May 9 - May 15: Migration Madness!

I am a bit behind in posting due to a crazy schedule, but this is the recap post of what is usually the most productive week of birding of the entire year in northeast Illinois: the second weak of May! It will be split-up day-by-day again. Get ready for a ton of photos!

MONDAY, MAY 9:

A lot of birding around the neighborhood turned up a few avian goodies, including the following:

A beautifully-cooperative OVENBIRD:

Male ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAK:

Male BLUE-WINGED WARBLER:

VEERY:

SWAINSON'S THRUSH:

And my bird-of-the-day was possibly the most brilliantly red male SCARLET TANAGER I have ever seen, always a remarkable and seemingly out-of-place species here in Illinois.

TUESDAY, MAY 10:

When I sat down to start my homeschooling in the morning of last Tuesday, I noticed a weird bird sitting right outside the house. On closer inspection, it was a molting male SUMMER TANAGER, an extremely uncommon bird for northern Illinois and one that I had never expected to see in my own backyard! It is the third rarest bird I have ever seen in Oak Park! This is a species that is much more frequently seen in forests of the southern half of Illinois in the spring and summer.

OVENBIRD:

Male NASHVILLE WARBLER:

Male BLACK-THROATED GREEN WARBLER:

Male ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAK:

WOOD THRUSH:

Bird-of-the-day for Tuesday goes to the male Summer Tanager, of course. Two days of beautiful tanagers in a row!

WEDNESDAY, MAY 11:

Taking advantage of my school's late-arrival Wednesday, I led a 7am Oak Park Bird Walk and even though only three people showed up, it was one of the most productive walks I have ever had with so many warblers and other migrant birds!

The walk got off to a good start with this female SCARLET TANAGER:

Male GOLDEN-WINGED WARBLER, a nice uncommon species:

Male BALTIMORE ORIOLE:

Male MAGNOLIA WARBLER:

This bird had us all confused during the walk, but thanks to the help of the online Illinois birding community, I identified this bird after-the-fact as a first-year male ORCHARD ORIOLE, the first time I have recorded this uncommon species in Oak Park!

Male BLACK-AND-WHITE WARBLER:

Stunning male SCARLET TANAGER high in a tree:

Any ideas on what this bird is? I'm stumped.

It was an awesome walk! Later in the day, I birded a bit in Grant & Millenium Parks in downtown Chicago before choir rehearsal. They were surprisingly devoid of birds, but I managed a few photos including a bad one of this SWAMP SPARROW:

SAVANNAH SPARROW:

Bird-of-the-day for Wednesday, the 11th goes to the Orchard Oriole, a great species for Oak Park.

THURSDAY, MAY 12:

Some birding around the neighborhood yielded a few avian highlights, including absolutely crippling looks at a mixed flock of warblers, including this male BLACKBURNIAN WARBLER:

Male CHESTNUT-SIDED WARBLER:

Male NORTHERN PARULA:

Male MAGNOLIA WARBLER:

Male BLACK-AND-WHITE WARBLER:

Male BAY-BREASTED WARBLER:

Male BLUE-HEADED VIREO:

LINCOLN'S SPARROW:

RED-EYED VIREO:

GOLDEN-WINGED WARBLER, it was a fantastic week for this uncommon species:

BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHER:

ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER:

Male AMERICAN REDSTART:

GRAY CATBIRD:

Birds-of-the-day for Thursday the 12th go to the three uncommon warbler species seen: Blackburnian, Bay-breasted, and Golden-winged.

FRIDAY, MAY 13:

More birding by myself around the neighborhood-

ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER:

An amazingly beautiful SCARLET TANAGER, my bird-of-the-day for Friday, illuminated my day with his wonderfully red plumage!

SATURDAY, MAY 14:

I led a 7:00am bird walk in my neighborhood on Saturday, and it was extremely productive with many migrants seen and ten birders in attendance.

LINCOLN'S SPARROW:

Male BLACKBURNIAN WARBLER, what a beautiful bird:

PINE SISKIN, maybe he will nest in Oak Park this year?

Male NORTHERN PARULA:

Molting male INDIGO BUNTING:

SWAINSON'S THRUSH:

Then, in the afternoon between choir events, I birded Montrose Point Bird Sanctuary in downtown for about an hour. It was not a very productive hour of birding, but I did see a few birds including these CASPIAN TERNS and RING-BILLED GULLS:

VEERY:

WOOD THRUSH (left) with PALM WARBLER (right):

GRAY-CHEEKED THRUSH:

Female BLACK-THROATED BLUE WARBLER:

Male EASTERN TOWHEE:

Bird-of-the-day for Saturday goes to the always amazingly orange male Blackburnian Warbler which was seen on the Oak Park Bird Walk.

SUNDAY, MAY 15:

I led an Oak Park Bird Walk at 5:30pm on Sunday, and it was a very successful first evening walk ever! Although they say morning is the best time for birding, we really found a good number of birds.

WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW:

CHIPPING SPARROW:

Male MAGNOLIA WARBLER:

My first female GOLDEN-WINGED WARBLER I have ever seen!

A striking male BLACKBURNIAN WARBLER allowed for some fantastic views from just across the street. What a beauty!

PALM WARBLER:

This BROAD-WINGED HAWK was beautiful in the evening light:

Bird-of-the-day for Sunday goes to the female Golden-winged Warbler, and runner-up to the male Blackburnian. Female warbler species are often overlooked because of their beautiful male mates; however, I thought I would mix it up today because the female Golden-winged is a beautiful bird, as well!

I promise to do another "catch-up" post this coming weekend! School and everything is just so hectic this time of year!

Good birding,

Henry
World Life List: 884 Species (no recent life birds)