Black-throated Blue Warbler in Millennium Park

I saw this very, very, very late Black-throated Blue Warbler in Chicago's Millennium Park on December 29, 2011.  Warblers are NOT expected in Illinois in December.  Previously the latest Illinois record for BTBW was November, 28, 2008.  They are a neotropical species which breeds in the deep woods of the northeastern U.S. and Canada.  Normally at this time of year, BTBWs are "wintering" on islands in the Caribbean, Costa Rica, and Panama, with the northernmost records being in Florida. 

A little research on eBird shows that a female BTBW was observed in British Colombia on December 18, 2011.  Since BTBWs do not breed that far west, her genetic impulse to migrate must be really mixed up, sending her west instead of south. 

Perhaps the male BTBW I saw will make it to the tropics yet.  It is highly unlikely he could survive a harsh Chicago winter.  BTBW diet mainly consists of insects and some small fruits.   He has been seen taking advantage of the sap oozing from a tree drilled by a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (which is a little north of its typical range, too).  The presence of these birds underscores the importance of maintaining wildlife habitat in the middle of an urban landscape.  Vive le Chicago Wilderness! 

Both birds were easily seen from the sidewalk next to the Cycling Center.  I was especially pleased to add the BTBW to my Illinois list for the year (#242), since I had previously not seen any this year.  The handsome little guy was a real joy.

Christmas in Indiana 2011

Here are a few visitors during a snowy Christmas celebration in Indiana.  There's a pair of Northern Cardinals, an American Tree Sparrow, and a Dark-eyed Junco.

December Backyard Birds 2011

There has been a flurry of activity at the bird feeders lately.  I've been getting more species.  Here are some snapshots of the latest visitors.

White-breasted Nuthatch

Black-capped Chickadee

American Goldfinch

Red-bellied Woodpecker

Great Sand Dunes 2011

The Great Sand Dunes National Park is a world of sand, stone, and streams.  Situated against the Sangre de Cristo Mountains in the San Luis Valley of southern Colorado, the Great Sand Dunes are the highest dunes in North America. 

"Star Dune," the highest sand ridge, is a strenuous 750-foot climb up shifting sand.  The view from the top is spectacular.  We hiked early on a fall morning while the ridges were frosted with snow.  Cold temperatures and frozen sand made the hike a little easier.  [NOTE: our campsite had a great view of the dunes.  At night the temperature dropped to 25°F, and by morning our breath had encrusted the tent fly with frost.]

It is an extremely diverse region with massive dunes surrounded by alpine peaks, a desert valley, creeks flowing on the surface of the sand, pristine mountains, and rural range land.  There was a herd of American Bison on the plains -- too far away to get a decent photograph.  But a pair of Pronghorn Antelope were grazing a little closer to the road. 

While exploring the valley, we visited the Alamosa National Wildlife Refuge.  October was a quiet time on the refuge (most of the breeding birds already left), but we managed to find a Porcupine!  In the absence of any trees, its quills were excellent camouflage in the dry grasses.

We also checked out Zapata Falls, a 30-foot cascade that is hidden a half-mile through a narrow crevasse.  I had to stand directly in the icy water to capture any images of the waterfall.  Here's a video postcard from the Great Sand Dunes.







Pine Siskin 2011

I've always thought that Pine Siskins were a neat winter finch.  They're close relatives of goldfinches but they have streaking on the breast (I know how that sounds) and really sharp pointed beaks.  Their breeding territory is Alaska and Canada, the Rockies and the west coast, but in the winter they can be found throughout the lower 48 and Mexico. 

For the last 5 years I have been keeping a couple of finch feeders (year-round).  They have attacted upwards of 12-15 American Goldfinches at a time, as well as several House Finches and a few occasional Black-capped Chickadees.  Yesterday, I finally saw a PISI in the yard!!!  Check out my newest visitor.

Black Squirrels 2011

The most common squirrels I get in the backyard are Fox Squirrels and Eastern Grey Squirrels.  Occasionally a black squirrel has wandered into the yard.

Black Squirrels are actually a melanistic variation of Eastern Grey Squirrels.  Before human settlement of North America, the black subgroup was more common than grey, because of their advantage in darker uncut forests.  In colder northern regions of North America, they also lose less heat than greys. 

