Little Blue Heron and Caspian Terns at Evergreen Lake 9/11-9/21

On September 11, I called Matthew Winks to find out if he had seen anything new. Les Allen and he had seen Caspian Terns and a lot of warblers at Evergreen Lake in McLean County. When I arrived at Evergreen, the warbler activity had slowed down, but I hiked the Deer Island trail and found four Caspian Terns on the sand bar with a Ring-billed Gull and a larger number of Killdeer. It was so hot, the Caspian Terns were panting. This heat was quite a contrast to the cool weather we had had the previous day.













I returned to Evergreen on September 13 hoping to see some warblers in the picnic area at Comlara Park. I had a mid-sized flock that I followed for about 20 minutes. Several of them came down to eye level in a low hedge next to the lake. I had seven warbler species: Black-and-white, American Redstart, Magnolia, Bay-breasted, Blackburnian, Chestnut-sided, and Black-throated Green.









One of the Chestnut-sided Warblers gave some great, but nappy looks while it was preening.











Also present amid the flock of Warblers were juvenile Chipping Sparrows, Eastern Phoebes, an Empidonax flycather, and a Red-eyed Vireo.



A couple of days later on September 15, I returned to the lake. A mudflat had just started forming about a week earlier on the South end as water had been let out of the lake. The mudflat had gotten bigger when I arrived that Thursday and there was a small variety of shorebirds: Killdeer, Pectoral Sandpiper, Lesser Yellowlegs, and this juvenile Black-bellied Plover, which I mistook for a juvenile Sanderling. Later that day Matthew Winks went to the mudflat to see the "Sanderling," but correctly identified the bird I had seen as a Black-bellied Plover. At the time he thought he had a different bird than the one I had seen. Later, however, when I looked at my pictures taking his sighting into account, I realized that I had photographed Matthew's Black-bellied Plover and wrongly assumed it to be a Sanderling. Both birds are very white and have similar patterns on their backs. At the distance I was at without a scope it was difficult to judge size, but after looking at the pictures on my computer, the shape and posture of the bird made it clear that it could not be a Sanderling. While I was photographing the Black-bellied "Sanderling," a Sharp-shinned Hawk flew over and flushed all of the shorebirds. Most of them returned, but this bird did not while I was there.









After I photographed the Black-bellied Plover which I thought was a Sanderling, I realized that I needed an outhouse. The nearest one I could think of was in the parking lot between White Pines Cove and the handicapped dock on the West side of the lake just East of the county line and South of the main boat dock. After making use of the facilities, I decided to check the cove. At first glance I thought I had seen a Great Egret, but I decided to look closely and get my guide book out. I then realized, based on the pinkish lores, black-tipped bill, and pale legs, that I was observing a juvenile Little Blue Heron. At first the bird seemed to be fishing. Then it flew back to the shore of the cove to rest.









I called or texted several people to let them know including Dale Birkenholz and Les Allen, who decided they would come right over to see the bird. While I was waiting for them, I went to the Comlara Park picnic area. I did not see any warblers, but had a couple of Eastern Bluebirds and several Chipping Sparrows.



When Dale and Les arrived, the Little Blue Heron was still in the cove and had begun fishing again. I followed them back to the mudflat after they saw the Little Blue, but the bird I thought to be a Sanderling was nowhere to be found. However, there were still several Lesser Yellowlegs and Pectoral Sandpipers around.



On September 17, Les and I returned to Evergreen and saw a Caspian Tern and what we thought might have been a Forster's Tern, but we could not be sure.





Also present was my first of the Fall Palm Warbler and two Ospreys. We saw one of the Ospreys in McLean County and the other in Woodford County.



While I was trying to get closer to the Osprey perched on the East side of the lake, I saw this tattered but beautiful Mourning Cloak, which was a lifer butterfly for me.







When I returned to Evergreen on September 20, there were four to seven Caspian Terns feeding in the lake. Tonight I did not see the Caspians, but enjoyed viewing a Yellow-bellied Flycatcher and a small group of Blue-winged Teal.

