I have been to the Portage three times this month. These pictures are from the 9th, and there aren’t many of them, but I will do the visits in separate installments as an ode to Winter is Upon Us. Snow seemed a long time coming this year but we are likely going to get hit with a lot of it this week.
This very short post features more pictures of a slippery path than birds. I don’t know what i was thinking but I only had on my regular hiking boots that day, so I was hugging the periphery and moving very slowly to avoid sliding into oblivion.
The statue in very little light. Someone also managed a distressed looking snowman just off the parking lot. I guess this was our first recognizable accumulation of the winter.
More than anything else, flocks of Canada Geese continued to fly over, looking for open water, I suspect. There was very little open water left at the Portage and it was taken up by the two Mallards, one a Manky, at the top of the post.
One Song Sparrow managed to find my lens.
Parting shots of the water and the two ducks. And a little more open water…
I am glad I took this picture of a Fox Squirrel in my yard before I set out – he was the most colorful thing I saw all morning.
I plan to be back with posts from last weekend and yesterday… Soon!
In the meantime, after weeks of abandoning my Grim Reaper duties at home, which meant removing eggs from the Zebra Finches’ nests to avoid overpopulation, I am finally hearing some begging noises coming from the dining room. I was almost afraid I had conditioned the ZFs to give up sex – why bother? During all the trauma of the past month I felt like it might be fun to let them have a last fling and see some baby birds grow up for a while. Maybe it’s a vicarious wish to hone in on the birds’ perception of immortality.
I had hoped to manage this post a couple weeks ago but I have been too busy at work. Saying I can only spend so many hours on my laptop no longer seems a valid excuse since we don’t seem to be able to do anything offline these days. So to make it before December is no more, here are photos from my last visit to the Portage on December 5th.
The day started off cloudy and quiet but when the sun came out so did the birds. Some Northern Cardinals hiding out in the open.
Can’t ignore a few Canada Geese flying over.
American Goldfinches will devour everything before they resort to my feeders.
More cardinal photos. Often these guys are skulky but they didn’t seem to mind me that day.
There were a lot of Black-Capped Chickadees that day, and they were not shy.
Sunlit American Tree Sparrow below.
A few shots of how the Portage looks these days.
I would not have paid much attention to the Mallards below, except that after being advised by my two Portage photographer buddies Steve and Mike that the hybrid was a “Manky Duck”, I looked it up, and apparently there are several varieties. This one appears to be an Abacot Ranger Manky Duck. Who knew?
A White-Throated Sparrow and two views of a Song Sparrow…
One more reclusive Song Sparrow
In the darker moments, all I could get of a Red-Bellied Woodpecker.
A female Downy in the cloud cover.
The bark on this tree caught my eye – and it was distinctive enough to identify as a Hackberry. I wanted a Hackberry in front of my house but my request was declined, I suspect due to too many underground facilities. But now I can admire this one. Time to start learning trees.
Frost on little green…
Last weekend I participated in the Christmas Bird Count. The weather was cloudy, but it wasn’t brutally cold and it didn’t rain. I may have a few photos to share.
We are beyond The Longest Night – which always reminds me of Peter Mayer’s beautiful song so entitled. I tried included a link to the song but I don’t think it’s allowed. If you are so inclined, do give it a listen on YouTube. There’s a lovely video with lyrics.
Wishing you and yours warm, peaceful holidays. May we look forward to 2021 with better outcomes for all.
I started writing this post so long ago I almost forgot what it was. But these pictures are from last month, when I visited McGinnis Slough. I never know what to expect as the species change with the water level. The water level was low, so there were primarily land birds to look for. And most of them were sparrows, often referred to fondly as “LBJs” or “little brown jobs” in birder jargon.
At the top of the post is a Swamp Sparrow and there are more photographs below. Swamp Sparrows are distinctly reddish-brown on their wings.
Next, a couple lovely Song Sparrows. Always streaky, but they can often look quite different. The strong, bold malar is their giveaway.
I will never forget how frustrated I felt when I first discovered birds and found out that House Sparrows are not a native species but indeed, there were some thirty-odd native species to worry about. With luck I will see a third of them here. It took years of classes and practice to get them straight. Actually when I first got interested in birds, House Sparrows were still considered weaver finches by some. They are now included in the sparrow family. I’ve never seen a House Sparrow at McGinnis, so they are not featured in this post. But considering they were among the first birds to interact with me, I probably owe them a tribute someday in a future post. Until then, I believe they are all in my backyard…
One of my favorite sparrows is below, the Fox Sparrow. There are four subspecies. The one we see is the “Red”.
