The Illinois Spring Bird Count was on May 4 this year. I joined the group I have been counting with for years in DuPage County. We had 66 species and counted a total of 940 individuals. We started at McKee Marsh as usual and immediately began seeing the first of the Yellow Warblers which totaled 35 by the end of the day.
Baltimore Orioles demand attention.
Many birds were already busy starting families. We saw a Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher on her nest.
We had plenty of swallows and they were often at eye level. I paid attention to a Barn Swallow.
I managed to capture a Tree Swallow in flight and another in a Bluebird nest box.
Song Sparrows were abundant. So were Field Sparrows, but we heard more than we saw.
Early on, we had a Fox Squirrel looking down at us from its hole in a tree.
The first bird I photographed was a distant Hairy Woodpecker.
Gray catbirds aren’t always even this easy to see.
A brief but welcome Eastern Bluebird sighting…
I can never resist a male Brown-headed Cowbird in good light.
One of those ubiquitous Warbling Vireos:
A Painted Turtle poked its head out to greet us.
A Pileated Woodpecker flew by so fast right in front of me I could only follow its disappearance with the camera.
Three more of the Yellow Warblers…
This Rose-breasted Grosbeak had his back to us but turned around to say hello.
We watched an American Robin feeding nestlings.
We heard some other species of warblers but did not see them in any expected locations. Looking back on it now, this probably signaled the beginning of the end for this warbler migration.
I’m going to stop complaining about the dearth of warbler sightings. Spring is rapidly becoming summer. In the meantime, there have been some exciting encounters. I’ll be back soon. First, yard work.