Thrushes, Warblers, and Other Migrants at Ewing Park and My Yard on Glenn in McLean County

It was not a good day for taking pictures, but sometimes the rainy days can be very birdy. Since I had the day off, I waited until about 9:00 a.m. to venture out into the drizzle. I got up much earlier not knowing it was going to be raining. Although it was nice to see a White-breasted Nuthatch on my peanut feeder outside, when I saw the rain, I decided to go back to bed. When I got to Ewing, the rain had cleared up a bit temporarily at least, but it was still completely overcast. Occasionally, a few rays would light the path. The first bird I saw in Hedge Apple Woods at Ewing Park was an Ovenbird. There were several Ovenbirds along the path, but there seemed to be Swainson's Thrushes all over the park. This one allowed a nice photo op. while it was preening.





Another bird I saw in abundance was Red-eyed Vireo, and I had one Warbling Vireo.





Otherwise, it seemed to be the day for thrushes or thrush-like birds. There were plenty of American Robins, but the warblers did not seem to want to come out into the drizzle. I did have Magnolia and American Redstart. The American Redstart landed about a yard from my feet to catch a moth, but then flew away before I could get my camera on her. It rained several times while I was at the park, soaking every lens I had--camera, binoculars, and glasses. Finally, by 11:00, I had given up.

While I was enjoying the early afternoon on the couch, my wife Carrie saw a warbler from the window in one of our cedar trees. I looked through her binoculars and saw a Blackburnian Warbler and then a Magnolia. I tried to take a few pictures from the window, but then went outside to get a better view. The Blackburnian disappeared so I photographed the Magnolia first. Eventually the Blackburnian returned.













There was a lot of activity at our feeders as well, including Black-capped Chickadees and House Finches visiting our peanut feeder.



I photographed this juvenile sparrow on our driveway from the window. I think it is probably a juvenile Chipping, but I wanted to make sure it is not a Clay-colored. Does anyone want to tackle this? My guidebooks just weren't very helpful, or perhaps it's the picture.



We have had about ten young House Finches hanging around. They really love the Safflower Seed we put in the feeder next to the kitchen window. This one was probably wanting me to leave the window so that she could come to the feeder.





I am pretty sure this warbler that was also in my yard is not a Blackburnian. I think it is a first year Blackpoll Warbler, but I cannot be sure. I would appreciate any input.



I also had another Magnoliam, a Golden-winged Warbler, and a Red-eyed Vireo in my yard. Having all of these active warblers in my yard made me think it might be a good idea to return to Ewing to try to see more warblers. As it turned out, the warblers at Ewing were active as well. Not long after I arrived, I saw another Magnolia, a Tennessee, and a Wilson's Warbler together. Unfortunately, I did not get a picture of the Wilson's.





I also had Ovenbird, American Redstart (including an adult male), Black-and-white, Nashville, Chestnut-sided, and Golden-winged.

Not long after I had arrived I ran into Dale Birkenholz, who had decided to come out after seeing a Swainson's Thrush in his yard. He had also seen a lot of Swainson's Thrushes, American Robins, and Ovenbirds in the woods. It was nice to watch some warblers with good company. Although we were enjoying less common migrants, we could not help stopping to get a look at this colorful first year American Robin. Can you guess what it was eating?





Below is a complete list of the birds I was able to identify at Ewing Park and in my yard on Glenn St. in Normal.

