Here’s a roundup of the birds I was able to photograph on two visits a month apart. The first was on April 26, and the second just this past Saturday, May 24. There will be one more organized walk at Thatcher this Thursday morning with Henry leading and if I can manage to get up before dawn, I will attend. Here are my photos, starting with last Saturday and a couple high-foraging warblers across the water by the Trailside Museum. A very large number of participants showed up for this walk after we received some publicity in the local Oak Park newspaper, and eventually we broke off into more manageable groups but that meant we didn’t all see the same birds.

I managed to capture the back of a Blue Jay.

A Canada Goose family was on board.

I barely managed to get images to identify this Blackburnian Warbler.

We crossed the street over to the woods and walked along the road, but saw very few birds. By the time we reached the grass where often birds can be seen along the edge of the woods, we started seeing a few species, such as this well-hidden Northern House Wren.

A male Eastern Bluebird was here and there. The female was present for a moment too but I didn’t get a good enough photograph.

Then, much like the edge of the lawn at Columbus Park the week before, we had another flycatcher extravaganza. They were all quite far away, so even with my big lens, some of these photos are unmercifully blown up and cropped.

We saw several Willow Flycatchers. Two had a brief disagreement.

We had a couple Olive-sided Flycatchers. We only see these during migration.

Eastern Kingbirds can be seen all summer, and they are mercifully easy to identify.

I captured a Warbling Vireo in the mix.

I eventually added what i think is an Alder Flycatcher to the list.

And I caught a Great-crested Flycatcher in flight. It appears to be a young bird.

We were treated to several views of a young Red-tailed Hawk.

A White-breasted Nuthatch showed up for good measure.

At the end of the walk we were treated to a pair of Hairy Woodpeckers. The male was very vocal.

On April 26, we were treated to good looks of the Great Blue Heron that often hangs out by the Trailside Museum. It had caught a catfish but I was too late to get a good photo of that potential action shot.

We also had wonderful views of a Red-shouldered Hawk.

We also had a Great-crested Flycatcher that morning.

There was a Spotted Sandpiper foraging on the shore.

Back out on the grassy area we found a male Eastern Bluebird.

Ruby-crowned Kinglets are gone now, but we were still seeing them a month ago.

And there was a Red-headed Woodpecker although, between the lack of good light and branches in the way, I could only manage a half-baked photo.

There was also a Red-tailed Hawk present.

One of the last birds we saw well was the Red-bellied Woodpecker below. This photo and the individual in it are noteworthy for the fact that you can actually see the “red” belly.

And Brown Creepers such as the one below were more prevalent a month ago. I haven’t seen one for a couple weeks.

Blue-gray Gnatcatchers like the individual at the top of the post were a lot easier to see without leaves on the trees.

Here’s one more of the Great Blue Heron in flight.

I’m likely to be short on narrative for a few more posts as I don’t want to get in the way of so many photos. I haven’t seen as many birds the last couple days, and we are settling down to breeding season, which means most birds have gone where they intend to stay. I have many more birds to share with you and I’ll try to be back as soon as possible.