Eastern Kingbirds

The following photos of these Eastern Kingbirds were taken May 10, 2009 at Rock Cut State Park. It's amazing how diffrent light and backgrounds cause the feathers to appear different colors.

Eastern Kingbird, Rock Cut State Park, IL; 5/10/09.

Eastern Kingbird, Rock Cut State Park, IL; 5/10/09.

American Redstarts

American Redstarts arrived back north in the second week of May. Below are photos of both the male with its striking orange-red and black feathers and the female with its yellow and gray all taken on three different dates at Rock Cut State Park.   The top two photos (5/9/10); the third photo (5/23/10) I  came across a female sitting on her nest; the bottom photo (5/31/09) was taken with my old SONY DSC-H7 so the quality isn't as nice as my Canon Rebel.

American Redstart; Rock Cut State Park, IL; 5/9/10.

American Redstart; Rock Cut State Park, IL; 5/9/10.

Female American Redstart sitting on a nest; Rock Cut State Park, IL; 5/23/10.

Female American Redstart; Rock Cut State Park, IL; 5/31/09.

Yellow Warblers

Yellow Warblers were out in full force starting the first week of May. All three of the photos below were taken at Rock Cut State Park on three different weekends: Top 5/2/10, Middle 5/9/10, and Bottom 5/23/10.  I love my Canon Rebel T1i. I generally use the "Sportsmode" on manual focus.

A curious Yellow Warbler in Rock Cut State Park, Rockford, IL; 5/2/10.

Yellow Warbler; Rock Cut State Park, IL; 5/9/10.

Yellow Warbler; Rock Cut State Park, IL; 5/23/10.

Eastern Bluebirds

Eastern Bluebirds seem to be one of the first songbirds to arrive back to Northern Illinois in the Spring. Both pictures below were taken in Rock Cut State Park. The first was on 3/27/10, and the second was taken by my girlfriend on 5/17/09 with her Olympus 570UZ.

Eastern Bluebird at Rock Cut State Park, IL; 3/27/10.

Eastern Bluebird at Rock Cut State Park, IL, 5/17/09.

Common Yellowthroat

Common Yellowthroat at Blackhawk Springs Forest Preserve near Rockford, IL; 5/22/10.

Common Yellowthroat at Horicon Marsh Wildlife Refuge, WI, 5/29/10.

Until a couple of weeks ago, I have never seen a Common Yellowthroat before. Apparently it's their turn to have finished their migration back north. I spotted the first one (top photo) at the Kishwaukee Springs Forest Preserve (5/22/10), then a couple more at Rock Cut State Park (5/23/10), and then last weekend I drove north into Wisconsin, and saw a couple more (bottom photo) at the Horicon Marsh National Wildlife Refuge (5/29/10).

Scarlet Tanagers

The Scarlet Tanager below, taken in Rock Cut State Park in Northern Illinois on 5-17-09 with a SONY DSC-H7. He just sat there posing for me.

Scarlet Tanager at Rock Cut State Park, May 17, 2009.

Below, one year later in the same park with a new Canon Rebel T1i, I zoomed in on this Scarlet Tanager from quite a distance and was pleasantly surprised that I managed a relatively clear photo.

Scarlet Tanager at Rock Cut State Park, IL; May, 2010.