Wood Ducks; March Migration to Northern Illinois

A pair of Wood Ducks, Horicon Marsh National Wildlife Refuge, WI; 5/1/2011.

Wood Ducks are another water bird that calls northern Illinois its summer home. They are always a treat to see and they arrive in late March. I have seen these colorful creatures in several areas this spring - along the foliage-covered banks of the Kishwaukee River in Espenscheid and Blackhawk Springs Forest Preserves, in secluded ponds in Rock Cut State Park, and in the marshes of the Horicon Marsh Wildlife Refuge (WI).  Their summer grounds range throughout much of the U.S. from the Great Plains to the East coast as well as into the southern parts of Canada. Out West they are less common, but can be found along the northern Pacific Coasts of California, Oregon and Washington as well as across these states into Idaho and the western edge of Montana. In winter they will migrate down to the Southeastern states along the Gulf Coast.


A flock of Wood Ducks and sunbathing turtles at a secluded pond,
Rock Cut State Park, Rockford, IL; 4/29/2011.

There is a little pond in Rock Cut State Park that is hidden by trees and thick under brush  from the main trails in which I have often seen flocks of Wood Ducks (Above). After I made this discovery, the first few times I tried to approach and take photos of them, I made too much noise while bushwacking through the branches and dead leaves to make a good observation, and scared them off as they flew away with their distinctive distressing raspy squawks. However, I learned that if I took my time silently bushwacking through the brush (I know that sounds like an oxymoron, but it can be done), I was able to get close enough without startling them to get some decent pics (Below).

A close up shot of the colorful male Wood Duck hiding in the low branches
along the banks of the pond,  Rock Cut State Park, IL; 4/29/2011.

I caught this pic of a female Wood Duck as it was dabbling along the banks of
the Kishwaukee River, Blackhawk Springs Forest Preserve, Rockford, IL; 5/1/2011.

According to http://www.allaboutbirds.org/ , Wood Ducks like to nest in trees near water, sometimes directly over water, but other times up to a mile away. When the ducklings hatch, they jump down from the nest and make their way to water. The mother does not help them, but calls them to her. The ducklings may jump from heights of up to over 200 feet without injury. I have never seen this, but it would be an awesome sight.

Although its not a great photo in focus, Wood Ducks are always a colorful sight
when they are in flight, Blackhawk Springs Forest Preserve, Rockford, IL; 5/1/2011.

It's difficult not to want to take pictures of these ducks. They are certainly one of the most colorfully marked birds found on our continent. One of my goals is to get a nice sharp photo of a flock of these guys in flight (Above - although not in very good focus).

Pied-billed Grebes, May Migration to Northern Illinois

A Pied-billed Grebe, Bauman Park, Cherry Valley, IL; 4/27/2010.

Pied-billed Grebes (Above) are another water bird that arrived into northern Illinois in late March. In summers they are widespread throughout the U.S. and much of Canada. In winter they will migrate to the southern half of the U.S. and Mexico.

A Pied-billed Grebe, Horicon Marsh National Wildlife Refuge, WI; 4/24/2011.

I love taking photos of Pied-billed Grebes, because they always look like they are looking at me out the corner of their eyes. They are the most common of the three Grebe species (Horned and Eared) that have appeared in our area this spring. The biggest identifying trait is its black ring around its pale bill. They are expert divers and feed on aquatic insects, crayfish and vegetation.

Blue-winged Teals, March Migration to Northern Illinois

Happy Anniversary! June 3. This date marks one year writing this blog - 215 posts, 725 pics, 2 cameras and 4 lenses later.  My first post was of a photo of a Scarlet Tanager on 6/3/2010 - link below...

(  http://northernillinoisbirder.blogspot.com/2010/06/scarlet-tanagers.html )

 Thank you to everyone who has followed and commented to Northern Illinois Birder for the past year.

A pair of Blue-winged Teals, Rock Cut State Park, IL; 4/9/2011.