One day in the middle of November, I noticed 2 black squirrels in the yard at the same time!  That's the most black squirrels I've seen in the yard at one time.  There are places like Kent, OH, and Kalamazoo, MI, where black squirrels are abundant.  But it was a rare treat to see 2 in my northeastern Illinois yard.

Rocky Mountain National Park 2011

Rocky Mountain National Park is one of my favorite places to visit.  Created by Congress in 1915, it features grassy meadows, babbling brooks, and soaring peaks over 14,000 feet above sea level.  It also protects America's most accessible tundra ecosystem...in fact, the tundra landscape at ROMO reminded me of the northern Brooks Range in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska. 

All of my previous visits to ROMO have been in the summer.  During my first visit in the fall, I was hoping to see golden aspens and to hear bugling elk.  I was not disappointed.

While backpacking, it was necessary to take off my boots and socks and hike up my pants to cross a very chilly river (knee deep).  I didn't realize how cold my feet were until I stepped back on the bank.  I was groaning as loud as the elk! 

After a very close encounter with a bull elk in the foothills (while drying off my cold wet feet), I also saw a female moose foraging in a trail-side pond on the way to the Cub Lake campsite in the backcountry.  There were a few western birds that I added to my life list at ROMO, including Pygmy Nuthatch, Mountain Bluebird, Western Bluebird, and Mountain Chickadee, as well as awesome looks at spawning Rainbow Trout.  It was great to find a flock of Red Crossbills working the cones off of a tree and to hear numerous Townsend's Solitaires singing their tuneful alpine song on the trail. 

Because the forecast called for snow that would close Trail Ridge Road, which was my planned path to Durango, I had to leave ROMO a day early.  I did not want the family lore to include, "Yeah, remember when Brian was stranded in the mountains and couldn't go to Tim's wedding?"  Here's a video postcard of Rocky Mountain National Park.



Cave-in-Rock State Park 2011

Where the Ohio River separates Illinois from Kentucky, there is a unique cave formation that has served as a hideout for inland pirates, as a tavern and riverside stop for pioneers, and now as an Illinois State Park. 

I stayed in one of the duplex cabins, overlooking the expansive Ohio River.  Each cabin has a deck with great views.  Sunset and sunrise were both really beautiful.  Jupiter could be seen as a red orb rising in the evening sky.  There was a lot of barge traffic up and down the river, conveying huge amounts of coal.  It was so windy the first day that there were white caps pushing upstream! 

Since I had been on the road for 2 weeks I really needed to do laundry.  The lodge attendant said that the nearest laundromat was across the river in Marion, KY -- 11 miles away!  That meant I had to take the ferry to get my clothes clean.  The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet operates a free ferry by special agreement with the Illinois Department of Transportation.  The free boat ride was one of the best parts of my Cave-in-Rock experience.

Other highlights include seeing numerous Black Vultures (a southern specialty), a flock of Eastern Bluebirds on the park swing set, and about 60 Greater White-fronted Geese migrating from their breeding grounds in the Arctic.  Here's a video postcard I put together from Cave-in-Rock, Illinois.

Le Conte's Sparrow 2011

I added a gorgeous Le Conte's Sparrow to my life list (#379) this month on a grassy trail at along the Platte River National Audubon's Rowe Sanctuary in Gibbon, Nebraska.  Initially, I had reported this bird as a Nelson's Sharp-tailed Sparrow, but an eBird reviewer suggested it was a LCSP, becasue of crown stripe, crisp streaking on the flanks, and purple streaking on the nape. 

I had just led a bird walk at Montrose Point in Chicago a couple of days eariler, and LCSP was one of the unseen targets.  It was thrilling to see this beautiful little golden bird in the shining sun. 

Hennepin & Hopper Lakes (A Decade of Restoration)

On Saturday, September 10, 2011, The Wetlands Initiative celebrated 10 years of habitat restoration work on the Sue and Wes Dixon Waterfowl Refuge at Hennepin & Hopper Lakes in Putnam County.  It features a large cattail marsh, as well as other water-loving habitats.

Cattail Marsh at Hennepin & Hopper Lakes

By the end of the 20th-Century, about 90% of the wetlands in Illinois had been drained, ditched, filled, or levied off for agricultural, industrial, and recreational purposes.  But with the vanishing wetlands, we were losing a natural resource for cleaner water, flood control, carbon capture, biodiversity, as well as an economic and recreational resource.

