Northern Illinois Summer Warblers: American Redstart

A male American Redstart, Nygren Wetlands, Rockton, IL; 5/12/2012. 

Talking about summer warblers that reside in Northern IL in my past few posts, another very common warbler found in Northern Illinois is the American Redstart (Above). I found this one at the Nygren Wetlands...

Another male American Redstart, Rock Cut State Park, IL; 5/12/2012.

...then the same day I found another Redstart (Above) at Rock Cut State Park. Another one, a week later (Female Below).

A female American Redstart, Rock Cut State park, Rockford, IL; 5/20/2012.



American Redstarts are fairly easy to find as they like to perch on medium height branches in smaller trees and are very vocal with their song. males and females are quite different in their appearances as seen by the female (Above). The remaining pics are all of male Redstarts.

Another male American Redstart, Rock Cut SP, Rockford, IL; 6/13/2012.



A male American Redstart, Peninsula SP, Door County, WI; 6/20/2012.

Northern Illinois Summer Warblers: Yellow Warbler

OLD YELLER

Yellow Warbler, Rock Cut State Park, Rockford, IL; 5/5/2012.

The ubiquitous Yellow Warbler (Above) is perhaps the most common and widespread of all warblers, as its summer range spreads across most of the North American continent. These bright yellow birds usually show up in the Northern Illinois area in the first week of May.

A different Yellow Warbler, Rock Cut State Park, Rockford, IL; 5/5/2012.

From May 1 - 4, while I was out and about in my favorite birding and hiking haunts, there was nary a sign of these warblers, then suddenly on May 5, they were all over the place. They descended overnight. In early April, I saw many Yellow Warblers in the southeastern corner of Arizona. So it took these guys about a month to reach our end of the state.

Yet another Yellow Warbler, Rock Cut State Park, Rockford, IL; 5/5/2012.

It seemed that every 20 yards or so I saw a new 'Old Yeller." Probably during a couple hour hike at Rock Cut State Park, I saw and/or heard 50 of these guys (an unofficial count).

Northern Illinois Summer Warblers: Common Yellowthroat

A male Common yellowthroat showing itself briefly in Deer Run Forest Preserve, Cherry Valley, IL: 7/1/2012.

Of the 46 Wood-Warblers listed in The Sibley Field Guide to Birds in Eastern North America,  less than half of these will call northern Illinois their summer home. The 19 listed in Sibley's are:

Summer Warblers in N. IL: Common Yellowthroat* (Above), Yellow-breasted Chat*, American Redstart*, Louisiana Waterthrush*, Ovenbird*, Northern Parula*, and those with "warbler" ending its names: Blue-winged, Yellow*, Chestnut-sided, Cerulean*, Pine*, Prairie, Yellow-throated*, Black & White*, Prothonotary*, Kentucky, Worm-eating*, Mourning, and Hooded*. Obviously birds do not read the field guides to tell them where they should be in certain times of the year, so boundaries and territories are flexible. Warblers that I have seen in the summer in the Rockford area which are not listed in Sibley's as summer residents are: Tennessee, Nashville, and Black-throated Green.  Of this list, I have seen 14 of them (marked above with an *), however, not all of them marked with the * have I seen in the Northern Illinois area. It just means I have seen them in other states (i.e. the Worm-eating and Hooded Warblers I saw in the Smoky Mt. Nat Park, but have yet to see them in Illinois). The 5 Warblers that have avoided my camera's viewfinder are the Blue-winged, Chestnut-sided, Prairie, Kentucky, and Mourning Warblers.

A female Common Yellowthroat, Deer Run FP; 7/1/2012.

One of the more common and visible warblers in our area is the Common Yellowthroat (Above). They are actually very common throughout the U.S. and Canada, in weedy, brushy and marshy habitats. Their sing-song sound is unmistakable which is often described as "wichety, wichety, wichety," coming from out of the long weeds. They like to hang low in the brush but will pop up and show themselves often enough.

Another male Common Yellowthroat, Rock Cut State Park, Rockford, IL; 5/20/2012.