Fox Sparrow
The handsome sparrow below is a juvenile White-Crowned Sparrow. I have not seen an adult this fall.
Dark-eyed Juncos are part of the sparrow family too. I am always intrigued by the nuances of color in these birds, I don’t find them drab at all. After a while one starts to recognize them by their flash of white tail feathers in flight or their ratchety calls.
To jazz things up a bit, there were a couple of Northern Cardinals handy. I never turn down an opportunity to capture them.
There were a few Yellow-rumped Warblers too. It was the last time I saw them this year.
It was still warm enough for Dandelions to consider blooming. Seeds are scattering from milkweed pods. I was attracted to the red-leafed plant but I don’t know what it is.
Last, here are a few scenes from the slough. All the way at the bottom is the overturned picnic table that used to sit right by the overlook onto the slough at the south end. It was a nice place to sit. I am not letting my imagination run too wild with what caused anyone to throw it into the creek upside-down.
I will try to be back sooner. Work has been busy and all-consuming. But now it seems silly and superfluous to complain about anything. I have started swimming again. Swimming Fixes Everything. I was surprised that I had forgotten how absolutely, sinfully wonderful it feels to get out of the pool with all my cells “woke”. I feel almost guilty admitting it in the midst of such a miserable, suffering year. If I could bottle and sell the feeling I have after swimming, I would be a trillionaire, but of course I can’t because the best things in life, truly, are free.
I hope you have a go-to place that refreshes your spirit and gives you energy to continue. We’re not done yet.
In my typical fashion, I have been trying to write this post for the last week and a half. So while we are all wondering how to get through the holidays this year-like-no-other, I feel a sense of loss too, even though I likely would not have had any plans to go anywhere myself. But there’s also a sense of opportunity in any day I really don’t have to think about work.
Even though it was a cool, late spring and in the middle of the pandemic, there’s something oddly comforting these days about looking back.The Portage looks about like this now – no leaves on the trees, everything muted in browns and grays – but the birds are different in appearance, and most of these species have left for the winter. I took way too many photographs on this day, which might explain why it’s taken me seven months to process them. I won’t be doing a lot of explanation…that might take me another seven months. just hope you enjoy the images.
It will be a while before male American Goldfinches look like the one below.
Out over the Des Plaines River that day, there were three Belted Kingfishers flying around. I didn’t do a very good job of capturing them, they were quite far away. But at least one flew close enough to be recognizable.
A returning Song SparrowA Blue Jay, blending in with the sky and the barren treeWaiting to come back to life.
Eastern Phoebe
I keep trying to get a decent photograph of the golden shafts on a Flicker and usually fail, but this time I got close.
There were a couple Blue-Winged Teal hanging out with the Mallards.
One Ring-Billed Gull flew over low enough to be identifiable.
Robins started coming back to their territories. The one in the second photograph is barely discernible from the tree it’s in.
Of course nothing says spring like the return of Red-Winged Blackbirds.
It was early enough in the morning to encounter a couple deer.
Please forgive me, I took way too many pictures of Golden-Crowned Kinglets. They are all gone now, but it was a joy to see them return in April.
Downy Woodpecker – the Portage’s most numerous resident woodpecker
Here’s a thrush I don’t see often – a Veery.
I took a few too many pictures of this Ruby-crowned Kinglet too, but at least I did get somewhat of a shot at the ruby crown.
A Yellow-bellied Sapsucker…
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
I am always happy to see a White-Breasted Nuthatch, even though they are with us all year long. I never tire of them.
The light was nice on this Red-Bellied Woodpecker.
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Brown-headed Cowbirds are…what they are.
The pair of Eastern Bluebirds this year were such a welcome sight. Although I saw them for several weeks, I don’t think they wound up staying to breed. I can only hope they give the Portage a second chance next year.
The first warbler to show up in the spring, and the last to leave in the fall… the trusty Myrtle, or as long as it’s still lumped with Audubon’s (last time I checked), it’s a Yellow-Rumped Warbler.
I will be back with more from last spring (!) and some more current observations. I hope you are safe and well, wherever you are. And I hope you continue to find moments of peace and solace. There is still a lot to be thankful for.
