Spring migration is underway

We endured a wet and windy two weeks in Chicagoland until weather conditions changed to favor northbound migrants. Finally, the clouds disappeared, and we visited Nelson Lake/Dick Young Marsh Forest Preserve in Batavia. However, the northerly wind gusts of up to 40 miles per hour nearly knocked us over and drove the birds into hiding. The trees had not yet leafed out as we walked to the observation platform at the edge of the lake, on April 28:





 Although winds abated for a while, the next day we had similarly bad luck along the shores of the Fox River at Lippold Park:



While waiting for the sunshine, we did take advantage of breaks in the rain to visit the Bald Eagle nest only about a mile from our second home. This is the second nest that they have occupied, both on the grounds of the Mooseheart residential school. The first nest, initially occupied in 2005, collapsed in 2013 before the two eaglets were ready for flight. An attempt to replace the nest with a platform in an adjacent tree was not accepted and the young birds grounded themselves for a second time. They were captured and successfully rehabilitated.

Here they are at the first nest in June, 2010:



Our two Illinois granddaughters observed the first nest, back in 2012:



The next year the pair relocated and successfully raised three eaglets:



The nest tree is in the center of a paved parking lot (taken May 24, 2014 -- note the green foliage):





This year they were reported to have three young, but so far I could see only one. I am concerned about the apparent declining health of the nest tree, here photographed on April 27, 2015:




One of the adults feeds an eaglet:





By May 7, the eldest of the three owlets at Fabyan Park in Geneva had fledged, and the larger of its two younger siblings seemed almost ready to fly:







I did not obtain a good view of the oldest owl, high in an adjacent oak tree:



One of the parents roosted just under the newly fledged youngster:



At Hickory Knolls nature center in St. Charles, a male Eastern Bluebird rested on a nest box:



At Bliss Woods Nature Preserve in Sugar Mound, a pair of Blue-gray Gnatcatchers were busily constructing the foundation of their spherical nest of lichens and spider silk:



Color has returned to the preserve, notably...

Baltimore Orioles...





...an early Warbling Vireo...



 
(Anni take note-- here is my "carbon copy" of your Warbling Vireo!)



..and Rose-breasted Grosbeaks:



Listen to the grosbeak's energetic song. If the video fails to load in the space below, CLICK HERE:

More wildflowers! I was waiting to see the Dutchman's Breeches - Dicentra cucullaria:



Phlox - Phlox divaricata:

 


= = =  = = =  = = = =  = = = = =

Linking to Misty's  CAMERA CRITTERS,

Linking to Eileen's SATURDAY'S CRITTERS,

Linking to GOOD FENCES by Tex (Theresa). 

Linking to SKYWATCH FRIDAY by Yogi, Sylvia and Sandy

Linking to WEEKEND REFLECTIONS by James

Linking to BirdD'Pot by Anni

Linking to Wild Bird Wednesday by Stewart

Linking to I Heart Macro by Laura

________________________________________________

Please visit the links to all these memes to see some excellent photos on display

________________________________________________

This Week's Crops and Clips: American Golden-Plover

Last August we saw American Golden-Plovers at a sod farm in Kaneville, Illinois, not far from our second home. This year we visited the farm six times during late August and early September, hoping to see them again before we flew back to Florida, but each time we were disappointed. It is a thrill to see this species, a rare but fairly regular visitor to Illinois during its long migration flights from breeding grounds in the Arctic to the southern tip of South America.

Thanks to a heads-up from our friend Marion, we learned that they had appeared the day after we decided that it would be our last visit. As many as seven had been seen in a relatively inaccessible area of the huge sod farm.

Luckily, two golden-plovers were still there that next day. This is as close as I could get for a photo without entering private land (September 11, 2013). 



Last year, an American Golden-Plover lingered next to the road, and our auto came in handy as a blind (or hide).





It joined a Killdeer and a Buff-bellied Sandpiper for a group photo opportunity.



Last year I prepared a video strip that tells more about this bird's remarkable journey. If you cannot see it below, try this link: https://vimeo.com/66256602