Brown centipede found while sweeping the patio today. 🐞

Bluesky friends, what to do with plant stalks from last year, in a smallish city lot? We don’t want to discard them, due to all the potential insect life. 🪴 🌱

😂

As late as 1890, people believed that smaller birds migrated by riding on the backs of geese, swans, storks, and cranes. This wasn't just urban legend, this was the esteemed outdoors publication Forest and Stream going out of its way to make this point. #historysky

Lechowicz Woods, on the city’s far NW side.

This is the most flooded I’ve seen the North Branch in my six or so years living nearby.

A lithograph shows a brown bird with a speckled breast and long tail. It is perched on a bough and appears to be singing.

A Brown Thrasher from Schuyler Mathews’ 1904 Field Book of Wild Birds and Their Music. One of “our finest singers,” the song is paraphrased as

Shuck it, shuck it
Sow it, sow it
Plough it, plough it
Hoe it, hoe it

🪶

First piping plover sightings of the season at Montrose Beach: ‘It literally made my day’ Pippin, who’s been frequenting Illinois since 2024, was spotted Monday afternoon. Then Imani, son of beloved pair Monty and Rose, showed up later in the evening.

Pippin's back. And now Imani is too! www.chicagotribune.com/2026/04/13/p...

Yes, so glad he made it back!

Welcome home, Pippin! 🤍🟢
Our beloved Pippin has returned. Many will remember he departed last summer with something tangled around his foot. We feared the worst.

Pippin has returned to us with his right foot missing and a limp but otherwise appears well.

📸:Liam Francis Shanley

(Sad news, though, the little guy lost his foot this winter and is hobbling a bit.)

Chicago Piping Plovers on Instagram: "Welcome home, Pippin! 🤍 Our beloved Pippin has returned to Montrose Beach and we couldn't be happier to see his little face. Many of you will remember he flew sou... 274 likes, 12 comments - chicagopipingplovers on April 13, 2026: "Welcome home, Pippin! 🤍 Our beloved Pippin has returned to Montrose Beach and we couldn't be happier to see his little face. Many of y...

Pippin is back at Montrose! www.instagram.com/p/DXFjr4VkYb... 🪶

In defense of cowbirds Avian anti-heroes that deserve some respect.

New in This Week in Birding: The case for cowbirds 🐦‍⬛

www.twibchicago.com/p/in-defense... 🪶

Another macro from the yard...this is some turkey tail (I believe) that has sprung up on an old log. It looks like it's getting more colorful in this season? 🍄 📷 📸

Practicing with a macro lens today, and Norway Maple buds bursts made for good subjects. 🌿🌱🪴

A male goldfinch with yellow and patches of greenish-gray is perched on a nyjer feeder.

I snapped a photo of one of the area male goldfinches just as the bright yellow feathers are coming in. 🪶

Lending a hand (or perhaps a wing) Presence of helper birds benefits breeding pairs—and the species.

I took a look at birds that exhibit cooperative behaviors after seeing an unmated Canada Goose looking out for another pair's goslings.

www.twibchicago.com/p/lending-a-...

A wooded area shows a large puddle in the foreground.

A flooded woodland like this is Eden for migrating sandpipers and waterthrushes. Only two or three weeks until they return.

An earthenware duck or goose in shades of brown, green, and orange.

Always birding - including at the Art Institute of Chicago. Vessel in Form of a Bird, Tang dynasty (618-907), first half of 8th C, China. The bird may be either a mandarin duck or a wild goose; both traditionally symbolized peace, prosperity, and marital love (looks like a small goose to me).

today in photos. some birds i've seen in my backyard. taken with a lumix g9 and the pana-leica 100-400mm telephoto lens

A small brown bird stands on a white fence with a sunflower in the foreground at left.

🐦‍⬛

House Wrens arrive in this area by the last week of April and nest in cavities including readily in birdhouses. They typically raise two broods before heading south to the Gulf states and Central America. Photo: August 2024

#birds #chicago 🪶

Whoa

The first hole at Edgebrook Golf Course is underwater this morning after last night’s rain. They have a drainage pump going at the moment to dry this out.

Loved helping out with this story! 🖊️

“I want you to put the word out there that we back up.” The feeder cam is online again and ready for spring migration. 🪶

Why is Montrose Point such a migration hotspot? Flying straight across the lake from places like Indiana is faster, consumes less energy, and is probably safer than going around the lake. The point juts into the lake and has the food and shelter that is critical during migration. 🪶

A clip from the British "Office" shows the IT guy correcting Gareth when he says Chuck Norris fought Bruce Lee in "Enter the Dragon."

Which movie did Bruce Lee fight Chuck Norris in? 🤔

This 1835 map shows “Milwalky” as a county taking up all of SE Wisconsin from the Baraboo Hills all the way to Lake Michigan. Interesting stuff @newberrylibrary.bsky.social today.

A black and white map shows R. Styx flowing into Lake Michigan from Indiana.

The jig is up, the news is out - the Little Calumet River was once the River Styx, at least according to this 1822 map. Another interesting find @newberrylibrary.bsky.social.

“Baby dunes” became haven for endangered species Montrose Beach Dunes celebrate 25 years: “You don’t really think these things can change.”

Today's newsletter: Montrose Dunes in the words of people who were there at the start. “I had never seen anywhere like that in my entire life. Literally in the middle of one of the densest cities and one of most well used parks and it had just kind of sprung up.” www.twibchicago.com/p/baby-dunes...