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Pileated woodpecker pair at Sapsucker Woods

Christmas present for birders from the feeders at Sapsucker Woods (Cornell). The pileated woodpecker to your right (middle feeder on the post) is the male.

January 7, 2023 by dlschirf Posted in Blog, Video, Wildlife Tagged birds, holiday, New York, video, wildlife Reply

Pileated woodpecker at Sapsucker Woods Pond

Sometimes on Saturday mornings I check out the Sapsucker Woods Pond webcam from Cornell. Today it was especially worth it for this very hungry female pileated woodpecker.

Screenshot 2022-06-11_08-22-12-066
Screenshot 2022-06-11_08-21-18-133
June 11, 2022 by dlschirf Posted in Blog, Wildlife Tagged birds, New York, wildlife Reply

Tundra or trumpeter? Swans in Palos Preserves area

I was excited to see swans that aren’t the mute variety near Little Red Schoolhouse. Their galloping takeoff is something to behold.

May 15, 2022 by dlschirf Posted in Adventure, Blog, Video Tagged birds, forest preserve district of Cook county, friend, video, wildlife Reply

Morton Arboretum, take 1 and take 2

words and images Posted on May 9, 2021 by dlschirfJune 2, 2021
May 2, 2021

I talked J into going to Morton Arboretum to check out the spring ephemerals. On I55, he mentioned he’d sent me a text message mentioning his car’s battery light had come on. The internet in my hand suggested this could be a sign of a bigger alternator problem, and sure enough many other lights had joined the battery indicator. Time to turn around.

On the return, the gas gauge showed nearly empty. He’d recently gotten gas, and we suspected this was also related to the failing alternator, but he stopped for gas at BP on 51st just in case. The quick topping off proved the theory. Of course, now the car wouldn’t start.

Short (!) version: Triple A tried a jump start, then called for a tow. Meanwhile the gas station attendant and then the manager (owner?) were unhappy over and over again that a pump was being blocked. They allowed me to appease them briefly several times by reminding them you can’t move a car that won’t start.

With the tow on the way, I went to catch a bus, but ended up summoning a Lyft car. J’s total time at the gas station — two to three hours. Happy weekend!

May 9, 2021

The next weekend we did make it to Morton Arboretum, where flowers still bloomed. I even found a Jack-in-the-pulpit on the way back to the Big Rock parking lot. They’re not easy to spot in all the green.

On the west side, we came upon Heartwood, part of the Human+Nature exhibition by artist Daniel Popper, which hadn’t opened officially. Heartwood requires you to be photographed between its halves, doesn’t it? The rest looks like it is fabulous, but I’m going to miss the trolls.

Lake Marmo (or Marmite, as I have to call it) glowed spectacularly purple from the top of the rise approaching it. People stopped to take photos, but I couldn’t capture it.

We sat on a lakeshore bench snacking on a charcuterie box from Redbird Cafe in Homewood (I think). As we watched, a great blue heron flew by a time or two, moving from the opposite shore to down shore not far from the bench. Finally, it took off and flapped by to my left, almost close enough for me to feel the air from its slow wingbeats.

I also spotted what could have been taken for a headless duck, but was of course a muskrat. It swam from the island toward us, disappeared under the bank on my left, and reappeared with a mouthful of grass clippings. He was as busy as a . . . beaver?

May at Morton Arboretum
May at Morton Arboretum
21 photos
Posted in Adventure, Blog, Photography | Tagged birds, friend, nature, photo, wildlife | Leave a reply

Birding at Washington Park, the sequel

words and images Posted on May 25, 2020 by dlschirfJune 17, 2020
May 25, 2020

This late afternoon, we didn’t see as many different birds as on the previous visit. I suspect the migrants had moved on, many to the great boreal forests of Canada.

Wood duck drake
Wood duck drake
Female wood duck with colorful accents
Wood duck female with colorful accents

A great blue heron was fishing, catching and swallowing a meal as I watched.