(Above) another shot of a male Common Yellowthroat from earlier this past spring.

Nrth IL Warbler Fall Migration: Palm Warbler

A BIRD IN THE PALM IS WORTH MORE

THAN TWO IN THE BUSH?

A Palm Warbler trying to hide from my camera in the bush, Espenscheid Forest Preserve, Cherry Valley, IL; 5/1/2011.

Another common warbler migrating through our area is the Palm Warbler (Above). I took several good pictures of this species a year ago in both the spring and fall migration periods. It is more fun to see him in the Spring when he sports its breeding plumage of red cap, yellow eyebrow, throat and breast. In the fall when I see it pass through, it loses its colors and is more drab. below are a couple links to earlier posts about the palm Warbler. he second link shows photos of the Palm Warbler in its non-breeding plumage.

http://northernillinoisbirder.blogspot.com/2012/06/april-land-birds-in-northern-illinois.html

http://northernillinoisbirder.blogspot.com/2011/05/palm-warblers-early-may-migration.html





Warbler Fall Migration: Northern Waterthrush

THE WARBLERS ARE COMING!

THE WARBLERS ARE COMING!

It's still only mid-August, but birders throughout Illinois are reporting that the fall migration has already begun. Indeed, shorebirds have been passing through the area for several weeks already. But just in the last few days there have been several sightings of Wood Warblers in Northern Illinois. The link below is one such report from the IL Birds Message Board from a birder who saw 14 different species of Warblers at the Montrose shore area in Chicago.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ILbirds/message/56626

Northern Waterthrush, Rock Cut State Park, Rockford, IL: 5/12/2012.

For myself with school starting, and working on several time-consuming projects, I probably will not be able to get out and do much birding this fall. I'll miss out on the fun, so I will feature photos of Warblers that I took during the spring migration and early summer. One such photo is from last May when I had a good look at a Northern Waterthrush (Above) as it was migrating the other direction. It was hopping around small branches in a thicket near the water's edge of Pierce Lake in Rock Cut State Park. It stayed pretty hidden for quite some time. I did not have a decent photo of this warbler, so I waited it out until it finally alit on a branch that was clear of obstacles so I could snap its portrait. Birding is a hobby that tests one's patience. Wildlife is not predictable and usually not all that cooperative to us photographers. So patience is indeed a virtue that pays off.

The same Northern Waterthrush, Rock Cut State Park, Rockford, IL: 5/12/2012.

Northern Waterthrushes spend their summers in northerly habitats: Northern Wisconsin, Minnesota and Michigan, spreading east to the Northeastern States from Pennsylvania up to Maine, and West in western Montana and Northern Idaho, as well as all of Alaska and coast to coast in Canada. Every once in a while I get a chance to see one of these guys as they travel through in the fall and the Spring.



Southwest Warblers Part 4: Painted Redstart and Black-throated Gray Warbler

Painted Redstart: The first time I saw a Painted Redstart was when one greeted me at the front door feeder of the Ramsey Canyon Nature Conservatory last December. Unfortunately it flew so close to my 150-500mm Sigma Lens that I couldn't get a clear picture of it before it disappeared. So when I had a chance to revisit the Conservatory last April, I was hoping to get a second chance at photographing these strikingly beautiful black warblers with a red breast and belly and white wing patches and outer tail feathers, and a white patch under its eyes which make it look like it's in a perpetually sad disposition.

Painted Redstart, Ramsey Canyon Nature Conservatory, AZ; 4/9/2012.

I hiked pretty far into the Canyon, and fortunately after missing a few chances of these Redstarts, one showed itself long enough for me to capture its image (Above).

Painted Redstart, Ramsey Canyon Nature Conservatory, AZ; 4/9/2012.

Painted Redstarts (Above) have a pretty small area in the U.S. to find them - Southeast Arizona and Southwest New Mexico. Otherwise they are much more common in the canyons of Mexico.

Black-throated Gray Warbler: A more common Warbler, but a first for me was the Black-throated Gray Warbler (Below), which I located on the Cave Creek Canyon Trail in the Chiricuaha Mountains, two days later from my Ramsey Canyon visit.

