I envisioned writing this post for days only to discover when I finally sat down to do it that I never even developed the photographs for it. I guess life has been more hectic and exhausting lately. But it’s still worth going back to the end of November and early December, as the cold finally started to descend upon us and the Sandhill Cranes were flying south overhead. I apologize for the photo overload, but I wanted to get all the crane flocks in.

Photos are from four visits to the Chicago Portage. On November 23, the weather was still quite warm. I wasn’t seeing too much. but the water was still clear.

Some of the regulars were visible, although that may have been the last time I saw a Song Sparrow.

On November 26, it was still warm in the sunshine.

The water was quite clear, the last vestiges of duckweed visible here and there. I keep taking photos of the muskrat nest, but the muskrats make no appearances, at least not while I’m there.

Mallards were still in the water.

I managed to capture a few images of a male House Finch.

And at least one male Northern Cardinal sits still for me these days.

I caught a glimpse of a Downy Woodpecker.

I couldn’t resist this European Starling. I would otherwise expect them all to be in large flocks this time of year.

Speaking of individuals apart from large flocks, American Robins are sometimes difficult to find.

But wintertime is Dark-eyed Junco season, full stop.

And that day, there were Sandhill Cranes flying over just before I left.

On November 30, I noticed the Muskrat Nest in a little bit of barely frozen water.

The sunshine blessed the Northern Cardinals.

And more Sandhills flew over.

Back on the ground, I noticed a Fox Sparrow.

Also well-camouflaged, a White-throated Sparrow.

And I barely managed an American Robin as it left its perch.

Black-capped Chickadees always seem to be cheerfully busy when I see and hear them.

The Portage was looking quite cold and barren as the cold settled in.

A Dark-eyed Junco was foraging on the paved trail.

And an American Tree Sparrow was busy blending in.

I paid attention to this female Downy Woodpecker.

When I got home and out of the car, more Sandhill Cranes were flying overhead.

Lastly, on December 3, the winter cold had taken over. I didn’t see any Sandhills that day.

But a Red-tailed Hawk that’s been hanging out lately was distantly visible.

The Portage was more subdued, even in the sunlight.

And the last photos I tried to get were of two deer. See if you can detect the rack on the buck in the first photo below, as he blends in with his surroundings. The doe was with him.

Thanks for making it through this post. When I’m not seeing many birds, it may seem crazy to take so many photos, but this time of year anything and everything can grab my attention.

This first day of meteorological spring (today) started out chilly and windy. Although the wind was blowing from the south earlier and increased the temperature to 55 degrees, however briefly, the wind gusts were up to 40 miles per hour and now the direction of the wind is changing, and we are dipping down into the 20’s and low 30’s overnight through Sunday, with a little rainy snow in the forecast for Friday.

These photos are from the end of February at the Chicago Portage when we had some unusually warm days – yes, warm enough for the turtles to come out and sun themselves. But here we go in chronological order. On February 20, I first encountered some White-tailed Deer right off the parking lot.

American Robins get short-shrift, taken for granted, but I always welcome their presence and their stalwart tolerance of us humans.

Here’s how the Portage looked on that day.

I always expect American Tree Sparrows to have left and then they show up again.

I can’t always count on a photograph of a Black-capped Chickadee either, even though I see them year ’round.

I saw both Downy and Hairy Woodpeckers that day.

The photos below are the Hairy Woodpecker.

Female Northern Cardinals have been rather easy to capture lately but that will change soon.

Then there are the birds I don’t always see, but usually hear loud and clear. Red-winged Blackbirds have been on site for weeks. And Song Sparrows have been, well, singing of course.

Two days later on the 22nd there was more sunshine, if not more birds.

It must have been warmer, because this was the first time I noticed turtles sunning themselves with the pairs of Mallards and Canada Geese. I couldn’t stop taking pictures… Turtles in February!!

Then on February 27, it was even warmer. The European Starlings that nest in the statue were celebrating.

More Mallards came in.

Blue Jays were here and there.

And it was another fine day for the turtles.

When I got home, as soon as I got out of my car, Sandhill Cranes were flying over. It’s impossible to capture the enormity of the flocks as they merge and swirl around in the sky. One thing is certain: Sandhills like to party.

At the same time they were flying over, the kids in the grammar school down the street were outside in the playground, and my wind chimes were carrying on as well. In spite of all this I am including the tiny video below if you like sound effects.

Going back on February 29 (which happens only every 4 years), the temperatures had cooled down again and not much was happening. The turtles had gone back to bed.

There was a doe on the ground taking a break from her hectic deer life.

So I guess there is a little consistency to this post, beginning and ending with deer. Now I can finally move on to March before it escapes me entirely. More birds are trickling in. The weather is changeable and dominated by strong winds, but spring is now official.

I went back to the Chicago Portage Tuesday morning and there were already several cars in the parking lot belonging most likely to the dog walkers I encountered as I started walking on the trail. I was curious to see if there had been much flooding other than the entrance to the parking lot.

The water levels looked a bit higher, but nothing all that unusual after a rain.

The wooded area that slopes down from the hill had water in it.

And the marshy area next to the paved trail was quite soggy.

At that point, after seeing very few birds save a few American Robins, I noticed a lot of American Tree Sparrows in the marshy area. I have seen them there, off and on, for several weeks. I can only imagine the rain replenished their foraging source. It was difficult to photograph them in such poor light, and they blended right in.

Red-winged Blackbirds and Song Sparrows were singing, establishing their territories, and turning their backs toward me or hiding behind branches.

My previous visit to the Portage was one week earlier and it was an even cloudier day.

I did find a White-throated Sparrow who seemed content with the camera.

Back to yesterday, when I got home. There were some Sandhill Cranes flying over the house. Not as many as the week before (I will try to be back with those photos soon), but still just so nice to hear and see them.

A Red-tailed Hawk also flew by.

I went to stand by the gate to the backyard and see if I could take a few photos of the birds at the feeders. I had to stay in a corner blocked by the back stairs so as not to disturb them too much.

American Goldfinches are still coming to the feeders. They are becoming more colorful.

I was in Riverside this morning, before swimming a mile at the health club. The warm weather is confusing wildlife: I saw a bumblebee in my front yard yesterday, looking in vain for flowers. Things are starting to grow, but it’s still too early to clean up the yard and that bumblebee will likely have to go back to bed. We will get a lot of rain tomorrow so I won’t be out walking, only running an errand or two…and maybe writing another blog post.