Great blue heron fishing
Watching and waiting
Great blue heron on the attack
The attack
Great blue heron for the win
The death grip
Great blue heron with dinner
The maneuver
Great blue heron with neck bulge from dinner
Down the hatch with tell-tale neck bulge

As on the previous visit, I saw Canada geese with neck bands. One led her family into the lagoon and swam back and forth. I joked that she was trying to lose her entourage, which stuck to her no matter which way she went.

79P = female Canada goose with six goslings
79P with goslings
92P heading north with six goslings
79P and goslings heading north
92P turning south with six goslings
79P turning around
92P heading south with six goslings
79P and goslings heading south

Another goose rested on one leg, then limped off. I assumed she was injured (and was calculating what I could do to help) when I realized she’s missing her left foot. There’s no way to know how it happened, but I would not be surprised if her leg had been entangled in fishing line at some point. The careless non-disposal of fishing line is a common problem in some forest preserves and could be one in the parks too.

58K = female with missing left foot
58K resting on one leg as many birds do
58K = female with missing left foot
58K limps off, revealing she’s missing her left foot

I missed getting a decent shot of a great white egret that flew off in front of me, but I’m also fond of robins. With his dark head, this looks like a male.

American robin
Male American robin listening carefully

Finally, here are the certificates for the geese I reported.

No photo — 68N spotted at 59th and Stony Island
Spotted at 59th and Stony Island; no photo
78P = female
79P = female with six goslings
79P had the half dozen goslings
C_of_A_1168-19999_2348567
58K is missing her left foot
Posted in Adventure, Blog, Photography | Tagged birds, Chicago Park District, friend, Hyde Park, photo, wildlife | Leave a reply

Robin Redbreast, American style, at Washington Park

May 15, 2020

When European starlings and American robins would descend on the field next to us to feast on the stirred-up insects and invertebrates after a rain, my dad would say, “There aren’t as many robins as there used to be when I was growing up.”

On this day in Washington Park, I saw more warblers than robins, but I did spot this handsome fellow. More bird photos to follow.

Untitled
Untitled
Untitled
May 17, 2020 by dlschirf Posted in Adventure, Blog, Photography Tagged birds, Chicago Park District, Hyde Park, photo, wildlife Reply

Birding at Washington Park

words and images Posted on May 15, 2020 by dlschirfJune 10, 2020
May 15, 2020

When I go to Washington Park, I may find a few guys fishing and a few walkers or cyclists, but usually there aren’t many people around. It’s a shame because the Fountain of Time is a masterpiece, and the lagoons are gorgeous.

In this time of plague, though, Washington Park, which has remained open, is suddenly popular. When J. and I went in the late afternoon, people were barbecuing (couples and single families only), cycling, walking, dog walking, and, in some cases, peering at the trees with binoculars or cameras. No guys fishing that I recall.

Sometimes we see a great blue heron or a white egret, but this time I got my first good look at a different heron — the black-crowned night heron with its chunky build, stooped posture, and distinctive red eyes. They’re found in several places in Chicago — someone took a photo of one atop a bus shelter! — but they’re endangered in Illinois.

Black-crowned night heron
Black-crowned night heron

All by myself I managed to spot a few warblers, including several male yellowthroats, a palm warbler pretending to be a dandelion, and the back side of a magnolia warbler (plus the front side, but the photo is blurry). When I posed an ID question on the Chicago Audubon Society group page on Facebook, someone commented, “We have a warbler book that has, what I call, the underwear section. They call it the undertail patterns : ).” My warbler was sporting magnolia “underwear.”

Common yellowthroat male
Male common yellowthroat
Palm warbler
Palm warbler
Magnolia warbler butt
Magnolia warbler butt
Magnolia warbler
Magnolia warbler

A couple tried to tell me about a warbler they’d spotted that must have been rare or unusual, but I missed it and don’t even remember the name.

None of my wood duck platoon photos turned out, unfortunately, but here’s a striking pair.

Wood duck couple
Wood duck pair

Canada geese are ubiquitous in Hyde Park, especially near the lagoons. In this group, a few sported easily read neck bands. I reported the bands and got a few details back from the U.S. Geological Survey, of all organizations. Like teenagers, geese apparently stick with their friends.

