Saturday, June 2, 2012

April Land Birds in Northern Illinois

An Eastern Towhee singing away, Rock Cut State Park, IL; 5/5/2012.
Joining Sparrows (yesterday's post), were many land birds arriving in Norther Illinois during the month of April this year. Some of the earliest were Eastern Towhees (Above), Common Yellowthroats (Below Top), Brown Thrashers (Below Middle), and Tree Swallows (Below Bottom).
A Common Yellowthroat, Black Hawk Springs Forest Preserve, 5-22-10
A Brown Thrasher trying to hide, Rock Cut State Park; 5/8/2011.
Tree Swallows, Nygren Wetlands, Rockton, IL; 4/10/2011.
In the first week of April, I saw a large flock of Tree Swallows in the Nygren Wetlands. This was the earliest I remember seeing these guys up in Northern Illinois.

Hermit Thrush, Rock Cut State Park, Rockford, IL; 5/12/2012.
Other land migrants arriving from mid to late April included the Hermit Thrush (Above, which I usually see in March other years), Brewers' Blackbirds, Blue-Gray Gnatcatchers, House Wren, and a couple of early Warblers: Nashville and Palm Warblers. Some photos below:
House Wren, Black Hawk Springs Forest Preserve, Cherry Valley, IL; 10/3/2010.

Nashville Warbler, Rock Cut State Park; 4/21/2012.

Palm Warbler, Nygren Wetlands; 5/15/2011.
A Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher, Rock Cut State Park; 5/5/2012.


2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Can anybody tell me what these smols are? They circle, land, circle, land, make a lot of noise and finally fly of after a very very large gathering in my yard. I live in Northern Illinois. It is small and dark. I have a video of their shenanigans, but can't post it here. Dang.

birdwoman said...

Can anybody tell me what these smols are? They circle, land, circle, land, make a lot of noise and finally fly of after a very very large gathering in my yard. I live in Northern Illinois. It is small and dark. I have a video of their shenanigans, but can't post it here. Dang.

November 21, 2021 at 6:43 AM