One Sunny Morning

Posted on January 19, 2023 by Lisa Rest

Sunshine is at such a premium these days, I can only remember one or two sunny mornings. One of them was this past Sunday, but I was inside, singing with the choir. It was a wonderful experience, however, made that much more special by our guest soloist, tenor Sean Harris. The energy he brought to our collective performance was palpable. The light of that occasion has kept me going through ensuing dark mornings all week.

These photos are all from the sunniest day of the month so far, January 9, in Riverside. The first bird I saw was 64H. Below his photo is the certificate I received from the USGS the same day I reported seeing him. Since he is at least 8 years old and I nearly always see him alone, I have imagined a rather sad story. I suspect it is likely he lost his mate and is waiting for someone like her to accompany him.

Some Mallards were enjoying a nap in the sunshine.

There may not have been a lot of birds, but those I could photograph were so much easier to focus on with light. What a concept.

When trying to photograph the Common Goldeneyes, sunshine was the problem.

After what seemed like several weeks, the American Robins were back.

Even this Northern Cardinal didn’t seem to mind posing for me. I guess he figured the pictures would come out pretty good with all that sunshine.

I saw 64H again later on the grass. Then a few more Canada Geese came in for a landing.

That was it for sunshine. Except for a rainy day or two, I have gone out in the mornings and have seen birds every time, in spite of the endless clouds. There’s no sunshine in the foreseeable future, but I will try to be back sooner with a more recent report.

Probing the Portage

Posted on December 2, 2022 by Lisa Rest

I have been hanging out at the Chicago Portage lately and just when it seems like nothing is happening something almost always does. This post covers two visits: November 26 and November 29. And I’ve been trying to write it for several days, so this is It.

The surprise on the 26th was an American Kestrel sitting way atop a tree overlooking the stream. This is a small falcon, quite a bit smaller than a Peregrine, but because it was so far away I wasn’t sure what it was until it started to fly away and I could see the reddish coloring in its feathers. I was very happy to see all these photos blown up. Kestrels are less common here than they were several years ago.

There was an abundance of sunshine that day.

So sunny, in fact, that shadows were a bit of a problem in the photos below, but this was still a beautiful Fox Sparrow.

The Northern Cardinals were up to their old tricks of hiding in plain sight.

And it proved to be a great day to capture an oriole nest.

Then, three days later, by the bridge closest to Harlem Avenue, I was surprised to see a muskrat. When there was more water years ago, there were beavers too, but I have not seen either rodent for quite some time. This muskrat made up for it.

It was quite cloudy early on.

Below is what I first saw after crossing the bridge, looking back at the water behind me.

But later that morning the muskrat decided to put on quite a show.

I met Bob at the bridge after going around the trails, and we stood and watched the muskrat herding Mallards away from its territory.

Below is what one Mallard looked like when goosed by the muskrat from below,

There were some peaceful moments before and after all that.

It was cloudy earlier as I approached the second bridge and I was not seeing any birds. It took me quite a while to find the passerine flock.

I encountered a group of House Finches.

Perhaps my best subject was a White-breasted Nuthatch.

I have been back to the Portage the last two mornings, after taking a break from the weather on November 30. It’s a big decision around here not to go out for a walk in the morning.

I have this thing about extreme wind: I don’t know if I can ever get used to it, but I think it is the most constant reminder of climate change. It seems we have a lot more windy days all year around than we used to. And the winds, depending on what direction they are coming from, bring other weather events with them.

I will try to be back soon. I am singing in the choir Sunday morning so I can’t go out for a walk then, but I will be going to the Portage tomorrow morning for which the forecast is to be cold but sunny, to see if I can manage to capture a clear photograph of a Wilson’s Snipe that Bob found late Thursday morning. (Thanks, Bob! I will elaborate on this event in a future post.) I figured the bird would still be there this morning, which it was, but between cloud cover and missed opportunity I simply could not photograph anything but a blur. I hope to manage something better than this tomorrow.

The snipe is rare for this time of year, and generally rare at this location altogether, I think. They are just difficult birds to see under the best of conditions. So even if I don’t get a good photograph, it’s still exciting to know it’s there. And I give myself permission to “chase” a bird that’s only a few minutes away.

Slowly Emerging from Winter’s Grip

Posted on April 2, 2022 by Lisa Rest

We are still cold. The forecast hovers between rain with a little snow mixed in and sunny respites here and there – the last sunny morning was Friday, and we will have one more day of sunshine tomorrow. I will be indoors singing in the choir, but it will be good to have the sunshine streaming through the clerestory windows of Unity Temple: the forecast is for rain and snow every day in the week ahead.