Well it’s probably over, but we were basking in unseasonably warm weather and we could still stay above freezing for a while. The past weekend afforded two pleasantly warm days without rain, so I took advantage of them both and went birding. These pictures are all from Saturday morning at the Portage. In spite of the pleasant weather, there weren’t too many people on the trails early, so I had the opportunity to stand still and observe some birds without disruption. Below, a group of European Starlings hanging out, their antics and expressions which I found entertaining. If you click on one of the images you can scroll through them.
I expected to see sparrows and was not disappointed. The usual suspects were available. Below is a Song Sparrow I saw early on.
The return of Dark-eyed Juncos…
The subtle variations in plumage for Dark-eyed Juncos always intrigues me.
One White-throated Sparrow sat for more than a second. He was just far enough away.
It seems Fox Sparrows are always elusive.Fall colors at the Portage
The Downy Woodpecker below volunteered for a photo shoot – you can scroll through…
Then there’s always a fascination with cavities…
Last week there were Golden-Crowned Kinglets available, this week i had more luck with a Ruby-Crowned Kinglet.
More fall colors…
I rounded a corner such as it was on the trail and encountered a young deer, who was then joined by two others and they took off gamboling through the woods.
It was nice to see some Canada Geese in the water.
There were a few Mallards is the water too – and in the air.
Below, White-breasted Nuthatches…
I was surprised by a noisily chattering Carolina Wren and managed to grab a couple photos as it flew up into the tree.
Below, a little melange of Portage characters.
A calmly perched American Goldfinch
Then there were Purple Finches and House Finches – together – making identification a bit confusing. The only Purple Finch I managed to get pictures of is below, and it’s likely a juvenile female.
Some of the House Finches below look a bit on the purple or raspberry side of the spectrum but they still appear to be House Finches.
Always nice to see a Red-Tailed Hawk, however briefly.
An indication of how sunny it was when I arrived…
So the last bird I photographed was the Hermit Thrush at the top of the post and below. I first saw it in the woods far from the trail, but in true Hermit Thrush fashion, it responded to my attention and came and sat on a branch directly in front of me so we could exchange thoughts.
If I can manage it I will be back with a post from the Portage in April – looking a bit like it did on Saturday, with no leaves on the trees yet. I found a plethora of photographs I had never managed to develop and it will be an interesting contrast of early spring versus late fall.
After reading about the irruption of Pine Siskins for weeks, I kept wondering how I could have possibly missed seeing them. The species showed up in my yard for the first time in January of this year and I fondly remembered their cheery presence. I thought I might have seen one or two last week but I couldn’t be sure, and had to discount it as wishful thinking. Then last Sunday morning as I stood on the back porch, there they were. Only two of them, but they were all I needed to restore my faith in something. They didn’t stay long. Maybe they were playing hooky from some large flock somewhere.
The House Sparrows outnumber everybody else, of course.
Last Saturday was the first time I dared go out with my usual camera setup. The camera weighs two pounds and the lens is another three and a half. It doesn’t sound like a lot of weight but it’s dense and massive. Then there’s the issue of adjusting the focus with my left hand. My fingers are still slightly swollen and stiff, and I can’t maneuver entirely without pain. But I am in the painful stage of physical therapy now so I may as well enjoy my suffering and take pictures.
I had come to see if there were Sandhill Cranes – and there were, a few – but the skies were dominated by Canada Geese. Unfortunately the owners of the surrounding farms were hunting them. I didn’t see any fall from the sky but I wasn’t looking either, it was bad enough to hear the gunshots. Something else to think about when I visit this place in the fall.
Canada Geese
Some flora caught my eye.
The first two birds I saw on the trail going in were Cedar Waxwings.
A burning bush?
It was nice to see this young White-crowned Sparrow.
So there were some Sandhills. I won’t be able to get back up there this year to see hundreds or thousands that sometimes come through, but I did have a good time talking with a crane enthusiast who visits there a lot and knows their habits. He said he was waiting for a big push of cold weather from Wisconsin and that would bring down a lot of cranes. He is hoping to see a Whooping Crane this year.
Not a lot of land birds but it was a beautiful morning. I was surprised to see the Blue Jay arrive and announce himself, and pose for a couple pictures.
I always see Crows here and that makes me happy.
Below are the last pictures I took the previous Saturday morning at the Portage, with the mirrorless camera. It takes nice photographs, but I haven’t figured out how to get it to focus all the time.
