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.

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

Cardinal Phases

I don't mean to be mean but young cardinals did not fair well in the plumage department. It's one thing to be drab, as many juvenile and/or non-breeding versions of birds are. It's another to be mottled and splotchy.

Perhaps it is like the gawky teenager who becomes a model - it's just a phase they have to go through. And they seem to sense it, too. The ones in Grant Park were squawking up a storm earlier this month. It was almost as if they were all commiserating about how pitiful they looked in comparison to the adult birds.

But then they finish changing colors and they are the most brilliant, sleek red.

You better not post this picture.
I'm not in my good outfit yet.

Can't you wait until I've completely
changed colors to take my picture?

Don't look at me!
Almost there ...
Who? Me?
Mottled red and gray?
Never!
That was some OTHER bird.

Cooper's Hawk

Totally surprised by a Cooper's Hawk just sitting quietly in a shrub in the Magic Hedge by Montrose today. We knew one was in the area as we saw it last week in a "flyby". But it is so much more satisfying to be able to watch one, close up, for awhile.

It eventually flew over to a taller tree and kept an eye out - in all directions - for brunch. There was also a kestrel in the area (we only saw it as a "swoopby", though). Two raptors in the area sure kept the warblers, flycatchers, and sparrows on their toes. They were all fairly quiet and kept somewhat still and hidden behind leaves. The notable exception were the goldfinch. They never are quiet -- I think they are singing out "We taste like lemons - you don't want to eat us." ;)

Red, White and Blue for Independence Day

How A Bird Flies

Over the last two months of photographing birds, I've managed to document their secret. They don't flap their wings to take off and fly. Instead, they launch themselves like miniature jet-propelled rockets. Here's the proof.

Red Eyed Vireo ................ Blackpoll Warbler

Blackburnian Warbler

Black and White Warbler ........... Black Throated Green Warbler

Cape May Warbler

American Goldfinch

Least Flycatcher

Least Flycatchers, which we've seeing at The Magic Hedge and in Grant Park now, are fun to watch. They swoop out, flutter a bit as they catch bugs, then swing back to sit in wait for the next unsuspecting fly (or gnat or mosquito) to flit by.

Spotted Sandpiper

This little Spotted Sandpiper was enjoying a day at the Montrose Beach last Saturday. When you compare him to the Ringbilled Gull (typically 17.5" tall) in the lower picture you get a fairly good idea of how little the Sandpiper (typically 7.5" tall) is.

Magnolia Warbler

Today, we're watching the Magnolia Warbler.

He sits quietly in flowers.
(OK - he sits quietly for maybe 2 seconds and then starts flitting around again)

He sits quietly in trees.
(Again - for 2 seconds - resting before another flitting spell.)

He swings precariously on small branches.
(While looking for another place to flit around.)

He slides down shrub branches.
(So he can flit around in the leaves away from the camera.)

He glares menacingly at the photographer.

He flies away.

Female Ruby Throated Hummingbird

I thought it was a big dragonfly the way it zipped by me. Then it sat on a limb for a nano-second and somehow I got lucky and got a "fairly" clear picture of this female ruby-throated hummingbird at The Magic Hedge.

American Redstart (Immature)

It's hard enough to identify some adult birds in the first place. It gets a lot harder when you mix in the immature ones, which haven't developed their adult colors yet. We studied this bird - and a multitude of photo angles of it - for awhile before settling on identifying it as an immature American Redstart. I think the yellow blotches and the tail "design" are the identifying features.

A few days ago, I posted a photo of the adult version. It is quite a contrast.


(Click to enlarge the photos)

Yellow Warbler

This is a Yellow Warbler. We've been seeing them around the Magic Hedge and in Grant Park for the last few weeks. "Adorable" just seems like a good word to describe this bird - perhaps due to its remarkable resemblance to a Marshmallow Peep.

Bald Eagle (Immature)

Every so often, we need to be reminded to look in the sky for the birds. Sounds obvious. But, it is easy to forget when we get in the habit of looking in trees, hedges, water and the grass. Who'd think the birds would actually be flying in the sky?!?

And, who'd think there would be a Bald Eagle flying over Montrose Beach and the Magic Hedge. But there he was soaring around on Sunday morning. The immature versions have fairly distinctive lower body/wing patterns and their flight "posture" is different enough to make identification pretty straightforward.

So please remember to look up every once in awhile. You might see something interesting.

(Click on the pictures to enlarge them)

American Redstart

This little American Redstart was a surprise and a challenge at the Magic Hedge. We were just standing around gazing at the area by the dead tree in the Hedge when I saw a flash of red. There wasn't enough red to be a Cardinal but too much to be a Redwing Blackbird (which had been the only birds with red that we'd seen).

When it did show itself, it jumped around a bit - apparently it is quite the "flitty" bird. But, it did end up sitting - maybe it was tired from migrating - enough for a picture and identification. I think we were lucky to catch it when we did since we haven't seen one since at the Hedge or anywhere else.

White Crowned Sparrow

A few weeks ago we'd never seen a White Crowned Sparrow so seeing this one at the Magic Hedge was quite an event. Now, they seem to be all over the place - Magic Hedge, Erie Park, Grant Park. I guess they send a few trailblazers out first to check out the good spots before they all come through on their migration. We're just starting to see a few varieties of warblers, so in a week or two, they'll probably be "swarming" around here.

This White-Crowned Sparrow seems to say "Oh No! Caught by another Paparazzi. Better fluff up my feathers and make sure I look presentable." After preening on the branch, he hopped around the ground - making sure I got his best side.

I mentioned that the White Crowned Sparrows seem to be coming through Chicago in force now. There were quite a few in Grant Park yesterday and they seem to LOVE to eat dandelions.

Yellow-Rumped Warbler

The yellow-rumped warbler has some pretty distinctive markings. So once you get a good enough view, it is easily identified. The key is getting a good enough view. It tends to move around a lot. It's a lot harder to aim binoculars at where you are looking - and have them be focused - than we had realized. We're getting better but it is still a challenge. We spotted this one at the Magic Hedge on a rainy Sunday morning. I have found that patience helps -- eventually the birds do take a rest between flitting/feeding fits and even seem to pose for the camera.

But, after a short rest, they need to eat again and the wild flitting begins all over again. This photo hints at how the Yellow-Rumped Warbler got its creative name. You can just barely see that the bird's lower back (or upper rump) has bright yellow feathers.

Northern Flicker

Northern Flickers were quite plentiful in the Magic Hedge area in mid-April. We're now seeing them on Northerly Island and in Grant Park as well. First the Flicker was posing for us in the Magic Hedge's big dead tree. Next, I found a pair doing a little Flicker Dance (I would have shot it as a movie if I'd known how to do that with the new camera.)