Farmland in 2001

The Wetlands Initiative has set out to change that.  TWI Founder Al Pyott told how local residents wanted to see the Hennepin drainage district converted back to its former natural condition, a place where large flocks of ducks and geese would congregate during migration and with excellent fishing.  Part of the Illinois River watershed, the project has restored 2,600 acres of drained farmland to a native wetland.  The transformation is amazing.

Wetlands in 2011

The 10th Anniversary event encouraged a prolonged, "lazy" visit, including a 2-mile hike long the seep trail (from which our group saw 7 immature Bald Eagles roosting on snags over the water), a hike along the new boardwalk and into a moist sedge meadow, as well as a couple of hours of paddling out on the water.

Natural Seep

There were plenty of butterflies and dragonflies, as well as some great early fall flowers in bloom, including Stiff Gentian, Cream Gentian, lots of Great Blue Lobelia, Cardinal Flower, and an orchid called Nodding Ladies'-Tresses. 

Nodding Ladies'-Tresses Orchid

Dr. Gary Sullivan explained that most of the plants returned on their own, because the seeds survived 100 years of agricultural treatment such as disturbance, drainage, fertilization, and pesticides.  Only a few plants have been introduced.  The Wetlands Initiative just added water (and fire through a rotation of controlled burns).   

Cardinal Flower, a wetland jewel

Red Admiral Butterfly

For me, the very best part of the day was being out on the water.  I've been wanting to see the place from the water for over a year, and this was a perfect opportunity to do it. 

Least Bittern, an obligate wetland bird

Considering that full-blown duck migration is several weeks away and that other people were also paddling through the cattail marsh, we still saw a number of waterfowl and wetland birds, including Blue-winged Teal, Mallards, Canada Geese, Wood Ducks, Black-crowned Night Herons (state-endangered), a family of Common Gallinules (state-endangered) off the boat ramp, and a very close encounter with a Least Bittern (state-threatened).  Earlier this year in the spring, I saw hundreds of Canvasbacks and a male Yellow-headed Blackbird (state-endangered).  Clearly, this new habitat is appreciated by the migratory and breeding birds that rely on wetlands!

Here's a video postcard of my day at this beautiful place. 

The Refuge is open to the public year-round, thanks to The Wetlands Initiative!

Revis Hill Prairie 2011

Revis Hill Prairie is an Illinois Nature Preserve in Mason County near Havana, located on the bluffs of the Sangamon River.  Only 412.5 acres, it remains the largest and best example of hill prairies in Illinois.

At the parking lot, there is an immediate incline up a sandy hillside. I found some native cactus, and Wild Petunita. 

Eastern Prickly Pear

Wild Petunia

One of the best parts of the hill prairie was the abundance of native plants that attract butterlies, such as prairie dock, compass plant, wild bergamot, and prairie blazing star.  There were butterflies everywhere!!  One of the rare butterflies that I saw is the Ottoe Skipper, an Illinois endangered species.  It depends on the prairie habitat at Revis, and I was lucky enough to snap a picture.

Ottoe Skipper
an Illinois endangered butterfly

I have never seen so many species of butterfly (and moth) in one place, and this visit to Revis was my first time seeing a few species.  Here's a sample of what I saw: clockwise from top left, Ottoe Skipper, Hummingbird Clearwing sphinx moth (upper), Red-spotted Purple (lower), Pearl Crescents, Zebra Swallowtail, Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, Spicebish Swallowtail, Common Buckeye (above), Silver-spotted Skipper (below).

Prairie Dock 2011

Three years ago I planted a small Prairie Dock seedling in the front yard.  It spent the first two years putting down roots.  Prairie Dock roots go very deep, reaching depths of 12 feet, making it a very drought resistance plant.  Finally, this spring it sent forth several huge spade-shaped basal leaves and a single stalk.  I knew this would be the year to watch the Prairie Dock grow above ground! 

In late June the stalk started to shoot up into the air.  It grew a foot over the course of a single week.  As of early August, it measured 10.5 feet from the ground to the tallest point!! 

It has survived several very strong windstorms, and the flowers are starting to open.

Great Spangled Fritillary 2011

Don't butterflies have some great names?  This Great Spangled Fritillary was feeding at a Butterfly Milkweed plant.  The name "fritillary" refers to the black spots on top of the wings and the silver spots on the bottom.  Great Spangled Fritillary can be distinguished from other fritillaries by the dark zone near on the wings near the body.  The most common "fritillary" in the eastern U.S., it lays eggs on or near violets, which is why I try to leave my violets in tact even after they have finished blooming.

