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

Loony Tunes

I can't believe this Loon let me take so many photos of it swimming around a channel off Lake Michigan. That is, until another Loon arrived and in typical Loon fashion bellowed (seriously it was LOUD - perhaps because of an echo effect from the channel and because it, too, was quite close)

"Watch out for the camera"

Both loons, then, dove under and were next seen at the farrrrrrrrr end of the channel swimming further away from the nosy camera lens.

Snowy Owl

This Snowy Owl put on quite a show for awhile in a little town in Northern Illinois. (These were taken in January. Yeah, I'm a little late posting these.) It's not that it is a rare visitor to the area - Snowy Owls do reside here in the winter. The rarity was that it sat out in the open like this - periodically switching telephone/electric poles for a change of scenery - daily for weeks.

It garnered A LOT of attention. On the day we were there, the side road nearest to it - which was still a farm field away - had at least a dozen cars. On the plus side, the people who came to see it were generally pretty respectful of the bird and didn't try to get too close. On the down side, some watchers started releasing mice in the area so they could get "action shots" of the owl. Not that she (I think it is a she) needed any help getting dinner.

Long-Tailed Duck

Chicago had another rare visitor recently. This little guy, with the very striking markings, is a Long-Tailed Duck. He hung around Burnham Harbor for a few days. According to the All About Birds description, this is a non-breeding male. They typically do not come this far south, preferring the upper Great Lakes and Canada region. I love his coloring and the way his tail curls up.

Cooper's Hawk

The watcher got watched! We went over to the Magic Hedge last Sunday. There had been a light snow and we were hoping to see any of our Winter Residents out and about.

I was a little un-nerved though to glance up and see this Cooper's Hawk sitting on a lower branch calmly watching me. He has a "young" look to him so perhaps he hasn't seen too many people tramping through the snow.

I got the feeling, from his expression here, that he somehow blamed US for the gust of wind that blew the new snow off the tree and onto him.

Harlequin Duck in Costume

About two months ago, I posted some photos of immature (or female) Harlequin Ducks. They were fun to watch, but I missed seeing their cool winter plumage. This weekend, I got the chance to see a Harlequin Duck all decked out for Winter.

Enjoying the waves

Surf's Up, Dude

Oh No! A Camera! Gotta Go!

Where'd He Go?

This Cold Weather Makes Me Sleepy

Naptime!