Early migrants have arrived (meadowlarks, red-winged blackbirds) and winter ducks are still here too

All photos taken in the Hyde Park (Chicago) area during the last few weeks unless noted otherwise.

These photos were mostly taken in the area around 63rd and Hayes:  Hayes beach, the inner harbor, the outer harbor and La Rabida

A male red-winged blackbird

Front-end view of displaying red-winged blackbird taken March 30, 2013

A back-end view of a displaying male red-winged blackbird. The females haven’t arrived yet.

Cardinals have already been singing their spring song for a couple of months

This white-throated sparrow is puffed up because it is a cold spring day

meadowlark singing

meadowlark

dark-eyed Junco

song sparrow

 

redhead

ring-necked duck ( it is a mystery to me why people agreed to this common name!)

It was great fun having the white-wingd scoters come into the outer harbor again this winter. This one is posing in the blue, blue water of Lake Michigan just after most of the ice melted

A close-up of the white-winged scoter’s bizarre bill.

horned grebe

Two red-breasted mergansers doing courtship displays for the female swimming next to the second male.

This video shows some serious courtship moves of 4 male mergansers. The female is sitting on a piece of ice

Damage done by wood boring insect.

Eggs are laid where you see the straight line, the grubs then eat their way through the wood. Notice the lines get thicker as the grubs move away from the original straight line. This is because the insect is getting bigger.

maple tree flowers in snow storm

 

maple tree flowers in snow storm

 

 

moonrise, sunrise and UN-wooded isle

Here are a couple links to articles defending non-native species.  Perhaps we’ve gone overboard when we consider that all non-native species are bad for the environment and must be removed.

http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg22129621.400-loving-the-alien-a-defence-of-nonnative-species.html#.VQhFp2bN4Tk

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/07/140724-invasive-species-conservation-biology-extinction-climate-science/

All photos were taken in Hyde Park (Chicago) during the last few weeks.  Habitat destruction at Wooded Isle photos are at the end of this post

Bohemian waxwing

Bohemian waxwing

male and female white-winged scoter

Female red-breasted merganser with a few white-winged scoters

moonrise over Lake MIchigan

 

sunrise over Lake Michigan

mystery track with 2 inch red ball for scale

common merganser showing off red foot

lots of healthy trees cut down

middle of the wooded isle

near Osaka Garden

lots of very old, very big trees were cut down, dogs for scale

wood chips from all the trees cut down, dog for scale

Poplar trees cut down from bobolink meadow

brush cut down, lots of habitat for nesting birds removed

Young oak tree–all replacement trees are going to be 3 inches wide

red oshier dogwood taken out too. Don’t know why it was on the hit list, native and not invasive

About Us and Contact Us

Beyond the screen of your laptop and your smartphone, nature is alive and well!  Come enjoy!

Jane Masterson is a local photographer and Hyde Park Nature Walk guide.  When she was an adjunct college professor, her students observed plants and birds, collected data and tested hypotheses to try to answer questions such as why some plants bloomed earlier than others and why woodpeckers migrated through before orioles.  And while she no longer teaches at the college level, Jane still enjoys encouraging others to explore the Chicago wilderness.  She promises, no quizzes!  Whether you’d just like to look at the photos of Hyde Park wildlife on this blog or want to come out for a Nature Walk, Welcome!

Next Nature Walk:

Moon watch and Nature walks on hold for now.

Interested in helping save Hyde Park’s wild spots:  habitat for our local wildlife and migrating birds may be replaced by a music venue and concession stand unless you speak up.   Want to help prevent this?  Check out savethisspace.com  and sign up for emails from jacksonparkwatch.com

Contact us with any questions or to discuss setting up a time for a Nature Walk.  Feel free to call (773 – 502 – 3159) or to fill out the form below:

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Winter 2015: Chicago snow birds (ducks who migrate south to spend the winter in balmy Chicago)

All photos taken in Hyde Park (Chicago) during the last few weeks.

Common goldeneye shows off his best courtship move. See more in video below.

Male common goldeneye in upright position

female common goldeneye

White-winged scoters sometimes show up near shore during the winter months. In the video below, watch one bird with a goody (crustacean?) get chased.

common mergansers

canvasback duck

female long-tailed duck

female red-breasted merganser

How big are these ducks compared to a herring gull? White-winged scoter (juvenile) at 2:00. Other ducks are scaup.

How big are these ducks compared to a herring gull? Adult herring gull and first winter herring gull are in the background. Left to right in front: scaup, white-winged scoter, and common goldeneye

Windy and cold at the lake

Raccoon prints with keys for scale

Full moon setting

tree sparrow

black-capped chickadee

white pigeon

 

Winter 2015: Snowy owl, swans and winter ducks

All photos taken in Hyde Park.  Most of them taken at 63rd Street beach or at La Rabida (6501 S Promontory Drive)

Snowy owl on pier at 63rd Street beach at dusk

Short video of snowy owl:

sun dog

male and female common goldeneye

red-breasted merganser courting display

See some common goldeneyes’ courtship displays in the video below:

How big is a mute swan?

A lot bigger than a common goldeneye duck.

Quite a bit bigger than a Canada Goose

Swans enjoying the outer harbor (63rd to 66th and Lake Shore Drive) until the geese come back

The geese are back.

scaup

red-headed ducks

February 1 blizzard

February 1 blizzard

fox squirrel at 63rd St Beach parking lot