Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly | Goldbird Variations

Nearly two weeks ago, on a beautiful Tuesday morning, I set out as usual for a walk at the Chicago Portage only to find the gate was closed.

This doesn’t happen very often, but I had inadvertently noticed that Ottawa Trail Forest Preserve, close by and also with an entrance on Harlem, was closed, which could only mean that the person designated to open up these locations was somehow otherwise detained. I waited for a few minutes and then decided to go to McGinnis Slough instead, as I hadn’t been there for too long.

The first bird I saw was a Cedar Waxwing.

Then I found a first-year male Orchard Oriole who was singing in a tree nearby, off the lawn near the center of the parking lot.

I managed to record his song somewhat. There’s a few other birds in the background, as usual.

There was also a Common Grackle posing.

Perhaps most unexpected and a bit frustrating was the Pileated Woodpecker that swooped in to a tree right in front of me suddenly, just after I turned around to start walking the mowed trail. When he saw me he didn’t stay long, but I managed a few captures through the leaves.

It occurred to me later that a Pileated Woodpecker has been reported at this location enough times this year, so maybe I can hope to see him again. In the last photo above, he took off for the other side of the slough.

As if that wasn’t enough excitement, a very large bird suddenly flew over my head, the trees, and beyond, chased by a Canada Goose. It turned out to be a Trumpeter Swan. I will have to go back soon to see if the Trumpeter Swans are trying to raise a family on this side of the slough as they did before during the drought.

Then a pair of Eastern Kingbirds started frolicking in the grass. The photo at the top of the post was taken right as they turned their backs on each other.

Beyond that, there was the inevitable Warbling Vireo in the confusing pose below.

I barely saw Wood Ducks in their usual spot.

I was happy to see a Tiger Swallowtail butterfly.

The main part of the slough was heavily overgrown with vegetation. We are getting more rain, so that might change things a bit. I’ll have to go back and see how things are going for the summertime occupants. I did hear Marsh Wrens but did not see them. Of course there were plenty of Red-winged Blackbirds.

Today has been rainy and rather chilly. Some warmer weather is coming, but then more rain with it. Cicadas are everywhere. Yet it’s still good to go out and find the real world, still there.

Crows Cancer Survivirs 07-26-17-2343 Not much going on with birds in the downtown parks these days. It is breeding season and occasionally I hear baby birds, see a youngster here and there, but the warm weather also brings out the tourists and I think the birds are keeping a low profile.

I am always happy to see my crow friends. But last week when I visited Lake Shore East Park, below is a picture of the first crow I saw. I am sure crows die on occasion but it is very unusual to see a dead one. I called Chicago Bird Collision Monitors first to see if there was any protocol, perhaps the state was still collecting crows to test for West Nile Virus, but they checked and called me back and they had no suggestions on what to do. I was surprised no one had found the carcass and removed it, given the workers who seem to be constantly maintaining the gardens. Although under a tree, the bird was in plain sight from the walk.

I hope this isn’t Fuzzy.

A couple women walking by with baby carriages stopped to talk to me about the dead crow, they were concerned and sad to see it. Eventually I met a young woman named Tess who proved to be a crow soul mate and she promised to investigate who to notify as she lives nearby. She wrote me an email a couple days later saying she finally managed to tell one of the gardeners, as the management in her building had been clueless. Her description of the gardener’s eyes welling up with tears when she showed him the dead crow was touching. Tess surmised that the gardener was as fond of the crows as he seemed to be of tending the gardens. That explains to me why the crows chose Lake Shore East Park to raise their young, they feel welcome there.

In any event, the crow funeral gathering must have occurred a lot earlier because the two or three crows present with youngsters seemed to be going on with their lives, although I am quite certain they were aware of the corpse and the attention we paid to it. I am just hoping I have not lost an old friend, Fuzzy, who was hanging out with this bunch. I think Fuzzy was himself a juvenile only a few years ago.

Hot, sunshiny summer afternoons are good for butterflies, or at least they ought to be. I got lucky Tuesday with a Monarch at Lake Shore East Park.

Other birds finding ways to deal with the heat were the House Sparrows bathing in the fountain below…

HOSPs LSE Park 07-25-17-2142 and Rock Pigeons preening in the shade or sun-bathing in the mulch.

Sunbathing Pigeon LSE Park 07-25-17-2206

Yesterday I didn’t get as far as Lake Shore East because the crows met me at the Cancer Survivors’ Garden instead. There was only one fledgling.

But while this fledged kid was more vocal than on other occasions, it was also learning to forage for itself. If you click on the pictures below, in the first one you can see it showing off a beak full of small worms.