So I was frustrated when I saw the Blue-headed Vireo below so well, but I couldn’t get the camera to see it as clearly as I did.
My closest shot of one of the Sandhills from Goose Lake Natural Area…
Between work, physical therapy, waking up to this, that, or the other pain, trying not to let the news cycle interrupt a deeper thought process, there have been moments of peace and flashes of contentment, even a little creativity. I have missed seeing more birds and autumn color. This is usually my favorite time of year. I am looking forward to setting the clocks back so there will be more light in the morning. My indoor birds are good sports. They are helping me write a song about looking for an answer to a question I haven’t figured out yet.
i kept struggling to write this post. In the meantime of course I have made more visits to the Portage. Maybe I can write this post now that I won’t be taking pictures for a while.
I was halfway into my morning walk today when I encountered someone walking toward me, about a block away. At that point I could not see that he was walking his dog, but he was not changing his path, so I started walking toward curbside to give us social distance. I tripped and fell suddenly on my left elbow. I could not get up, even with the dog walker’s help. So he called 911 and a nice woman from across the street offered me water. By this time I saw what I caught my shoe on – a circular piece of metal a little over a foot in diameter, strewn in the curb of the parkway: a perfect trap.
I’ll cut to the chase since I can’t type very well with one hand. I was taken to the emergency room because I became weak from the shock, x-rays were taken, and I have a broken elbow.
I am feeling much better, save the fact that I can’t go swimming and I can’t play piano, and I may have to take up dictation at this hunt-and-peck rate. In any event I saw an orthopedic surgeon this afternoon and he recommended surgery to stabilize the joint and attached tendon, because of my active lifestyle. Apparently the healing process will be faster as well as more efficient. I await a scheduling phone call.
Now on to some late August photos. I won’t be commenting so much… These photographs are from August 22, as I try to catch up with all my visits.
I think this was my last capture of a male Indigo Bunting for the season. The one below looks a little worse for wear. He was hanging out with a bunch of juveniles.
There were some Cedar Waxwings to be seen as well.
An Osprey flew over…
And less surprising, a Turkey Vulture
It was nice to see a Hairy Woodpecker. There are always Downies.
A juvenile Indigo Bunting
Miscellaneous Portage photos… the statue on a hot, dry day; the trail with towering growth on either side, which makes it increasingly difficult to avoid cyclists; an unidentified caterpillar; ripening poke weed berries; a strange, strangly-looking plant.
I think this is a Delaware Skipper.
Black-capped Chickadees seem to be around as we head into fall. I have missed them on several earlier occasions.
American Goldfinches are everywhere now.
Juvenile Song Sparrow
I’m not sure all these new formatting options are worthwhile, but it was one way to use all these photos of a juvenile House Wren.
Juvenile House Wren
I hope to be back soon with more from various localities. I have two Saturday bird walks coming up and it remains to be seen whether I can lead them. I don’t get many pictures on these occasions anyway, but it would like to witness at least some fall migration.
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. 🙂
The 4th of July always reminds me to make my annual visit to Goose Lake National Prairie. I am not exactly sure why I don’t visit at other times of the year, and maybe I will decide to visit more often if I ever retire, but I like to go at this time because it’s not crowded, the prairie is beautiful and in bloom, and I can usually count on seeing Dickcissels and Henslow’s Sparrows.
As it turns out, this year it was particularly “not crowded” – I was the only human the entire length of my visit. I went on July 3rd instead of the 4th. It was already hot and sunny at 7:40 a.m. when I got out of my car and saw Killdeer in the parking lot.
As I started to walk the trail that goes out from the back of the Visitor’s Center, I was welcomed by a few Barn Swallows, one of which was having fun swooping close to my head. Perhaps it was trying to startle me, because it was pretty persistent, but I am quite used to birds flying around my head! My challenge was to try to capture the bird in flight. When I used to go down to the lakefront in the summertime on my lunch hour, there were swallows swooping around constantly close to people, but people were everywhere and pretty unavoidable. On this occasion, the handful of Barn Swallows outnumbered me.
Barn Swallow
As for “target” birds, I saw only one Dickcissel and it was quite far away. I didn’t hear any more of them, either. I neither heard nor saw any Henslow’s Sparrows. I heard a lot of Marsh Wrens but could not see one.
Dickcissel
But you can’t go birding on expectations and then be disappointed when they don’t pan out. There’s always a surprise or something interesting. I was delighted to see an Eastern Meadowlark.