92P = male; 88K = female; both hatched 2015 or earlier
66K = female hatched 2015 or earlier
C_of_A_1168-19974_2347758
C_Of_A_EReprint_English
C_of_A_1168-20007_2347757

Washington Park may not be the Magic Hedge or beach at Montrose Harbor, but it wasn’t a bad day after all.

Posted in Adventure, Blog, Photography | Tagged birds, Chicago Park District, friend, Hyde Park, photo, wildlife | Leave a reply

Great blue heron at Rock Run Rookery

Great blue heron at Rock Run Rookery
Great blue heron or Pterodactyl Express?
February 29, 2020 by dlschirf Posted in Blog, Photography Tagged birds, forest preserve, Forest Preserve District of Will County, photo, wildlife, Will County Reply

National Bird Day 2020

January 5, 2020, at Indiana Dunes State Park Nature Center
2020 National Bird Day
2020 National Bird Day
9 photos
Northern cardinal male
Northern cardinal male
Baffled
Melanistic gray squirrel
Red or pine squirrel
Red-bellied woodpecker male
Northern cardinal female
Red-bellied woodpecker male
Northern cardinal male

Remember the little bird who used to tell you things before anyone else did? One must have told J. that January 5, 2020, was National Bird Day, with a 10 a.m. activity at the Indiana Dunes State Park Nature Center.

Together with several families, we helped to fill the many feeders, logs, and hollow stumps behind the Nature Center with safflower, sunflower, and thistle seeds; peanuts; and other goodies. I was sure the presence of many people clomping around would deter the birds until we went back in, but several hung around in the trees overlooking the feeder area, and the bolder chickadees came in to see what was going on (or to make sure we were doing our jobs).

After breakfast at Third Coast Spice Cafe, a shopping interlude at Molly Bea’s, and a stop at the Indiana Dunes Visitor Center, we returned to take photos and for part 2 of National Bird Day — bird bingo. It didn’t take long to spot a cardinal, a titmouse, and a nuthatch eating upside down. The elusive square was held by the Cooper’s hawk. The staff told us they see one perhaps once a week. That no doubt puts a damper on the feeder activity.

After taking more photos, we settled into the very good little library at the nature center, which has books for kids and books on animals, nature, local history, and art. It’s a gem of a resource which I don’t often see in use.

After I spent more than I should (as usual) at the Schoolhouse Shop, we ended National Bird Day with half-price veggie pizza at Villa Nova in Chesterton. Mmmm. No chicken.

January 5, 2020 by dlschirf Posted in Blog, Photography Tagged birds, Indiana, Indiana state park, photo, wildlife Reply

Downy and hairy woodpeckers

December 8, 2019, at Indiana Dunes State Park Nature Center

I’m a little slow but one day years ago when I saw a woodpecker at Promontory Point I realized there are two in the field guides that look very similar — the downy and the hairy. One is smaller but I could never remember which.

Smaller isn’t a good field sign if you haven’t seen both and you’re not sure of the relative proportions.

On a July 2018 visit to Indiana Dunes State Park Nature Center, two woodpeckers happened to land on opposite sides of the same feeder, facing each other. In that moment, I couldn’t miss the most obvious differences between the two, despite the similarity (mostly) of their plumage.

The downy is quite diminutive when seen across from his larger cousin, the hairy. More than that, the downy sports a delicate stub of a bill compared to the hairy’s railroad spike — the bill is almost the length of the hairy’s head.

Finally I got it. I will not have trouble identifying either again. There are other differences, but that bill is the most obvious. Now I have in mind: “downy=diminutive” — body size and bill.

As a side note, the downy is the one you’re more likely to see at your typical suburban bird feeder. I can’t be sure at this late date, but the downy is likely the one my dad fed with free suet from the local butcher.

Downy woodpecker at Indiana Dunes State Park Nature Center
Note this downy woodpecker is banded.

According to Audubon, the hairy requires larger trees and is less likely to show up at suburban feeders or city parks. I’ve seen enough of them at the nature center to know that area (and their feeders) suit the hairy just fine.

December 25, 2019 by dlschirf Posted in Blog, Photography Tagged birds, Indiana, Indiana state park, photo, video, wildlife Reply

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