I have seen a lot of Blue-winged Teals (Above) this spring - at Rock Cut State Park (Rockford, IL), Nygren Wetlands Preserve (Rockton, IL), Horicon Marsh National Wildlife Refuge (Horicon, WI). They started arriving to our area in the latter half of March and some will stay in northern Illinois; however, we are on the southern edge of its summer range, as they will settle throughout all of Canada into Alaska, and cover much of the northern half of the U.S.  They will spend their winters along the Gulf Coast states and along the southern Pacific coast.

A male Blue-winged Teal with a muddy bill from feeding in the mud flats of Pierce Lake, Rock Cut State Park, IL; 4/17/2011.

Teals are generally smaller (15"-16") than most dabbling ducks. Male Blue-wings (Above) have a distinct look with its slate gray head and neck and white crescent across its face and a dark bill. Its tan flanks are speckled with dark brown, a white patch on its hip, and its trademark name - light blue coverts which are visible in flight.

A female Blue-winged Teal, Rock Cut State Park, IL; 4/23/2011,

Female Blue-wings (Above) are less distinctive and look much like a smaller version of a female Mallard with a dark bill. She has a smaller white patch at the base of her bill and a dark eye-line.

A pair of Blue-winged Teals , Rock Cut State Park, IL; 4/17/2011.

Eastern Phoebes, March migration to Northern Illinois

As spring progressed into late March, more birds arrived to the Rockford area of northern Illinois. Many of these birds were waterbirds just stopping for a rest before they moved on to their summer homes (Scaups, Ruddy Ducks, Canvasbacks, Horned Grebes, Red-breasted Mergansers, Buffleheads - see my posts from 4/15/2011 to 5/2/2011 to read more about these), but an equal number of birds were here to stay for the summer. These include Pied-billed Grebes, Blue-winged Teals, Wood Ducks, Turkey Vultures, and one of the first songbirds to return were the Eastern Phoebes (Below).

An Eastern Phoebe, Rock Cut State Park, Rockford, IL; 4/17/2011.

Eastern Phoebes are in the flycatcher family and they are quite widespread throughout the eastern half of the U.S. and can be found as far north and west as the Northern Territories, Canada. Once I became familiar with these Phoebes, they are unmistakeable to identify - with their very catchy song and the fact that they like to perch on open tops of branches, posts, or reeds (Above). They possess a dark head and eyes with a black small bill. They have weak wing bars, a white throat and  smudgy brownish / grayish breast which blends into a yellowish (juveniles) or buff-colored (adults) belly. They also like to wag their tails while they sing or perch.

An Eastern Phoebe, South Pond, Lincoln Park, Chicago; 3/30/2011.

I find Eastern Phoebes one of the easier of the songbirds to photograph as they are very sociable, sit out in open views, and tend to let me get fairly close for good photo ops.

Great Blue Herons, Mid March Migration to Northern Illinois

A Great Blue Heron hunting in a marshy area, Rock Cut State Park, Illinois; 4/29/2011

Great Blue Herons are another one of the earliest birds to arrive back to Northern Illinois this spring, returning by Mid-March. At first I saw only one or two, but by the end of March, there were several hanging around the edges of Pierce Lake in Rock Cut State Park (Above). I also saw them in other area water habitat as well: Nygren Wetlands Preserve (Rockton), Bauman Park and Espenscheid Forest Preserve  (Cherry Valley). They are almost always seen in solo, but in the fall they may migrate or roost in flocks. (See my 6/20/2010 post about Great Blue Herons and the "Heron Tree" in Phoenix AZ -

( http://northernillinoisbirder.blogspot.com/2010/06/great-blue-herons_20.html )

Speaking of seeing Great Blue Herons in Phoenix, AZ, I was able to capture a series of pics of a Great Blue attempting to land in a tree but the branches were too thin to hold it so it more or less crashed into the tree, then took off in an awkward flight. Three of the photos are below:

A Great Blue Heron approaching for landing in a less than sturdy tree ...

... attempting to land, but the branches are too thin to hold it up ...