Black-throated Gray Warbler, Chiricuaha Mts., AZ; 4/11/2012.

When I first heard, then saw, this warbler with its white and black markings, I initially thought it to be a type of Chickadee (I was hoping for a Mexican Chickadee). But after comparing my photos to the Sibley's Field Guide, I realized that I found my first Black-throated Gray Warbler. I was disappointed thet I couldn't get a clear photo of this warbler as my only clear shot was well out-of-focus. My somewhat in-focus photos (Above and Below) did not have the best point of views, but the photos along with remembering its song, was good enough to make a definite identification.

Black-throated Gray Warbler, Chiricuaha Mts., AZ; 4/11/2012.

Black-throated Gray Warblers can be found throughout much of the western U.S. from the Pacific Coast of British Columbia in the North to the southern borders of California, Arizona, and New Mexico. They can be found mostly in an arid habitat of Oak or Juniper woodlands.

Southwest Warblers Part 3: Lucy's Warbler

Lucy's Warbler, San Pedro Riparian Natural Conservation Area, Sierra Vista, AZ, 4/9/2012.

Continuing my weekend series on Warblers from the Southwest, I was very happy to locate my first Lucy's Warblers (Above).  I saw at least two different Lucy's while birding in the San Pedro Riparian NCA during my 2012 Springbreak.  To tell you the truth, when I was photographing these pretty little guys (only 4.25" long), I didn't recognize them and had to refer to my Sibley's Field Guide to Birds of Western North America to make the identification. 
Lucy's Warblers are not a very commonly found bird, but for the best possibility of locating them, look along streams (such as the san Pedro River where I found them) in the dense brush.

Lucy's Warbler, San Pedro Riparian Natural Conservation Area, Sierra Vista, AZ, 4/9/2012.

Lucy's Warblers are a pale bluish gray with a white eye line and undertail coverts. Another good field mark is their rufous cap and rump, which is very evident in the photo (Above).

Lucy's Warbler, San Pedro Riparian Natural Conservation Area, Sierra Vista, AZ, 4/9/2012.

Lucy's Warblers summer range is quite small, but can be found in southern Arizona and slightly spreading across the borders into California, Nevada, New Mexico, and Mexico.

Southwest Warblers Part 2: Wilsons Warbler

Wilson's Warbler, San Pedro Riparian Natural Conservation Area, Sierra Vista, AZ, 4/9/2012.

I was fortunate to get a few good looks at the Wilson's Warbler (Above), while exploring the San Pedro Riparian Natural Conservation Area near Sierra Vista last April, while these warblers were migrating to more northern summer homes.

Another Wilson's Warbler, San Pedro Riparian Natural Conservation Area, Sierra Vista, AZ, 4/9/2012.

During the summer months, Wilson's Warblers are found throughout the West along the Pacific Coast and inland in Idaho, western Montana and Wyoming, the northeast corners of Utah and Nevada, northwest corner of Colorado. They are also found from coast to coast in Canada and throughout all pf Alaska except for the extreme northern coast.

Yet another Wilson's Warbler, San Pedro Riparian Natural Conservation Area, Sierra Vista, AZ, 4/9/2012.

Wilson's Warblers look very much like the Yellow Warbler, except add a small black cap on the Wilson's and subtract the red streaks on the breast from the Yellow.

Southwest Warblers: Yellow, Yellow-rumped, and Orange-Crowned

WARBLERS OF THE SOUTHWEST

Yellow Warbler, 1st-year, San Pedro Riparian Natural Conservation Area, Sierra Vista, AZ, 4/10/2012.

