Winter Waning

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We went from over 70 degrees on Saturday to wind gusts from the north on Sunday up to 32 miles per hour. I went out both days in search of more signs of spring.

On Saturday, I decided to visit McGinnis Slough. The overcast made it even harder to see waterfowl which was typically far away, but I did manage to see a few birds. It was hard to resist a near, displaying Red-winged Blackbird.

Swimming close enough for an identifying photograph, anyway, was a pair of Ring-necked Ducks. I am sure there were at least 100 more that I couldn’t see well enough to count.

There were quite a number of Northern Shovelers as well, and I got lucky when some nearer ones took flight.

A Great Blue Heron flew overhead.

Easiest to see were about 20 American Coots closer to the trail.

Most unusual was an Eastern Comma butterfly.

On Sunday, I was at the Chicago Portage, where I barely saw a White-throated Sparrow.

Not surprisingly, I had a male Northern Cardinal and a male Red-winged Blackbird posing,

Then I saw an Eastern Phoebe. I recall this bird returning at what I consider early to this location last year. For all I know it could be the same individual. I saw him get lucky with a worm.

I was about to leave when I was stopped by a fairly close Golden-crowned Kinglet. I had heard their calls but had not seen one up to this point. While I was photographing this one, two more arrived, and then another five came flying over from the other side of the water. I imagined them saying, “Quick, she’s counting, let’s get in on it.”

I then went to see if there was any activity by what I believe might be a Cooper’s Hawk nest I noticed on a couple recent visits. I did see a Cooper’s Hawk in flight.

It began on March 12, when I saw a Cooper’s Hawk around the nest location and just barely saw another on the nest. I haven’t been able to see anything going on with the nest since, but a Cooper’s Hawk has often been present.

One more photo of a Cooper’s Hawk on March 19.

We are set to experience temperatures all over the place the rest of this week and next, with some rain. I am hoping to set up my rain barrels by Monday if the overnight temperatures stay above freezing. Then I will start looking forward to even warmer overnight lows so I can start cleaning up the yard. Musical engagements are coming up as well. It’s all in the reawakening.

Can We Say Goodbye to Winter – Yet?

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When I first started thinking about this post over a week ago, it was mainly going to be a way to send off an accumulation of photos taken over the last few months that I thought would soon look totally ridiculous as the days get longer and the landscape gets greener. I didn’t envision answering the title question with a yes or no answer, but maybe it’s best expressed as “maybe not” as a wind storm prevented me from going anywhere on Friday and then we eventually had snow last night and temperatures are plunging beyond that.

So, here we go. First, a left-over gray squirrel from January 12 by the Des Plaines River.

On January 17, I went on a walk at Sand Ridge Nature Center in Calumet City with Steve and Joann, and the highlights of the walk for me were ridiculously easy views of a Pileated Woodpecker on a fabulously designed suet feeder, and glimpses of a male Purple Finch.

On Feb 4, in very low light with a lot of ice on the Des Plaines River, I found an American Robin tempted by a frozen berry, and a Muskrat next to the ice.

February 6th in Riverside looked like this. The Mourning Doves made interesting subjects.

On February 9, the Cooper’s Hawk which is at the top of the post flew into a tree by the river and then out again.

I am looking forward to seeing more signs of spring. I know the birds are getting ready in spite of the weather challenges. We do seem to be getting more precipitation lately, which can only be good for growing things. Keep the faith.

Springing Forward at the Portage

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We were in the midst of a warm spell, which always comes as a welcome surprise this time of year. I needed a morning walk before singing with the choir Saturday afternoon in a memorial service for a beloved choir member. It was cloudy but not too windy, and warm enough for turtles to emerge.

I saw only a few of the usual suspects, but everybody was singing, like this Song Sparrow.

Red-winged Blackbirds have been about for over a month now, but they still fulfill their purpose as official spring arrivals.

Red-winged Blackbird

I was delighted to see a Brown Creeper. I never tire of seeing this bird.

And there were a couple White-tailed Deer, one of which posed nicely

Then on Sunday morning, with a promise of sunshine and continued warmth, I went out again, although it was extremely windy and passerines were simply not available. But I hedged my bets, so to speak, and after walking the trail without seeing much of anything, I decided to sit on the picnic table bench by the water and wait a few minutes to see what might occur. After a moment or two, I saw my first Turkey Vulture of the season, albeit at a distance.

A moment or two later, a male Belted Kingfisher dropped in and back out again.

I had checked the wind direction on my cell phone weather app and it seemed that I had a good chance to see some Sandhill Cranes. Sure enough, a group of eight Sandhills flew over, in silence, but low enough for the camera to record them.

I am still recuperating from the sudden loss of my internet connection which occurred yesterday afternoon. After figuring out that my router had died, I was lucky enough to call tech support and visit a store to exchange the dead device for a new one. Everything is working fine again, but it was just such an exhausting spell of adrenaline, I never got around to eating anything substantial until dinner. But what a lovely meal it was.

