Yellow-Rumped Warbler

Happy 226th Birthday Mr. Audubon!

Don't you love it when a bird's name is sooooooo descriptive. Of course, this is a Yellow-Rumped Warbler. But he also has yellow shoulders and, if you look really closely at the second photo, you can see a hint of a yellow crown.

I hope the sighting of my first warbler of the Spring is a sign that Spring is actually here.

Migration 2011: Early April

A sample of the birds that are currently coming through Chicago during the 2011 Migration:

Clockwise from top left: Eastern Phoebe, Brown Thrasher,

American Goldfinch (in its Motley Phase of Color Transition),

Yellow Bellied Sapsucker, a hungry Black Capped Chickadee, Hermit Thrush

A Rush of Thrushes

These three thrushes,

flushed from a rushed migration,

were in the brush,

crushing mushy bugs and making quite a hushed fuss,

not wanting to gush about their lush location.

OK. That's enough. I'll stop. ;)

Wood Thrush

Veery

Hermit Thrush

Ovenbird

(Although it LOOKS thrush-like, the ovenbird is actually in the Warbler family)

Common Grackle

Another early bird is the Common Grackle. They are hard to miss because they are quite loud.

Almost hidden in a nest

Out in the open -- enjoying some early Spring sunshine

Red-winged Blackbird

It's interesting. All of a sudden - around the beginning of March - the bird activity jumps up a notch around here. You first notice it with the residents: the house sparrows and robins are a little more active and noisy.

The red-winged blackbirds, an early bird, appeared over the weekend.

Male Red-winged Blackbird

Female Red-winged Blackbird