Eastern Meadowlark
Common Yellowthroats seem particularly abundant this year. I think that is making them less skulky.
Common Yellowthroat
The prairie wasn’t in full bloom, but the Monarda and Prairie Spiderwort were attractive. At least I think it’s Prairie Spiderwort and not Ohio, although the leaves looked thicker than the variety I have in my backyard. Either one is native to Illinois.
Monarda
It is always nice to see Orchard Orioles. I found a female perched and one male in flight.
Song Sparrow
Song Sparrows were abundant.
A distant male Northern Harrier was harassed by a few Red-Winged Blackbirds.
I think this was the same Great Egret I saw perched at the pond by Cragg’s Cabin later.
Great Egret
Cragg;s Cabin
One tern flew by. It didn’t stay long enough to fish. There is a big man-made lake nearby, Heidecke Lake, which was formerly a cooling reservoir. That could be where the tern hangs out more often.
A Caspian Tern
Two Great Blue Herons flew by. Likely one of them was the individual below who was fishing from the partially submerged boardwalk that is no longer functional for human use but served this bird’s purpose.
Mallards in flight
Red-winged Blackbirds typically outnumber everything else. But it seems like every place I go, I hear a new vocalization from them. Listen to this little trilly sound below.
Another Song Sparrow…because.
Eastern Kingbirds were the prevalent flycatcher species.
There were a few Field Sparrows, not very close but still delightful to see and hear.
More birds…
American Goldfinch
Common Yellowthroat (female)
Savannah Sparrow
On my way out, a Kildeer flew by.
The last bird I saw was a House Sparrow by the Visitor’s Center.
Another Song SparrowA look across the prairie from the observation deck.
This was only my first outing of last weekend. I came home to do some work later in the afternoon. But I got up and went to the Portage on Saturday morning and back to Goose Lake Natural Area on Sunday. I’ll try to get caught up before summer’s over!
Even though I never go to McGinnis Slough these days prepared to see a lot of birds – which would require bringing my scope – I invariably see something interesting. It used to be a great place for hundreds of Great Egrets and multiple Great Blue Herons, but for the past several years the numbers have dwindled to a few individuals. During waterfowl migration it’s still a place to see good numbers of several species. My last two visits were sort of before and after spring migration. But I like the fact that it’s not crowded. You can’t your bike through it, so that likely keeps people away. And you could miss it driving by at 50 mph on LaGrange Road, even though the entrance is newly paved and there’s a lovely wrought-iron fence, maybe to keep the deer from crossing the highway.
So these photographs are from April 4 and June 7 of this year. From grays and browns in early April to greens and blues in June. April 4 was a good day for Tree Swallows, even if they look washed-out on a cloudy day.
Tree Swallow
Tree Swallow and a Northern Shoveler
Mallard
Blue-winged Teal
Green-winged Teal
The gray and brown was enhanced by a little low-lying fog on the April visit.
I haven’t seen an awful lot of Eastern Phoebes this year. I think flycatchers in general have been scarcer, which I can only assume speaks to the lack of insects. I hope they can recover somehow.
Eastern Phoebe
Eastern Kingbird, another flycatcher
In the tail end of waterfowl migration, some Lesser Scaup were close enough to photograph.
Lesser Scaup
Female Red-winged Blackbird
Song Sparrow
Those white blobs are actually American White Pelicans on the far shore.
The slough was quite marshy in June.
The June visit featured Warbling Vireos chasing around at eye-level, and then one sang for me. I managed to record a bit of his song below after having him pose for all these pictures.These guys are hard to spot normally so I indulged.
I often see Wood Ducks lined up on this fallen log. The June visit was no exception.
Wood Ducks
Baltimore Orioles aren’t advertising for mates anymore so they’re a little harder to spot.
Eastern Kingbird
Going down the path to the north, I encountered a couple does.
There were a few Cedar Waxwings in the same general area as the Warbling Vireos.
Cedar Waxwing
This White-breasted Nuthatch would have been even better if he had turned around.
Red-winged Blackbirds abound.
And in the flying-by department…
Herring Gull
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Double-crested Cormorants
I’m used to seeing rose mallow, and maybe it will appear later in the summer, but I think this wild iris is new.
Thanks for making it to the end of this long post! We are in for a long, hot, sunny weekend around here. With luck, I will find more birds to share with you.