Our brief flirtation with spring weather is over and we are anticipating stormy weather as the temperature drops. I did go out for a brisk walk this morning to clear my head for attending to some boring-but-important tasks ranging from vacuuming to passport renewal… To be continued.

Down by the River

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The river was too frozen for much of February, so I missed seeing some of the ducks that usually come to visit. With the recent warmer temperatures and the ice melting, it was rewarding to start seeing Red-breasted Mergansers again. And just two days ago, there were two male Buffleheads with them.

There was ample sunshine that morning and I had the best look at a Red-bellied Woodpecker that I’ve had for weeks.

Going back a bit, on February 27, I started seeing pairs of Canada Geese. There was one of a pair that like to stand on the wall leftover from the Hofmann dam.

A couple Red-breasted Mergansers were a bit closer that day.

I started seeing Brown Creepers again.

A Red-winged Blackbird was foraging in the leaf litter right in front of me as I sat on my favorite log,

Going back a bit to February 16, just before the water started flowing in the river again, the same pair of geese by the Hofmann Tower, practicing thermoregulation.

I also saw a Merlin that day.

A pair of Mallards found some open water next to the ice.

Three more quick photos from Monday: a Mallard drake, an American Robin, and the full moon that evening. I got up early Tuesday morning to ln hopes of seeing the lunar eclipse, but we were under cloudy skies with drizzle.

We are scheduled to get some rain the next few days. While it might discourage a morning walk or two, we need the rain as the promise of spring continues.

More Portage Bits and Pieces

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A few days ago it was warmer, however briefly, and the birds took notice. There was a lot of singing, including this Song Sparrow at the top of the post who flew in and gave me a little recital when he wasn’t posing.

Below is a Red-winged Blackbird from a previous visit.

With the warmup last week, a pair of Canada Geese and a pair of Mallards came by to enjoy the small amount of open water. Since there was plenty of open water available in the nearby river, I can’t help but wonder if perhaps the couples were looking for breeding habitat.

A Downy Woodpecker made an appearance.

And I got brief, distant view of a Red-shouldered Hawk.

Five days later, we were frozen again.

I was not seeing birds, but a Foix Squirrel was enjoying something edible close to the trail.

I was about to leave without any bird photos, when I noticed a Red-tailed Hawk flying far across the pond, close to the trees.

There was someone else in the tree where it landed. On closer inspection I realized it was the Red-shouldered Hawk.

Going through the hawk flight photos again, I noticed something else in the sky. Is that a drone “airplane” in the upper left? Google suggested it might be a Tomahawk cruise missile. That would certainly be unusual…

So even on days when you don’t see much at all, the camera sees more… Water dripping out under the bridge near Harlem, like beads on a necklace.

The days are longer and longer, I’m hearing more birdsong, and spring’s inevitability suggests there is still a reason to fill in the blank.

Putzing Around the Portage

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The winter cold is back and even though it’s not quite as frigid as before, I can’t say I am getting used to it. So even if I have not been out for as many walks lately, looking back at photos I took a few weeks ago doesn’t seem too out of place. If anything, there seemed to be more birds.

Here are a few glimpses I got of coyotes at the Chicago Portage on January 29th and February 3rd. I haven’t seen them since, but I’m sure they are still around. I saw two on the 3rd but didn’t manage to get them into one photo.

Also on the 3rd, a nice visit from the Red-shouldered Hawk.

The light was beautiful that day for this American Tree Sparrow.

Since I nearly always see an American Robin if not a whole flock of them, I don’t always take the time to photograph them, but they are certainly good subjects. If nothing else, they are used to us.

I think the White-tailed Deer have had a hard time of it this winter. I haven’t seem them much, but have seen and heard of remains of them after falling through ice. I saw the young doe below on January 29.

Here are a couple more shots from February 3. An American Robin and female Northern Cardinal.

After letting several days of cold, windy, gloomy conditions keep me off the trail, I returned to the Chicago Portage this morning. The sun was shining at the time, which made it somewhat easier to keep moving. I will be back soon.

February Ducks and Eagles

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Cold weekend field trips, if you will, got us through early February. Here are some photos from a trip on Sunday, February 8, to the Calumet region, in search of waterfowl where much of Lake Michigan and rivers were frozen. We started out at the Cal Sag Channel and then moved to the Bend of the Little Calumet River where we had some Mute Swans.

Ducks seen frequently that day included Common Goldeneye, Greater Scaup, Red-breasted Mergansers and Redheads.

I lost track of exactly where some of these photos were taken, but these Greater Scaup may have been at the Cal Sag Channel.

We did see three Great Blue Herons at Cal Sag Channel. I followed one in flight over the water.

O’Brien Lock & Dam had some Hooded Mergansers that I barely captured.

And we had a lot of Bald Eagles near the CID Landfill area. My best photos were of younger birds.

