Just when I think I’m going to get caught up with all the photos I’ve taken in the last few days, let alone weeks, I go out and take more photos and, well, the rest will be history. I’m going to try one day at a time here. How about May 19?
Swallows are back on the river. There was a profusion of Barn Swallows that day, more than I have seen in a long time. But there were also Northern Rough-winged, Tree and Bank Swallows.
I was lucky to find a couple perched young Barn Swallows. They were a shot of welcome color on a gray day.
Ring-billed gulls were busy looking for prey in the shallow river.
The gull below looks like a Herring Gull.
I encountered a pair of Baltimore Orioles on the ground in the midst of a courtship display
I caught a brief glimpse of a Brown Thrasher. The camera didn’t do it justice.
After hearing about Wilson’s Warblers from other people, I finally found one.
I kept seeing Swainson’s and Gray-cheeked Thrushes that morning and found quite a bit of variation in the photos.
I took note of a Common Grackle. These birds have been hanging out on the shoreline.
The thrush below is a Gray-cheeked Thrush.
I did see one rather distant Indigo Bunting. I hear them more often than I see them at this location.
Red-eyed Vireos have been everywhere and they are singing.
A Blue Jay with nesting material posed for me, a rather uncommon occurrence.
An Eastern Phoebe was blending in with all the gray.
I am always hearing Song Sparrows but I don’t always see them. This little guy wanted me to pay attention to him.
Brown-headed Cowbirds are here and there. I am not seeing lek-like groups of males anymore.
The bird below is a Gray-cheeked Thrush. The last photo of the bird standing on the ground is a different individual but also a Gray-cheeked.
I was quite surprised to find a Wood Thrush hiding in my photos.
I glanced behind me out toward the river and saw a Great Blue Heron being monitored by a Red-winged Blackbird.
I think the light or the lack thereof was playing tricks on me that morning.
After having gone quite a while without seeing any warblers, I found a couple. Below is a male Yellow Warbler. I often hear these birds singing but they’re getting harder to find.
The warbler below is a first-summer male American Redstart.
Too much cooperation will yield too many photos. This was such a nice, colorful individual.
At the end of the trail, I found a male Magnolia Warbler.
I will be back sooner, I hope. The frantic pace of spring migration is winding down, and concurrently, so are the demands of my social life. I have a little more time before I start working in the garden. Somewhat frustrated, I have been battling a virus that seems to be going around. I don’t feel so bad, it hasn’t kept me from birding, swimming, or even singing – although maybe I should have abandoned the latter activity – but it’s just a real messy wet cough and beyond that, I can’t smell what I’m cooking. It’s also been surprising to me how many birders I know who have had the same thing, so it almost feels inevitable, even for somebody like me who thinks she doesn’t get sick. I’m sleeping well, I have enough energy, and I am gradually getting better. It looks like a nice weekend – a bit on the cool side, but at least we have sunshine. Choir season is over, so I can quit trying to sing for a while and just get over it. Thanks for checking in.
There is water enough to bathe in as this female Red-Winged Blackbird was finding out.
Tennessee Warblers and Orange-Crowned Warblers often get confused in the spring but these two made it easier for me.
I almost thought I had missed all the Indigo Buntings but there were still a few youngsters left.
The Des Plaines was so low, this Great Egret was wading out into it quite a ways from the shoreline.
After hearing and rarely seeing Eastern Wood-Pewees all summer, it was nice to get good looks at this one.
