As promised in my last post, here are some more photos from August 13, 20 and 22 at the Chicago Portage.
But first, on August 13, when I stepped out my front door, there was a female American Goldfinch in the front yard feeding on the purple coneflower seeds. I just barely captured her as she was in the thick of it.
Then at the Portage, I observed a fine-looking union of two non-native species, a Cabbage White Butterfly and Burdock.
There were a few Cedar Waxwings in distant conference.
Eventually, a couple individuals volunteered. These birds know how to pose.
I caught a brief glimpse of a Ruby-throated Hummingbird in the Jewel Weed. The Portage used to have a lot of this plant, and now it has all but disappeared, which is a disappointment for me and the hummingbirds.
There were American Goldfinches here too, of course. It's a great time of year to be a goldfinch with so many flowers going to seed.
I saw a young Baltimore Oriole.
I first heard and then saw a juvenile Gray Catbird.
I couldn't resist following a White-breasted Nuthatch as it scaled what looks like a cottonwood tree.
There were a couple Red-bellied Woodpeckers. The one on the left in the second photo below is a juvenile.
On August 20, the non-warbler species kicked off with a couple Eastern Wood-Pewees seen from the bridge near Harlem. One of them also appears in the first photo of this post. In the last photo below, a Song Sparrow flushed the Pewee off its perch.
American Goldfinches were enjoying the duckweed.
A tree full of Cedar Waxwings showed up.
A Black-capped Chickadee checked out the statue.
And a Chipmunk vied for my attention.
On August 22nd, I first caught a Downy Woodpecker landing onto a tree trunk.
A Gray Catbird flipped its tail toward me.
I had one of my last glimpses of an adult male Baltimore Oriole.
I'm starting to think the Chipmunks recognize me.
I thought I had what appeared to be a young Philadelphia Vireo in my photos but upon review I have decided it was a Warbling Vireo.
I found a disheveled, molting Indigo Bunting.
I have not encountered any large flocks of Red-winged Blackbirds yet, only a few solitary individuals like the female or juvenile below.
An Osprey flew overhead.
It was one of two
There are many more photos I can share of this emergent transition from summer into fall. And if the forecast holds for unbearable heat through Wednesday, I may have more time to post rather than take more photos. My only consolation is that the birds don't like extremely hot weather either. It was very quiet when I stopped by the Chicago Portage this morning after an early walk in Thatcher Woods with the Oak Park Bird Walkers. Next Saturday I meet them at Columbus Park. We should be back in the low 80's by then, and see a lot more birds.
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