Why I Oughta...

Each Spring and Fall in our neighborhood, if you pay attention, you'll hear the croaking that comes with the bi-annual migration of Sandhill Cranes .  They seem to fly right over our block each Fall (on their way south) and Spring (on their way back north).  Sandhill Cranes fly HIGH in the sky and in weird, sometimes-swirling patterns.   I saw them over the weekend.  Turn up your audio and have a look at their northern migration over the Western Chicago suburbs in mid-March 2024: Here is a link to a similar video of the same flight north last year in 2023 .

 Sandhill Cranes were migrating south above our house on Thanksgiving Day 2023.  I covered these large birds migrating NORTH earlier this year - March 2023 .  Below is a video showing the birds flying in a circle above Downers Grove late last month: This is the full list of posts about these fascinating birds .   I first posted about them in Fall 2020 . Spring northern migration 2021 . Spring northern migration 2022 . Spring northern migration 2023 . Fall southern migration 2023 .

Sandhill Cranes flew over Northern Illinois on their commute back north this past week and how did I know?  When I was out in the yard, I heard that migration call from these large birds.   I've heard (and watched) these big birds fly over us the past few years - both ways.  Below is a video I took of them from our backyard - It isn't super steady, but if you turn up your volume, you'll hear that familiar croaking. Here's another clip from a year ago .   And here's the full archives of Sandhill Crane-related posts .  

'Tis the season to hear a 'loud, rattling bugle call' from high up in the sky and look up to see a marvel of nature:  Sandhill Cranes flying (as a group) as part of their seasonal migration.  I 've posted about this experience a few times here on the blog including last March when I shared video of the bugle calls . On my walk home from the train station this past week, I heard that familiar call.  And stopped, looked up and found the Sandhill Cranes flying high in the sky.   Here, below, are a couple of photos of this group flying in a couple of 'v-patterns' high above Downers Grove, Illinois in mid-March. I'm almost certain that my kids and Nat are tired of me stopping and talking about Sandhill Cranes, but I find them incredibly fascinating.  According to this post, there are about 20K Sandhill Cranes that migrate over Illinois .  I was fortunate to experience a couple hundred last week. 

We have a couple of - what we call - "nests" up in some of the larger, mature trees in our backyard.  I say that we 'call them' that because, frankly, we don't know what they are.  They're these large, clumps of leaves that exist up near the top of the trees (in a crotch) that sure look like a nest, but for all I know could just be a clump of leaves that didn't fall down. Or, that was...until I saw something recently up there.   On a recent afternoon, I saw good-sized hawk swoop across our yard and land right next to one of these nests.  Here, below is a photo showing that hawk perched right on top of said nest.  Can't quite make out what is going on?  Here, below, is a slightly zoomed in version of the photo: Still can't quite figure things out?  Here's an even-more zoom'd in version that I've annotated below: Well....that seems to settle things for me.  A little bit. This is, most certainly, a nest.   But, a nest for whom? ...

There were more than ten large birds flying together in what you could call a boil . Or, a kettle or even a cast.  I missed much of them, but was able to whip out my phone quickly and snap these photos over our backyard on a recent afternoon.   No idea what type they are, but based on my bird feeder visits, I'm guessing this was likely a boil of Cooper's Hawks . The photo below shows seven of the (more than ten) hawks in the low-flying boil.

On a recent afternoon, we had our backdoor open to enjoy the warmer temperatures when I heard that prehistoric call of the Sandhill Crane.  We live out in the Western Suburbs of Chicago and it was early afternoon in early/mid March of 2021 when I took this video below of a group of Sandhill Cranes flying in what sure seems like a circular pattern that continues to move north .  Almost like how a tornado moves across land.  They were, as is their pattern, flying pretty high in the sky, but that sound was unmistakeable.  This is a 2:30 video, but I've started the embed below at about half-way because that's when the noise is clearest.  Turn up your speaker and click play below: This is the northern migration that I've captured now, but I also posted a similar video of these same (well...probably not THESE same birds) heading south in late November of 2020 .  You can see that video here .   Wildlife Illinois says that 20K of these amazing-looking ...

\ It is hard to determine the size of this Cooper's Hawk in our backyard, but he was big.  And, I'm pretty sure he is/was a Cooper's Hawk based on the details from Cornell .  The last time that I captured one of these birds of prey was back in February of 2019 when I saw one sitting on our fence.  This time, he was way up on a tree limb and he hung around for a while - like five minutes - before flying off. This piece shows all the hawks that call Illinois their home, but I can't tell from it if I should change by classification from Cooper's Hawk or not.

