Tag Archives: Tennessee Warbler

City Stopovers

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Yellow-Bellied Flycatcher, Lake Shore East Park

Yellow-Bellied Flycatcher, Lake Shore East Park

Fall is suddenly upon us with cooler temperatures, shorter days, and finally some rain. It has been raining all day today, true to the weather predictions which the past couple weeks have not held, at least in my neighborhood. So we were pretty dry until now. I finally gave in to reality and decided to get caught up on indoor chores, rather than go out on the migrant quest. But over the past week there have been birds arriving at the two spots I can visit regularly downtown, 155 North Wacker Drive on my way in to work and Lake Shore East Park on my lunch hour, in particular on Friday after the cold front pushed more birds down to us.

Northern Waterthrush

Northern Waterthrush, 155 N. Wacker Drive

Tennessee Warbler behind glass at 155 North Wacker deli

Tennessee Warbler behind glass at 155 North Wacker deli

At 155 North Wacker I never know where I’m going to see birds, so the waterthrush flew up onto the top of a wall on Wednesday, and on Friday, the Tennessee Warbler was stuck inside the deli. I called the Chicago Bird Collision Monitors without realizing I had not told them exactly where I was but by the time they got there the worker inside the deli whom I had been trying to help get the bird down and out the door managed to catch the warbler in something net-like, brought it out to me, and as soon as I could say “it’s fine” the Tennessee escaped his hand and flew into the trees. I would have rather gotten a picture of him free, but he was not having anything to do with us after all that.

Female American Redstart, Lake Shore East

Female American Redstart, Lake Shore East Park

Redstarts have been most abundant. Of course this time of year a lot of them look more like Yellowstarts. The first year males are distinguishable from the females such as the one above by their more brightly-colored feathers and the prescient orange look to the yellow on the side of the breast. The young male below was a bit puffed-out looking through a lot of the shots; I hope he’s feeling better.

First-Year Male American Redstart

First-Year Male American Redstart

Swainson’s Thrushes have also been here and there. Not as many as I would have seen in the larger park space but still you could pretty much count on seeing or hearing one somewhere.

Swainson's Thrush

Swainson’s Thrush, Lake Shore East Park

Below is a not great picture of what may be the first Blackpoll I’ve seen this fall. There were other shots that fill out the whole bird a bit more but none as revealing. That’s one thing about taking pictures of warblers. You might end up with the tail feathers in one picture and the breast or head in another. Or you might just get a good look at the underside.

Blackpoll Warbler, Lake Shore East Park

Blackpoll Warbler, Lake Shore East Park

Below is a Female Wilson’s Warbler. Again not a great picture but a nice bird to see, nevertheless.

Female Wilson's Warbler, 155 N. Wacker Drive

Female Wilson’s Warbler, 155 N. Wacker Drive

Friday there were at least a dozen Palm Warblers foraging in the grass and in the trees in Lake Shore East Park.

Palm Warbler, Lake Shore East Park

Palm Warbler, Lake Shore East Park

The third most common bird has been Magnolia Warbler. Below is what looks to me like a nice first-year male.

Magnolia Warbler, Lake Shore East Park

Magnolia Warbler, Lake Shore East Park

If I can get up early tomorrow I might try the lakefront before work. If nothing else, I owe my crows a visit.

Follow the Sap…suckers

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Juvenile Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker

The last couple weeks of fall migration, warblers and others have been following the sapsuckers as they drilled holes in the rows of homestead elms lining either side of the center “naturally planted” section of Daley Bicentennial Plaza. The birds are drinking sap from the wells drilled by the woodpeckers.

Orange-Crowned Warbler

We are still seeing Orange-Crowned Warblers and Yellow-Rumped Warblers. The Yellow-Rump below was putting on quite a show when I took this picture last week: he kept hovering around his favorite saphole like a hummingbird.

Yellow-Rumped Warbler

The Tennessee Warblers like the one below are sometimes confused with Orange-Crowned, especially this time of year.

Tennessee Warbler

There have been a lot of Red-Breasted Nuthatches this fall, and the one below, drinking sap, is no exception.