Regional scenes included the old bridge over the Calumet River and a view of the frozen Lake Michigan with the Gary, Indiana steel mills in the distance.

At Steelworkers Park along Lake Michigan, we had the greatest number of Redheads, certainly more than I have ever seen.

Finishing up at Steelworker’s, an American Crow flew into view. I can never resist a crow.

There are other field trips to report on, but this is all I can manage for the moment. What started out as a head cold a couple weeks ago turned into a general malaise that attacked my body intermittently with various, if brief, ailments, making naps moire frequent and doing whatever I had to do just to get through the day, so to speak. I am happy to report that I feel much better everyday, and today feels 99% normal. It doesn’t hurt either to be experiencing a brief warmup after our dip into severe cold the last couple of weeks: I am no longer wearing long underwear, although I can’t say I’ve put it away yet…

Feeder Birds

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I have been out for a walk here, a walk there, more for the exercise than anything else, but yesterday was too snowy and blowy to go for a walk. I looked out my back door and saw half a dozen Pine Siskins on the thistle feeders. That was exciting, as it’s been years since I’ve had Pine Siskins in the yard. Of course, by the time I grabbed the camera, they were gone.

But I went out into the yard and managed to take some photos. American Goldfinches are always good subjects.

I counted eleven Dark-eyed Juncos. They have been hanging out in the yard all winter.

I was quite happy to see a pair of White-breasted Nuthatches,

I also had a female Downy Woodpecker and a female House Finch.

Of course, House Sparrows were in good number.

It wasn’t untl I got back inside that one Pine Siskin returned to the feeders. So I took some fuzzy pictures through the screens.

At one point a White-breasted Nuthatch was hanging on a thistle feeder before it relocated to the peanut feeder.

I was out of commission much of last week with a bad cold, but I am back to singing, walking and swimming and feeling much better. I have a weekend of field trips ahead and hope to be back with something to report soon.

Braving the Cold

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I couldn’t stand being cooped up any longer, even though we’re still flirting with single-digit temperatures. Yesterday morning was full of bright sunshine and it wasn’t too windy, so I put on all my layers and attempted a walk in Riverside Lawn on my way to the pool.

I could not have gotten a better greeting than to see an adult Bald Eagle flying in my direction over the frozen Des Plaines River. I was walking the snow-packed trail in the woods. Wearing thick polar fleece gloves, not to mention stuffed into my puffy jacket, I had no idea if I would be able to wield the big lens toward the eagle in time for a few photographs. I think I got lucky.

Snow and ice on the river

I heard and then saw a Red-bellied Woodpecker.

A female Northern Cardinal sat still for a moment.

I walked to the swinging bridge, determined to take a look and then just walk back. I saw a Red-shouldered Hawk fly behind the police/fire station. The hawk eventually found a place to perch and look over the river.

A Mourning Dove had been disturbed by the hawk flying through, but the hawk seemed uninterested in what looked like at least 20 doves lined up on the wall behind the station.

The woods were quiet on the way back to my car, so I was happy to see a few familiar faces, if you will, approaching the Hofmann Tower.

I will be going for walks in the cold more frequently now, as long as it’s not too windy or snowing. For what it’s worth, I felt better swimming after that walk. An important part of my life had fallen back into place.

Poking Around the Portage

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Several days ago, before the -20 F. windchills – it was possible to go for a walk and see a few birds or other creatures at the Chicago Portage. I returned this morning when it was a balmy 10 degrees. The sun was shining brightly and there was less wind than yesterday, but it was still awfully cold. Somehow the cold is making everything else worse, as difficult as that might be to comprehend. But here we are.

January 6 was the last time I saw a number of sparrows. Below: a Song Sparrow and an American Tree Sparrow.

I was delighted to see – and hear – a Winter Wren. Although the wren was quite far away, I managed to get a couple reasonable photos of such a small bird.

The Red-shouldered Hawk was around that day.

At least Northern Cardinals have been pretty consistent.

A muskrat made an appearance.

On the same day, the sun hid behind the clouds at one point.

American Goldfinches were about. As happy as I am to see them in my yard, I’m glad they were at the Portage too.

Two days later, no birds to photograph, but a muskrat and an opossum. I haven’t seen an opossum here before,

Then on January 11, only one bird stood out, however distantly, for a photograph: a male Belted Kingfisher.

On January 13, I photographed only a Dark-eyed Junco. But I was attracted to the water runoff underneath the bridge closer to Harlem. That day was particularly warm.

After that we started to get cold. And this morning, I heard and saw only a few species, and was able to capture just one male Northern Cardinal while I was wearing heavier gloves. We had some snow two nights ago. We are promised some more, and temperatures will be even colder this weekend.

So now we are warming up enough to fulfill tne snowy forecast overnight and into tomorrow morning. I will at least be getting some exercise shoveling my walks. I’m also starting to write a little music inspired by my indoor birds. Anything to take my mind off…