It’s been so dang busy that I’ve got a three-week backlog of outings to chronicle. I’ll get there, but in the meantime, here’s the excitement from yesterday.
We took a drive over to Orland Grassland, which we last visiting in an evening. It was hoppin, especially in the first hour or so. We didn’t see any cedar waxwings, but we got some good looks at a Willow flycatcher, a yellow warbler, and a whole lot of sparrows. (Check out the whole list.)
When we first arrived, we spotted a brown thrasher perched atop a tree right by the parking lot, singing their heart out. We hadn’t seen one of them sing before, so that was a treat.
A brown thrasher watches from the top of a tree; Orland Grassland, IL; 31 May 2025A brown thrasher sings from the top of a tree; Orland Grassland, IL; 31 May 2025
Then we spotted a yellow warbler darting from tree to tree, stopping for a moment to sing, then moving on.
A yellow warbler relocates; Orland Grassland, IL; 31 May 2025A yellow warbler prepares his song; Orland Grassland, IL; 31 May 2025A yellow warbler belts one out; Orland Grassland, IL; 31 May 2025
And what a treat it was to spend some time with a couple orchard orioles, one of whose coloring confused us until we figured out it was a juvenile male.
A slightly blurry male orchard oriole on a branch; Orland Grassland, IL; 31 May 2025A juvenile male orchard oriole tries out his song; Orland Grassland, IL; 31 May 2025
Our old pals eastern kingbird and indigo bunting were also in abundance.
An indigo bunting looks resplendently blue in a bush; Orland Grassland, IL; 31 May 2025An indigo bunting takes a breather from singing to survey a field; Orland Grassland, IL; 31 May 2025An eastern kingbird enjoys the sun from a snag in a field; Orland Grassland, IL; 31 May 2025Two eastern kingbirds take a break from chasing one another around the field; Orland Grassland, IL; 31 May 2025
Finally, we spotted an osprey (strange place for an osprey), a willow flycatcher, and a couple killdeer.
An osprey hunts in a surprising spot — a grassland field; Orland Grassland, IL; 31 May 2025One of three killdeer we saw swooping around that day; Orland Grassland, IL; 31 May 2025A willow flycatcher perks up; Orland Grassland, IL; 31 May 2025
