What I Did on My Summer Non-Vacation

11/7/2025

Not much, honestly. Like many summers, I had big ideas of things to try. Then things got in the way, and time whirled by. April and May flew by with a trips to Texas and Finland. Then there was the rush to catch up on photos and what was left of migration. June wheeled in and then it was suddenly July, and I was looking starting to prep for a trip to South Africa. It is great to be able to travel. So, it is hard to complain about missing out on things at home while I am away, but I do miss them.

My last post concerning birding at home was a catch-up on May. Fittingly, this is a retrospective on my summer. I did make it out at the beginning of June to photograph at one of my favorite locations, Prophetstown. The place is beautiful, and there was a large field of spiderwort blooming there; so, it was really amazing this year. The day I visited, it was extremely overcast and foggy. I was also having issues with my camera. I had messed up one of the settings (the white balance), and it took my quite a while to figure out what I had done. The photos from the day were extremely mis-toned. Couple that with the bad lighting and the fact that I underexposed a lot of shots... well, I really was wondering if I even knew how to take a decent photo anymore. I have had my doubts at times this year.

Regardless, looking at sparrows, especially cute little Henslow's Sparrows, makes me happy. This is why I always make at least one trip up to Prophetstown. For the second spring in a row, I failed to locate a Grasshopper Sparrow, here. I had fleeting looks at a Blue Grosbeak; although I at least heard a couple. There were a few Henslow's about. They were a bit ratty from the wetness of the fog. Still, it was good to see some. I had hoped to find some sparrows in the large field of spiderwort. Aside from a single Field Sparrow, the field was empty. Shame, spiderwort is one of my favorite flowers.

Field Sparrow

Yellow-breasted Chat

Henslow's Sparrow

Dickcissel

Dickcissel

Spiderwort

Henslow's Sparrow

Field Sparrow

I left the park and decided I wanted to go look for Upland Sandpiper. It had been years since I had seen one, and there is a location not far from Prophetstown where they are seen sometimes. I had never been to the location; so, I was relying on a lot of luck to find one. I drove out and checked over the map. I drove through the area that I thought the sandpipers had been reported from and hit the end of the road. No joy. I pulled the map back up to look again. I did have the right area. I decided to turn around and drive back. As I put my phone back down, I looked across the intersection. In a large rut at the side of the road, a large bird was taking a bath. Turns out, I was exactly where I needed to be.

I did my best to shoot out the window. The bird was straight ahead of me, and the minute I moved the car, it got nervous. So, I craned and stretched out the window and over the mirror as best as I could. I popped the door, thinking I could use it as a blind, and the bird flew up onto the wire overhead. Then, it flew a very long way away. At least I got to see it.

Upland Sandpiper

Upland Sandpiper

Fast-forward to the end of July. I have not shot for about two months, and I am getting ready to head to South Africa. Not a good thing. Then my brother came to the rescue.

Not far from his house, and only a half hour from mine, an immature Yellow-crowned Night-Heron had shown up in a small park. The bird was somewhat cooperative; being seen most days but flighty at times. I ended up making three trips there. The park is quite busy on the weekends and the creek is a focal point. My brother showed up one Sunday to find a full church gathering featuring baptisms in the creek. No photos that day. The better times turned out to be weekday evenings. We found the bird two of those evenings. Once, it was even fairly cooperative. I ended up with some decent shots, but nothing compared to what my brother got. It was nice to see him excited to shoot a bird again. We both spent a while wading through the creek and angling for shots.

Yellow-crowned Night-Heron

Yellow-crowned Night-Heron

Yellow-crowned Night-Heron

Yellow-crowned Night-Heron

Yellow-crowned Night-Heron

Yellow-crowned Night-Heron

Yellow-crowned Night-Heron

Yellow-crowned Night-Heron

Yellow-crowned Night-Heron

Yellow-crowned Night-Heron

Yellow-crowned Night-Heron

Yellow-crowned Night-Heron

It was a fun experience, and it was nice to spend some time with my brother. The bird hung around for a while and was still there when I got back from vacation. Hopefully, the bird returns next year.

Unfortunately, this covers my summer. Soon after, I headed to South Africa. Once I got back, I was scrambling to catch up on what I had missed of migration and then start my much beloved "sparrow season". That is a topic for a different post.

Thanks for reading,

Mike