... then it decides to take off and look for another perch
 - you can see the broken branch in the tree [middle bottom of pic], Phoenix, AZ; 12/26/2009.

American Coots, Birds returning to Northern Illinois in Mid March

American Coots, Rock Cut State Park, IL; 3/27/2011.

For the past few weekends, I've been highlighting the migration of birds through Northern Illinois this 2011 Spring, specifically those that are only travelling through to more northern (or western) destinations. Now I will take a close look at those birds that not only arrive to our area, but will stay and call Northern Illinois their summer home. The earliest of these arrivals start reaching northern Illinois by late February and early March. These include American Robins, Hermit Thrushes, Eastern Bluebirds, Red-winged Blackbirds, Killdeers, and Common Grackles. The next wave arrivals who came to stay included the American Coots (Above) and the Great Blue Herons, which I started to see in good numbers by mid March.

An American Coot, Rock Cut State Park, Rockford, IL; 4/23/2011.

Coots are fairly common on ponds, marshes, lakes and even golf course water hazards. They'll feed on lawns and grassy areas, but will take to the water if feel threatened. They will dive to grab some underwater vegetation, then bring it to the surface to eat. Coots are dark gray with a very prominent white bill and red frontal shield. Their deep red eyes are a great contrast on their black head. They also have small white marks on their tails. Coots have been very common on Pierce Lake at Rock Cut State Park both last fall and this Spring. Northern Illinois is more in their southern boundaries of their summer range, so as the spring turns to hot summer months, we'll see less of them in our area. But I have seen them from mid-March through late May.

A large flock of American Coots mixed with American Wigeons,
Phoenix, AZ; 12-26-2009.

When I was in Arizona in the winter of 2009, American Coots were by far the most common water bird I saw on small lakes and lagoons. The largest codgery of Coots I saw were actually on the Ocotillo Golf Course (Phoenix) water hazards. A flock of Coots has many interesting names, including a "codgery", "commotion", "fleet", "shoal", and "swarm" of Coots. I would still like to know who comes up with the names of collective nouns of birds. They are also nicknamed a "marsh hen" or a "mud hen" because their heads bob like a chicken (or pigeon) when they walk or swim.


According to http://whatbird.com/, Coots are kleptoparasitic - when they don’t feel like hunting for their own food, they’ll steal their meal from other birds.

Blackpoll Warbler; May Migration through Northern Illinois

A female Blackpoll Warbler, Colored Sands Forest Preserve, Shirland, IL; 5/15/2011.

On May 15, 2011,  I checked out "Bird Fest" at the Colored Sands Bird banding station in the forest preserve of the same name. This Festival has been going on for several years, but being a novice / rookie birder, I never really paid attention to it before this year, so this is the first time I attended and it was very worthwhile. I was able to tag along while one of the volunteers hiked down to one of their many bird nets put up in the variety of habitat in this preserve. In a 20 or 30 yard stretch of netting, we found 4 different birds caught in the nets: a flycatcher that no one could identify, a Blackpoll Warbler, a Magnolia Warbler, and a Common Yellowthroat. It was very interesting process how the birds get caught in the nets and then how they are taken out, bagged, banded and released.  When the male Blackpoll Warbler was caught (Below), this was the first time I have ever seen (or at least identified) this type of warbler, but since I didn't see it "free" in the wild, I didn't think I could count it on my Life List.  But as it happens later while I was hiking on one of the preserve's trails, I did get a picture of a female Blackpoll Warbler (Above). So this became #291 on my Life List - my 20th new bird of 2011.

The male Blackpoll Warbler caught in one of the bird nets of the
Colored Sands Bird Banding Station, Shirland, IL; 5/15/2011.

Blackpoll Warblers like the cooler climates of mountain tops near the treeline. As a result, they spend their summers in Northern Canada from coast to coast as well as in Alaska. I was happy to finally see one in our area before they migrated north. They have quite a long migration as they spend their winter months in the northern countries of South America.