed Grebe and American Coot

Here’s a male Ring-necked Duck and a Pied-billed Grebe,

More Ring-necked Ducks. You’ll hardly ever see the ring on their necks. I have seen it only once and the bird was much closer than these were.

Then I was very happy to see a Horned Grebe rather close in the marshy area next to the mowed trail. I used to see these birds frequently on the lakefront when I worked downtown, but it’s been years since I’ve seen one. This is the same bird at the top of the post.

There were a couple Northern Shovelers at the far edge of the same area and the male suddenly took off.

I walked all the way back to the northern end of the trail where you can view the largest part of the slough. There wasn’t a lot to see as the waterfowl were sparsely distributed at quite a distance, but the toads were making a racket. I sat on the picnic table and listened to them.

Then, as I walked back toward the center and the parking lot, an Osprey flew overhead.

I said goodbye to the Horned Grebe and headed home. In my backyard, the birds had emptied the feeders, except for the American Goldfinches who were still working on the nyjer seeds that I refill their feeders with daily. They have had it good all winter. The photos were taken through the back porch screened windows.

A male House Finch flew in for a second and I almost caught him on his way out except for a photo-bombing goldfinch.

It’s been a good day. The sun is shining and it looks like we have a few more cold days ahead but soon it will be warm enough to start cleaning up the yard and welcoming the greening of everything. I hope to be done with this cold by my next post. I’ve been improving steadily.

Taking a Visual Break from Winter

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A few days ago, I found photos from late August still on my hard drive and with the dreariness of winter settling in, it felt good to look back for a moment. Here is a brief post from when I was in Riverside on August 16, 23 and 26.

On 8-16, it was not unusual to see a Great Blue Heron.

On 8-23, I took note of a Bay-breasted Warbler.

I was fortunate enough to have an Osprey fly overhead that morning as well.

A chipmunk posed briefly.

And Monarch Butterflies were few in number, making seeing one or two a special event.

I also found a Blackpoll Warbler.

And this time a Great Blue Heron flew overhead, in addition to one on rocky shore that surfaces near the Hofmann Tower when the river is low,

On 8/26, I photographed a warbler that took me some time to figure out. It turned out to be a Cape May Warbler.

Was this also the Cape May? I’m not sure but it was in the same series of photos.

More photos of the Cape May that must have helped me identify it.

I am grateful for Downy Woodpeckers being easily identifiable, no matter what time of year.

I don’t know why I have two photos of these Cedar Waxwings when they are nearly the same pose, but here they are. Looks a little bit like a wallpaper pattern, maybe?

I will be back with more recent photos. It’s been pretty quiet overall. I took today off from my usual visit to the Chicago Portage to prepare for the delivery of a new stove. The one that looked old already when I moved into my house 23 years ago finally defied repair. Perhaps it was the Nordic Rye Bread I made at the end of November. I had cooked up a package of rye berries to try a casserole recipe I hadn’t made since the nineties and I had too many cooked rye berries left, so I found the bread recipe to use up some of them. I am glad I have had it to eat all this time waiting for delivery of a new oven. This could be survival food! It’s particularly good slathered with brie.

The installation today will be just in time to make some loaves of Cinnamon Oatmeal Raisin bread for Christmas gifts.