I took the new dog Bella hiking at one of our favorite places: Rock Cut State Park. After discovering a snake (Bella sniffed but was otherwise indifferent to it) we struggled to find any birds that were photo-friendly. Nothing! Thankfully, near the end of our hike, we were alerted by a commotion of scolding from the sometimes shy yet boisterous, White-eyed Vireo.
Lurking in the bushes was vireo #1
Then a second one popped up carrying a large morsel for a hungry mouth
After a few shots, I was given the cold, uh shoulder…
However, the first bird was ready for a closeup
I never found an actual nest but their behavior was conducive to nesting and I decided to not disturb them further. A great way to end what started out as a ho-hum birding trip.
Learn more about White-eyed Vireos from Cornell’s All About Birds.
Great photos!
Really enjoyed your photos…This is a bird I have not seen…TFS!!!
Carol
…these are beautiful shots of a lovely bird. I always love those eye! I’ve never been able to photograph one. Way to go!
Nice pictures- great blog! I found you through the profile on the Nature Blog Network. We northern Illinois nature bloggers gotta stick together.
Thanks! Good to see more Illinois nature bloggers… seems to be a bit of a lacking considering we have so much wonderful habitat (and a lot of great naturalists).