Another Fine catch for this Osprey! What more could an Osprey ask for? He sat here for quite some time with talons tightly gripping his catch, just watching the world around him. A cool breeze, a good fish and the perfect perch. Life is good at Lake Shabbona.
When he turned to look at us the wind blew against the back of his head giving him a spiky updo. Sure adds to his don’t mess with me and my fish expression. The timing of the wind and his look sure made me laugh.
You may see this fine raptor during a visit to the park. They are amazing fishers, using a feet first technique to plunge into the water to snatch up their fish. They tend to keep to open areas probably for a better birds eye view of their surroundings. So look in dead trees like this one while spending time at the park for a possible sighting. They are beautiful!
This beautiful little diving bird is called a Horned Grebe. They can be seen diving for small fish and aquatic insects along the lake. Its horns are the yellowish patches of feathers behind its eyes. Just one of the grebes you may see during migration time. This little beauty was seen happily diving and swimming along the lake near the picnic area.
I find I often confuse grebe identification, especially Horned Grebe and Eared Grebe. Here is a little tip I just learned. Horned Grebes have a white tip on the end of their beaks… so there’s the tip, literally. ID will be easier for me know that I have picked up this little tip. Also look for Eared Grebe and Pied Billed Grebe during migration months.
This is a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher. Look along branches of trees during migration time for this little one. It is a busy forager constantly moving, searching. You may notice it flick it’s tail as it moves along the branches. This is a technique that is used by the bird to flush out any little bugs around the leafs and branches for eating. Clever bird!
The Yellow-bellied Sapsucker has a name that fits. This one sure gave me a good view of it’s yellow belly. It was drilling sap holes while we watched. They drill holes in horizontal and vertical equally spaced holes in a line on a tree for nourishment. This allows the sap to surface in one hole while drilling another. It makes a beautiful pattern on the tree. Look for these holes as you hike. I have watched Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers work several trees in an area going from one to the other to drill and drink. Drill one tree and return to drink the sap and the delicious bugs it attracted.
This is the first warbler I saw at Lake Shabbona this spring. My first sighting was March 30th. A month later they are still in the same patch of trees. I guess there is some good bugging going on there! Thorough warblers, they sure know a good place when they find one!
A good place to look for them is up high in the canopies of trees. If you see a bird flit off a branch and catch a bug in midair, it could be a Yellow-rumped Warbler. Quite a talent they have!
One of my favorite sparrows is the White-throated Sparrow. The touch of yellow is lovely I think. Look for them along forest edges and low in bushes. They eat bugs, buds, seeds, grasses and weeds.
These are just a few beautiful birds I have seen this past month during visits to the park.
By: Debbie Miller
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Come visit Lake Shabbona and enjoy the birds! What will May Migration bring?