Three more days into the year, I embraced walking on icy trails, struggling to focus a heavy lens with gloves on. It wasn’t all bad. There were still birds.
On January 2, I was in Riverside. and I found myself attracted to an Ice chandelier hanging low over the water.
A Red-shouldered Hawk was sitting in a tree.
Northern Cardinals brightened up the bare branches.
And then that evening, I found the moon irresistible so I stepped outside to take a few photos.
On January 3, I went to the Chicago Portage. It was intensely quiet on the trail walking in, so I decided to check out the Des Plaines River and I found some Common Mergansers there.
I walked around to the train tracks and the railroad bridge to see if I could get a better look at the Mergansers, but the only photos I took were of the tracks themselves and of what looked like some burdock seedpods wedged in the rocks between the ballasts on the tracks.
On my way back to the trail, I saw two Bald Eagles flying in the distance.
Then, I started to find the birds, among them this Downy Woodpecker and a Red-winged Blackbird.
I have seen White-throated Sparrows fairly often this winter.
I spotted a Red-bellied Woodpecker. I’ve heard these birds more often than I’ve seen them. There were also an American Tree Sparrow and two American Goldfinches that were not in my backyard.
Here’s a White-breasted Nuthatch.
And there were also several Dark-eyed Juncos. I imagine it’s a good time of year to be a black and white or gray bird.
Jan 4 was.a Sunday that I didn’t have to sing, so I decided to do something a little different and visit the Little Red Schoolhouse Forest Preserve. I was delighted to see three Eastern Tufted Titmouse at the feeders, or Titmice if “three mouse” hurts your ears. One of these is also at the top of the post. I was so thrilled to see them, I didn’t manage to record their lovely vocalizations, some of which I don’t recall hearing before. I will have to try to go back again and record them.
Blue Jays were everywhere and not a bit shy about it. I guess the feeder birds in these locations are just used to the extra attention.
I walked the Black Oak Trail which is about a mile and three-quarters. The adjacent slough was frozen over, so there were no waterfowl. But in the woods, there were two, maybe three Red-headed Woodpeckers. The first one I saw still had a little juvenile plumage.
Just as I was finishing the trail, I spotted an Eastern Bluebird in the distance, and the Red-tailed Hawk that I had heard earlier.
I’ll finish with a handsome White-throated Sparrow.
I’ll try to be back soon. I had some nice surprises the past week, before the weather rolled the dice.
If you’ve made it all the way down to the end of this post, you deserve a reward. I invite you to enjoy the beautiful song of a Wood Thrush recorded at the Little Red Schoolhouse.
Perhaps the brightest feature at the Schoolhouse was the fungus growing below.
Here are a few pictures from Thursday, downtown at Millennium Park. There are perhaps 20 or 30 White-Throated Sparrows distributed in several areas. Below are two that came for the birdseed I had brought with me.
Those tough year-round city natives, Rock Pigeons, are always somewhere in the Loop. Below, two pied pigeons.
This Robin was interesting too. How much color can I get out of any bird in this light?
The forecast is for cooler temperatures, rain turning to snow, winter isn’t over yet. But this week I heard some bird song from a Black-Capped Chickadee, an American Robin and a Northern Cardinal. That gives me hope.
