Almond Marsh

Today I went out to Almond Marsh a little late in the morning for birds (9 AM...geez!) hoping to find a Common Moorhen. Common Moorhens are a threatened bird out here in Illinois and last year a pair bred successfully at Almond Marsh. A very good and local photographer, Carol Freeman, is hoping to photograph all of the threatened and endangered species in Illinois!  What an amazing project!  One look at her photos and you'll understand why I'm excited about her finding this bird.

Well, today I went out to find the pair in hopes that Carol can get some photos.  Of course they weren't there!  I know someone reported them early in the month, so I hope they'll show up soon.
  I'm going to continue to check and will keep you guys updated with regular posts of the bird sightings around Almond Marsh.


Until Moorhen mania, here is a small clip I shot this morning at Almond.  Can you ID all the birds that are singing?

Spring Has Sprung

Southwest winds have finally invaded Chicago and the birding has picked up considerably.  One of my favorite parts of spring birding is just soaking in the sounds.  The new camera I have takes some incredible video, but when I was trying to focus in on a Ruby-crowned Kinglet and a Northern Waterthrush and failed miserably I thought, "Hey? Why not start a Film life list AND a Caught Singin' life list?" 'Cause Lord knows getting kinglets on film is near impossible.

I've always been an aural learner and when birding as a kid, I was shown the ropes by some retired biologists who had all but lost their hearing. I became their ears and soaked it all in.....I still thank them for my love of birdsound and ability to bird by ear.

So, here are some early spring sounds to tickle your earbuds....









And a Louisiana Waterthrush I filmed in early April




Oh, so much more to come. 23+ warbler days? Yes, please.

-Sell

New Camera

Well, it's been a while since me and the internets hung out. Between then and now, I've birded my way through almost an entire year and survived one of the worst birding winters I've seen up here in Chicago land.

Onto to more pertinent matters. I got my hands on a camera.

Finally.

I'm now a proud owner of the Panasonic DMC-FZ35. The FZ35 is Panasonic's newest and top of the line "ultra-zoom" camera. Sure, it's not a DSLR, but college debt won't let me get near one of those. This camera is super lightweight and to me is a perfect birding companion, which is just what I wanted. I think me and the internets will be hanging out more often now. I promise some more birding adventures/pontifications in the future. Pinkie swear....

Anyways...a few test shots. Enjoy!

-Sell

Red-headed Woodpecker







Song Sparrow



This shot of a Louisiana Waterthrush is really cropped, but shows you what the camera can do from some distance. This was taken from the top of a pretty deep ravine in not-so-adequate lighting