I&M Canal Boat Ride 2011

As part of my Christmas gift to my parents, I took them for a tour of the Illinois and Michigan Canal, which is part of the first National Heritage Corridor.  We took advantage of the canal boat tours out of LaSalle, Illinois.  Larry the Mule pulled the boat for a relaxing float back in time.  Here's a video postcard from the tour.

From 1848-1933, the I&M Canal connected the Illinois River at LaSalle with Lake Michigan, which effectively made Chicago the transportation hub of the nation by connecting the Mississippi River and the Atlantic Ocean.  Abraham Lincoln lobbied hard for federal funding for this project, arguing that this 96-mile canal would create a water passage for people and products that would benefit the entire United States.

The song I used for the video is from Gallimaufry's Dig Me A Ditch, a compilation of canal-related music.  When I called for a copy of the album, I was so sad to hear that Christine Gaylord, the driving force behind the group, had passed, but her husband Joe was very helpful in sending me a recording of his wife's legacy.  The whole album is full of superb folk songs, including many specific to Illinois.

Nachusa Sand Boil 2011

One of the fun natural features at the Nachusa Grasslands is a sand boil.  Sand deposits from the Wisconsin era of the Ice Age are evident in many places at Nachusa, such as the sandstone outcroppings. 

The sand boil at Nachusa occurs at a natural spring.  It is caused when water under pressure pushes up through a bed of sand.  This sand boil is active in every season, even winter!

Animal-eating Plants!

During a trip to Pokagon State Park (Indiana), I learned about a carnivorous plant called Common Bladderwort.  It's a small, innocent-looking plant that you could easily miss. 

Apparently, the deadly part is underwater -- "little bags" or bladders that trap aquatic organism. Tiny swimming animals touch trigger hairs around the mouth of a bladder. A trap door opens and the bladder expands, sucking the prey inside. 

Common Bladderwort is found in bogs and marshes throughout North America, so watch out!

Eastern Prairie Fringed Orchid 2011

It was 10 months in the making, but I finally found an Eastern Prairie Fringed Orchid.  These plants are state-endangered and federally-threatened mainly due to habitat loss.  Last fall when I was volunteering at the Nachusa Grasslands, one of the stewards pointed out an area where the orchids could be found.  I marked it with my GPS, so I would remember where it was.  The trick was showing up at the right time.  

I consulted Michael A. Homoya's Orchids of Indiana (because there isn't an equivalent resource for Illinois) and figured out the best time to return.  As confirmation, the Spring 2011 issue of Illinois Audubon magazine had an essay about this species of orchid at Nachusa. 

Joe and I picked our date to go looking and we followed our GPS waypoint back to the general location.  Even with all the advantages of timing and location, we still had to actually find a plant, which is like finding a needle in a haystack.  The most challenging part was wading through a thorny thicket and crossing a small stream.  It was worth all the blood and sweat we gave in exchange for a look at these spectacular plants!

Peregrine Falcons at Millenium Park

To me, the best part of a summer concert at Chicago's Millennium Park is the the sky show put on by Peregrine Falcons.  These lightning fast birds of prey have been tracked at sky-diving speeds over 200 mph.  Last night, one falcon in particular perched on top of the shell of the beautiful Pritzker Pavilion to enjoy the concert led by Maestro Krzysztof Penderecki conducting his Concerto Grosso No. 1 and Beethoven's Symphony No. 3.  The falcon stayed in place for much of the concert.  But occasionally it would take off and zoom through the air with another PEFA. 

With 20 pairs in Illinois today, PEFAs are listed as an Illinois threatened species.  But 60 years ago there were none.  Due to the chemical DDT, they were entirely wiped out of their territory east of the Rocky Mountains.  Historically in Illinois, Peregrines were found along the Mississippi River between the cities of Alton and Grafton, as well as near the Illinois and Wabash Rivers in Jackson County. As a result of a reintroduction program that began in 1986, the urban landscape along Lake Michigan is now the best place to see PEFAs.

Pritzker Pavilion

For more information about the ongoing Peregrine Falcon reintroduction in Illinois, click this link to the Field Museum's Chicago Peregrine Program.