I guess I shouldn’t be complaining. Last year we had a drought. We seem to be making up for it this year. In any event, contrary to my musings in my last post, the American Tree Sparrows have not yet left the Portage, and there are still a few Dark-eyed Juncos around too. There wasn’t much happening with perching birds yesterday so I took note of a few other things.

I was encouraged to see and hear an Eastern Phoebe, albeit at quite a distance.

There are Americans Robins everywhere, but they were generally too busy for photographs. I often find one walking ahead of me, sometimes looking back waiting for me to make the next move.

The Brown-headed Cowbirds are back, and beginning their courtship rituals. Below, some photos of the standard configuration – two males and one female with her back to both of them.

There were Red-winged Blackbirds everywhere but they were often too busy to capture. It is nice to see the females getting ready to settle in.

Since there were still numerous American Tree Sparrows, I took a lot of photos. Just to make sure I won’t forget what they look like.

Song Sparrows were not as easy to capture but they will be around all summer, when I will try as ever to get a picture of one singing.

Then there’s the stuff that seems to be greening before everything else and drawing my attention to the thorns amongst the leaves. It looks like some sort of wild gooseberry but I haven’t nailed it down yet. Update: my faithful follower Ann has identified this as Ribes hirtellum, Wild Gooseberry. Thank you, Ann!

Now I’m going back to March 15, which by contrast was a cloudy day, but offered some nice photo opportunities.

Sometimes I just get lucky with these White-breasted Nuthatch guys. This time became a nuthatch overload.

Also memorable that day was seeing a male Wood Duck in the water.

And then, flying away…

A male Red-winged Blackbird offered a series of images.

I also captured a female in flight.

A pair of Song Sparrows perched for me.

And I had an elusive Black-capped Chickadee. They have been keeping a low profile lately but I expect to see them a lot as soon as the bugs and warblers arrive.

I can’t resist being stared down by a Dark-eyed Junco.

American Tree Sparrows were fewer in number than they have been in the last week.

One more American Robin on the ground.

With the forecast for rain and snow this week, I don’t know how often I will get out. Of course things can change. I just don’t want to repeat an exercise I went through one day last week when I went out the front door and came back in three times before I finally decided to take my chances. So I will likely be back with some older photos before I banish them to storage. I hope your days are getting greener.

Three Portage Visits

Posted on March 15, 2022 by Lisa Rest

There has been a Lesser Scaup at the Chicago Portage for over a week. I first saw him on March 4 and have seen him on every visit since, including this morning. He seems to be content to hang out and has managed to evade predation. I find him an irresistible subject, even if most of the time he is somewhat far away.

This is a rather long post encapsulating what transpired on my walks at the Portage on the 4th, the 8th and the 10th of March. Immediately below are more photos of the Lesser Scaup from March 4 when I first discovered him.

The 4th was the first time I heard and saw male Red-winged Blackbirds here.

European Starlings are usually way at the top of the trees across the stream from where I am standing, but these two surprised me by being on my side for a change.

Robins are starting to return to the Portage and my neighborhood. They just started singing.

There wasn’t a lot happening on March 4, but it was a sunny day at least.

This young deer was too close and fearless.

Then on March 8, things were a bit more interesting. It started with Downy Woodpeckers chasing around.

I hadn’t gone too far before I saw what I believe to be the local pair of Bald Eagles perched on the electric utility structure. I can’t remember the last time I saw them here but it seems like at least two years.

When I got a bit closer, there was only one eagle perched. I then saw the other flying close by.

It was a beautiful morning.

I kept taking photos of this Red-winged Blackbird as he sang. I don’t know why I have them all here, he didn’t change his position much. But you can hear what he sounded like below.

Song Sparrows could be seen foraging on the ground near the trail.

The Lesser Scaup was present.

On my way out, I encountered three young, lost-looking deer.

And then out on the front lawn, a dead doe that had been ravaged by some beast, likely a coyote. I suspect it was the parent of the three youngsters. I decided to spare you the gorier photos on my cell phone.

As I walked to my car I encountered two Cook County Forest Preserves workers who had come to investigate and clean up. When I drove by about twenty minutes later after running an errand close by, the lawn had been cleared of the carcass.

I began making a connection in my mind between the feeding of the deer and this terrible incident and decided to talk to the man who has been distributing peanuts the next time I saw him.

So I went back to the Portage on March 10. It was a cloudy day and pretty cold.

Sometimes an American Robin will just stare me down.

The Lesser Scaup was still there.

The views that always catch my eye, looking pretty much the same two days later.

An adult Bald Eagle flew over in the distance.

Everybody was down on the ground looking for food, including two White-breasted Nuthatches. I think the one on the tree is a female and the one on the path the male. I wonder if he was going after what looked to me like part of a peanut on the trail.