Ewing Park (Bloomington) and Glenn (Normal), McLean, US-IL
Sep 9, 2011
Protocol: Area
4.0 ac
36 species

Canada Goose 3
Turkey Vulture 1
Mourning Dove 3
Chimney Swift 8
Ruby-throated Hummingbird 1
Downy Woodpecker 3
Eastern Wood-Pewee 1
Warbling Vireo 1
Red-eyed Vireo 6
Blue Jay 8
American Crow 3
Black-capped Chickadee 12
White-breasted Nuthatch 1
Carolina Wren 1
Veery 2
Swainson's Thrush 13
American Robin 50
Gray Catbird 5
Brown Thrasher 1
Ovenbird 5
Golden-winged Warbler 3
Black-and-white Warbler 1
Tennessee Warbler 2
Nashville Warbler 1
American Redstart 3
Magnolia Warbler 5
Blackburnian Warbler 1
Chestnut-sided Warbler 1
Wilson's Warbler 1
Chipping Sparrow 2
Northern Cardinal 15
Rose-breasted Grosbeak 3
Common Grackle 1
House Finch 10
American Goldfinch 11
House Sparrow 5

Yellow-billed Cuckoo and Warblers at Ewing Park in McLean County on September 1, 2011

A little over a week ago on Thursday, September 1, I visited Ewing Park early in the morning and had eight Warbler species plus the Yellow-billed Cuckoo shown above. There were not many Warblers but there was a nice diversity of them. I was thrilled to get the best looks I have ever had of a Yellow-billed Cuckoo. Strangely, I have seen more of the less common Black-billed Cuckoos in the county including three at Ewing Park--one last Fall and two this Spring. This was my first Yellow-billed Cuckoo at Ewing. No one reported seeing one in McLean County this Spring on ebird, but amazingly my mother-in-law, Laura Freburg, saw one in her yard this Spring, and I did see one this summer at the Parklands Mohr Tract with Matthew Winks.

One of the first photographs I took last Thursday at Ewing was of this enormous Giant Swallowtail.



I also saw this Skipper. Does anyone know what species it is? I'm having trouble identifying it.



I did not get any pictures of the Warblers I saw, but I was content to be able to photograph this Yellow-billed Cuckoo. I saw something big fly across the path and slowly approached to see what it was. This bird like all the Cuckoos I have seen was very secretive and did not want to be seen. The best I could do at first was to get a few shots of his head. The rest of him was hidden by the thick Ewing vegetation. He did not remain still for long though he was much slower in movement than a Warbler. Just a few glimpses, and he was gone. I knew what tree he was in, but he was so high up and well hidden that I could no longer spot him.







Soon after, I came across a Yellow-bellied Flycatcher that seemed to almost have an entirely yellow underside. Unfortunately, he turned his other side toward me before I could photograph him.





Getting close to this Ruby-throated Hummingbird was an added treat as was photographing a Monarch on the Goldenrods.







I later saw a couple more Flycatchers, which at the time, I thought to be Yellow-bellied, but now I am not so sure. The yellow seems to be limited to their bellies and I found out that other Empidonax Flycathers can have yellow on their bellies, while Yellow-bellied Flycatchers also have yellow on their throats.



I saw the Yellow-bellied Cuckoo again. This time he was pretty high up when I photographed him. I only managed a couple of good shots before he started playing the "if I can't see you, you can't see me game." And although, I could still see him, what I could see of him was not enough to take any more good pictures. I was a little disappointed that a branch in this picture covered up the beautiful spots on this birds tail, but I was very excited to be able to get so much of the bird in the shot.



I did see another interesting butterfly, which I was unable to identify.



Below is the complete list of birds I saw that morning.

Ewing Park (Bloomington), McLean, US-IL
Sep 1, 2011 7:20 AM - 10:30 AM
Protocol: Area
4.0 ac
19 species

Cooper's Hawk 1
Yellow-billed Cuckoo 1
Ruby-throated Hummingbird 5
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher 2
American Crow 6
Black-capped Chickadee X
House Wren 4
American Robin 3
Gray Catbird 4
Black-and-white Warbler 2
Tennessee Warbler 1
Nashville Warbler 1
American Redstart 7
Magnolia Warbler 3
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) 1
Black-throated Green Warbler 1
Wilson's Warbler 1
Northern Cardinal X
American Goldfinch 5

This report was generated automatically by eBird v2 (http://ebird.org)