Red-Breasted Nuthatch

Some of the first warblers noticed were Black-Throated Blues. Here’s a female, and below her, a male – although I did not get a picture of him drinking, it’s almost a wonder he let me photograph him at all. He behaved like a celebrity tired of paparazzi.

Female Black-Throated Blue Warbler

Male Black-Throated Blue Warbler

Cape Mays aren’t always cooperative either.

Cape May Warbler

I took several pictures of this Ruby-Crowned Kinglet yesterday, but the midday sun was brutal and I discarded most of them.

Ruby-Crowned Kinglet

There could still be a lot of sapsuckers coming through…and following them, their fans of many colors and configurations.

Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker

But as the leaves disappear…so will these migrants.

Hungry Birds

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American Robin – Chicago Portage

Fall is upon us. The days are ever shorter, and there’s a chill in the air, all that much more unexpected after the summer heat wave. Although I feel energized by the cooler weather it was not so easy to get up as early as planned yesterday morning to visit the Portage. But maybe my timing was right after all, because I got to see a flock of robins descend into my young Hawthorn Tree to devour its bright red berries. The robins have all but disappeared from the neighborhood, their breeding season over, they’re moving in flocks looking for fruit. I feel honored that they chose my yard (and relieved that the squirrels have not eaten everything). A little piece of heaven on earth.

Ruby-Crowned Kinglet

There were kinglets in good number at the Portage, both Golden-Crowned and Ruby-Crowned. The Golden-Crowned were a little harder to see.

Golden-Crowned Kinglet

Tennessee Warbler

Many warblers were feeding low, the available insects half-asleep and staying closer to the ground.

Northern Waterthrush

A contemplative empidonax flycatcher, most likely a Least, although he refused to vocalize to confirm his species.

Empidonax Flycatcher – most likely a Least

Magnolia Warblers thickened with the Tennessees…

Magnolia Warbler

and a very curious-looking Ovenbird paraded up and down this branch.

Ovenbird

My old friends, White-Throated Sparrows, are returning.

The White-Breasted Nuthatches have been around all summer, but I have never seen one upright.

White-Breasted Nuthatch

And the juvenile Rose-Breasted Grosbeaks are brimming with the promise of their first migration.

Rose-Breasted Grosbeak

A post showing other sides of the Portage will follow shortly.

More City Visitors Part II

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Scarlet Tanager

Daley Bicentennial Plaza, my old haunt, has been as slow as everywhere else with this year’s tepid migration. But it’s still my favorite place to go at lunch, and over the last week or so, I’ve had some nice birds.

Yellow-Throated Vireo

Like this Yellow-Throated Vireo capturing and swallowing a crunchy bug.

A day or two later, there were two male Scarlet Tanagers haunting the ash trees. One of them appears at the beginning of this post.

Today just as I entered the park, I heard a singing Tennessee Warbler. I found him and managed to capture him with my point-and-shoot. Not an easy task, but I have been taking a couple days off from the heavy camera this week, the power of suggestion planted by NATO preparedness. Monday I won’t be able to carry a backpack on the train, so it will be the small camera or nothing.

Tennessee Warbler

Perhaps the birds find the smaller camera less intimidating. This Brown Thrasher was in the park yesterday, and although he was trying to avoid me and preen under this bush, he wasn’t too bothered by my picture-taking.

Brown Thrasher

Then yesterday morning two of my now-buddies from 155 N. Wacker managed to ham it up in the same frame.

Gray Catbird and White-Throated Sparrow

Yesterday was hot and steamy. Today was on the chilly side. Tomorrow is predicted to be sunny and moderate in temperature. The quest continues.

Day off

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Tennessee Warbler

9/11/2011 was a beautiful day, as was the same date 10 years ago. I went looking for migrants in the morning, with the realization that I will be in Lakeside, Ohio attending the Midwest Birding Symposium this coming weekend, where I expect I will continue to see migrants. I may not be able to do much blog posting between now and my return but we shall see.

For what it’s worth, the birds were singing in C minor this morning.