On my Spring Break trip to Arizona, I was hoping to add a few new birds to my list, particularly some warblers.  Typically, the Midwest and Eastern U.S. have a much larger variety of warbler species to see than the Western U.S., but there are a few species that are more likely to be found in the West and Southwest and of course those species that can be found throughout the entire country, such as the Yellow Warbler (Above).
Warblers that can be seen in the Western States during the Summer
Western: Orange-crowned*, Wilson's*, Black-throated Gray*, Yellow-rumped Audubon's*, MacGillivray's
Northwest and North Central West: Nashville, Townsend's, Hermit, American Redstart*, Northern Waterthrush, Ovenbird
Southwest: Virginia, Lucy's*, Grace's, Red-faced, Painted Redstart*, Olive (Locally southeast AZ southwest NM), Colima (Locally in the Big Bend area of Texas)
West and East: Yellow*, Common Yellowthroat*, Yellow-breasted Chat*
* Denotes the warblers that I observed in Southeast Arizona during April, 2012.

Yellow Warbler, 1st-year, San Pedro Riparian Natural Conservation Area, Sierra Vista, AZ, 4/10/2012.

There were Yellow Warblers all over the San Pedro Riparian NCA in early April, and then they show up in my hunting grounds of Northern Illinois in late April. I saw both mature adults and ther paler 1st-Years (Above).

Yellow-rumped Warbler, Ramsey Canyon,Sierra Vista, AZ; 4/9/2012.

Another very common warbler seen in the West is the Yellow-rumped Audubon's (Above and Below), which is distinguished from the Eastern species (Yellow-rumped Myrtle) with its yellow throat. The Myrtle has a white throat.

Yellow-rumped Warbler, San Pedro Riparian Natural Conservation Area, Sierra Vista, AZ, 4/10/2012.

Orange-crowned Warbler, San Pedro Riparian Natural Conservation Area, Sierra Vista, AZ, 4/10/2012.

What I thought was a Yellow Warbler sneaking around the heavy brush, when I first saw it, turned out to be an Orange-crowned warbler (Above). It was my first sighting of this species. Hooray!
In the next few days, i will post pictures of some more Southwest Warblers that I saw on my Spring break trip: Wilson's, Lucy's, Painted Redstart, and Black-throated Gray.

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail Butterflies and Pondhawk Dragonflies

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, Red River Gorge, Kentucky; April, 2006.

One of my very early photos of a butterfly, taken more than six years ago, long before I decided to try to do Butterfly photography.

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, Rock Cut State Park, IL; 8/2/2009

Then again, three years ago, I captured another Eastern Tiger Swallowtail (Above) in Rock Cut State Park.

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, North Branch, Nippersink, McHenry County, IL; 6/10/2012.

(Above) is one of my latest shots of another Eastern Tiger Swallowtail.  It seems all of my older photos of butterflies, seem to have been these types of Swallowtails because they are easy to spot and very striking with their yellow and black tiger stripes.

Eastern Pondhawk Dragonflies
In addition to butterflies, I have also started to try my hand (finger?) at dragonfly photography.

Male Eastern Pondhawk, Deer Run Forest Preserve, Cherry Valley, IL; 7/1/2012.

Another Eastern insect with wings happen to be the Eastern Pondhawk (Above), one of the Midwest's more common dragonflies. The series of photos below will show the different shades of blues and greens that these Pondhawks will come in. Some males will have a green upper body (thorax) and head, with a blue tail and abdomen Like the one pictured (Above). Other males will be exclusively blue, some darker blue and some lighter blue.

Close up of a Male Eastern Pondhawk, Deer Run Forest Preserve, Cherry Valley, IL; 7/1/2012.

Same Dragonfly

A bluer male Eastern Pondhawk, Rock Cut State Park, Rock Cut State Park, Rockford, IL; 7/6/2012.

• 

A lighter colored Male Eastern Pondhawk, Rock Cut State Park, Rock Cut State Park, Rockford, IL; 7/6/2012.

Female Eastern Pondhawks (Below) are mostly green with some browns and light greens on their abdomen.

Female Eastern Pondhawk, Rock Cut State Park, Rock Cut State Park, Rockford, IL; 7/6/2012.

Female Eastern Pondhawk, Rock Cut State Park, Rock Cut State Park, Rockford, IL; 7/6/2012.

Pondhawks feed off of other insects. This female Eastern Pondhawk (Above) took the easy route. Instead of chasing down other insects, she was feeding off of insects that were caught in a spider web, like a buffet.