The past few days, I've added some entries to my garden diary showing off some late Summer growth on our Dawn Redwood tree and our front-yard Bald Cypress tree .  Today, I'm adding an entry showing how our Hicks Yews in the back of our lot are showing off some 'berries' for what I think is the first time. The posted about these Yews just last month when they were looking fine .  And earlier this Spring, I posted a photo showing off their new growth  after they suffered some frost/winter (and maybe rabbit?!?) damage. I planted these last Summer , so I'm thinking that due to the transplant shock, we didn't see any berries in their first season. But...turns out, these 'berries' aren't really berries.  They're " arils ".  And they arrive mid-Summer - hence why I'm noticing them right now: Via this post on Four Season Foraging : Yew produces red arils— berry-like seed coverings. (I'll just call them "berries" f...

This isn't a net new entry to the [ bird visitor log ] here on the blog as I've already documented the Blue Jay in March of 2019 here .  But, I spotted this beauty the other day hanging out by the feeders and he was showing off his blue feathers for a minute or two.  I snapped the photo above (and below) with my phone real quick before he flew off.   Above, he's showing off his full colors on his back.  Below, he's facing the house. I dug around a little bit on the web and learned that Blue Jays are part of the Corvidae family - which is the same family as crows  - that we commonly call "Corvids".

On a recent morning, we were out at Waterfall Glen - on the Waterfall side - and as I was walking back to the van in the little parking lot, I heard this bird before I saw him.  He (didn't know it was a *he* at the time) was making some noise and I looked up and with his blue coat, I couldn't miss him.  I grabbed my phone and zoomed in as best as I could and took the photo you see above.  I don't think that I've seen such a vibrant blue bird in our area, so I knew that I had to figure out who it was. It didn't take long - just simply putting [bright blue bird northern illinois] into the Google machine and you get this featured search snippet: I now knew what it was:  an Indigo Bunting. So, when I got home, I turned to my bird book and quickly looked it up.  Sure enough...take a look at that photo in the book: It is an adult male that I saw with what the book "cerulean blue" and I'm pretty confident that this is the first Indigo Bunti...

With all the stay-at-home time on our hands, I've begun to work through some of my to-do list in terms of projects.  The first up was a bird feeder.  I've seen Oriole bird feeders at the store, but have never pulled the trigger.  They're expensive and I'm not sure that I've ever seen an oriole in our yard. (Could be...because...um...we don't have an oriole feeder?!?) But, I recently came across these plans for what is billed as an "Easy DIY Oriole Feeder" and I had all the lumber on hand.  (Just a small piece of 2x4, a cedar fence board and a dowel.) What is different about oriole feeders?  They don't use seed.  You have to use specific foods to attract Orioles.  This story on BirdWatchingHQ lays out what you need: use oranges and/or jelly.  And you'll have the best luck during their migration in the Spring.  According to this map , we're in the Baltimore Oriole territory and this Oriole page on JourneyNorth.org lays out when we sho...

Yesterday, I posted a photo and a short video of (a first-time) male Cardinal visiting our window-hung bird feeder box that had been up for more than four months.  In that post, I mentioned that I was a skeptic of window-hung feeders and nesting boxes, but now my own eyes have shown me that - in the right conditions - a bird will perch on something right outside your windows.  It also had me wondering if one of those window-hung nesting boxes (where you can *see* the nest and eggs from the inside of the house) would actually work.  I'm still not sure that they're viable (based on the Amazon reviews), but going down that path also had me nose around for plans for nesting boxes and platforms. After all, we're a Certified Wildlife Habitat and that comes with a requirement of providing shelter and places to raise young.  To that end, a couple of Summers ago, we built a bird nesting shelf and hung it in the back of the yard .  It hasn't gotten much attention/actio...

Back in the Fall, the KotBT had a birthday and one of the gifts that we gave him was a window bird feeder.  The kind that use suction cups to attach to the window.  The one we have is this one from Amazon that they say is their #1 best seller in the category .  We have a variety feeders already - including a fly-through , a couple of suet cages , one of the smaller Squirrel Busters  and a squirrel 'big ole' cob' bungee feeder .  But, those are all set out in the yard a bit.  In a spot where we can see them and observe the critters/birds, but also far enough to have any critters not want to make a home close to our house/patio. These window feeders have been around forever and I've been skeptical of them.  I mean...birds get spooked by people.  And...from what I know, they don't love windows and the reflections off of them.  So, mounting a feeder on the window seems like a long shot in terms of getting any action on it. We talked about ...

We have an owl that lives on/around our block. He's been around for a while and we hear him hooting in the overnight hours during the Summer when we sleep with our windows open.  In fact, I'm pretty sure that there are/were multiple owls in the neighborhood.  I've heard them call and respond.  Maybe Momma and babes?  Or pairs/partners?  I don't know. Our neighborhood is called Randall Park in Downers Grove and has a large pond at one end of it and a creek running through one side of it, so we have plenty of wildlife.  And we're doing our part by participating in the 'Certified Wildlife Habitat' program from the National Wildlife Foundation where we've provided the necessary components of food, water , places to raise young , shelter and some sustainable practices like composting and what-have-you. So, it is a good spot for something like a family of owls to make a home around our block.  They have plenty of water, large, mature trees for shelte...

In November of 2017 - as we approached our first Winter in our new house - I posted a photo of our heated bird bath being placed in the yard near our feeders .  At that time, I kept the feeders a little bit closer to the house.  That bird bath was originally from our old house in Elmhurst and it was a 'deck-mounted' heated bird bath.  So that meant that when I used it in Downers, I had to place it on a little table.  It didn't have a pedestal.    For Christmas that year, I was gifted a Water Wiggler to keep the water moving .   The bird bath was one of the key pieces that we needed in order to meet the criteria of being a Certified Wildlife Habitat from the National Wildlife Federation (the other criteria include three kinds of food, two types of cover/shelter and places to raise young).   The first year, I didn't see much action in the bath.   But, during the Winter of 2018/2019, we placed the heated bird bath ou...

How fascinating, right?  We had a pair of Mallard ducks hanging out in our yard recently and after a short stay, they left behind this beautiful egg.  We were hoping that they'd come back the next day or two to lay even more, but this one was left all alone.  Not exactly sure what was happening here, but we live just down the street from a large pond that has quite a bit of waterfowl.  Perhaps they got turned around?  Or, could this egg be a not-so-great one that they laid here on purpose - away from their nest?  Either way, I'm excited to see it as it adds another layer to our 'Certified Wildlife Habitat" story in our yard .  If you'll recall that in early Spring of 2018, we applied and were granted Certified Wildlife Habitat status for our yard based on meeting the criteria.  Those criteria include the need to provide food, water and cover but also "places to raise young" - including places for wildlife to mate, bear and raise their young....

It is hard to see, but inside of that little red circle is a Blue Jay.  Adding him to our [Bird Visitor Log] here on the blog .  And despite the zoom'd photo above being not so clear, it was *very* clearly a Blue Jay when I laid eyes on him.  The funny part?  That's exactly how the passage in our bird watching Field Guide book starts the Blue Jay entry:  "Nothing else comes close to looking like the Blue Jay.  It is instantly recognizable to almost everyone in Illinois -- bird-watcher or not."

I spotted this 20" heated bird bath on a pedestal at Wannemaker's earlier this month and it intrigued me in terms of upgrading our current winter heated birdbath that we keep right outside of our kitchen window.  This bowl is big (20") and comes with the integrated pedestal - you can see the product listing here on Amazon (ahem....that's not an affiliate link, folks!) with all the features/details. Here's a post from November of last year showing off the installation of our existing heated birdbath .  You'll note that it sits on a little table and isn't super deep.  The lack of a pedestal is (obviously) the reason for the table and I think that the table doesn't look awesome.   And since it isn't too terribly deep along with the low humidity in the cold winter meant that I had to continue to fill this thing up every few days. The one on the pedestal looks deeper, so I'm wondering if that means less filling?  That's good. But, the ...

I posted back in August how a bird's nest had fallen from one of our big Oak trees down to the yard and how the kids were fascinated by it.  I read up a bit and figured out that we could build a nesting platform for both the replacing of *this* nest and hopefully the usage of other birds (Robins?) next season.  I found these easy plans for a nesting platform/shelf here .    I had 1/2" plywood on hand, so I decided to use that.  I know that Cedar would be better, but I had the plywood on hand.  I made the cuts, assembled the thing and even tweaked it a bit.  I added a series of drainage holes to the bottom of the platform and to the bottom/sides of the walls.  Figured for both drainage and airflow.  After I built it, I had the Bird paint it.  You can kind of see that she used some metallic paints on the back/sides of it.  After I asked her if she wanted to finish it, she insisted that it was done.   So, I put down a...