Another Western Woodpecker: Acorn Woodpecker

MORE SOUTHWEST WOODPECKERS

Acorn Woodpecker, Ramsey Canyon, Sierra Vista, AZ, 4/9/2012

The first time I saw an Acorn Woodpecker was in Yosemite National Park several years ago. The next two times I saw these guys were both in Ramsey Canyon, AZ, last fall and this spring (Above). 

Acorn Woodpecker, Ramsey Canyon, Sierra Vista, AZ, 4/9/2012.

Ramsey Canyon is the place to be to find Acorn Woodpeckers.

Arizona Woodpecker in Ramsey Canyon

 MORE SOUTHWEST WOODPECKERS

Arizona Woodpecker, Ramsey Canyon, Sierra Vista, AZ, 4/9/2012.

As I entered the road leading to the Nature Conservatory at Ramsey Canyon, before I even reached the parking lot, I saw a good-sized bird fly across the road in front of me and land on the trunk of a tree to the right side of the road. By the way it was clinging to side of the trunk of the tree, I knew it was a woodpecker, but its coloring was a bit different than the usual woodpeckers I am used to in the Midwest. As I slowed the car down and pulled over, The woodpecker flew to the next tree trunk up the road. So I stealthily gathered my camera, opened the car door, and used the car as sort of a blind and focused over the roof of the car at the woodpecker. Once I trained my focus on the woodpecker and it appeared in my viewfinder, I realized it was an Arizona Woodpecker, my first sighting ever, which always makes me happy. It stayed put long enough for me to snap off a few photos (Above and Below).

The same Arizona Woodpecker, Ramsey Canyon, Sierra Vista, AZ, 4/9/2012.

It was awesome to be greeted by an Arizona Woodpecker, before I even reached the actual Conservatory. I remember the only other time I visited the Ramsey Canyon Nature Conservatory, the first bird I saw as I got out of my car was a Painted Redstart, also a first. I love Ramsey Canyon!

Gila woodpecker vs. Hummingbird Feeder, San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area, AZ

GILA WOODPECKER VS. THE HUMMINGBIRD FEEDER

A Gila Woodpecker wondering how to get a drink from this hummingbird feeder, San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area, AZ; 4/10/2012.

While I was birding out in the San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area last April, I had fun watching a pair of Gila Woodpeckers trying to figure out how to get a meal out of the local bird feeders that wern't exactly suited to their body styles. First of all, the female Gila (Above) was trying to get a sip of nectar from a hummingbird feeder. She landed on it and looked at the feeder, not finding how to get to the liquid.

"Wait a minute...There's a little hole in here."

Then notices there are little holes in the bottom section. Using her tail to balance her position, she tried to bend her neck to reach one of the holes.

"Ooops!"

But she kept slipping down (Above).

"Let's try this side."

She flew off and returned to try another angle (Above).

"A little help...please"

She looked at me taking pictures almost as if she was asking for suggestions, and wondering I was just standing there and not helping her out.

"Ah Hah!"



Eventually, she was able to position herself in a way to get the tip of her bill into one of the holes.

Meanwhile a Black-chinned Hummer kept circling, wondering when the big hummer is going to leave.

All the while this was going on, a female Black-chinned Hummingbird kept circling the feeder, getting impatient with the Gila Woodpecker for hogging her territory (above).

Meanwhile.........

Meanwhile, a male Gila WP tried his luck on another feeder,  San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area, AZ; 4/10/2012.

A male Gila Woodpecker (Above) landed on another feeder suited more for smaller birds such as sparrows, finches, and chickadees. He also was trying to figure how to position himself to get to the openings which would lead him to his meal.

"Hmmm..."

It was almost as if he was thinking about how to do this - going over strategy in his mind.

Sliding down

He is starting to employ his strategy, as he started inching his way down the feeder.

"Nobody's watching, right?"

He also gave a look, as did the female on the hummer feeder, of "am I doing this right?"

"I think I get it."

However, he never did get is bill in the feeder hole. Giving up, he flew off.

It was fun moment of birds trying out their problem solving skills.