Minneapolis, MN - June 2011

Great Egret

Our second long-distance Greyhound ride of the trip - equally epic, and equally memorable, for a variety of reasons (more of which another time) - saw us heading further west, from Chicago through Illinois, Wisconsin and into Minnesota, where sunny Minneapolis was our next port of call. A few days in the company of the lovely Leah involved more entertaining urban exploits, and Minneapolis impressed greatly.



female American Redstart on the nest


Great Crested Flycatcher


Great Blue Heron

A ride out to Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge - an expansive urban reserve within the sprawl of Bloomington and Minneapolis, and neighbouring both the city airport and the infamous Mall of America - on our final day there provided plenty of good birding.




Hairy (and Downy) Woodpecker


Baltimore Oriole







A mix of deciduous woodland, scrub, pools and extensive marshland beneath the roar of passenger jets held plenty of species, and after a satisfying few hours, it was just a ten minute walk from the reserve to the place where we could refuel and pick up the bus - behold, the Mall of America, where rollercoasters and consumerism ad nauseum reach their respective peaks under the same roof.

Chicago, IL - June 2011

After the best part of a month in the north-east U.S., the beginning of the coast-to-coast part of our trip involved a memorable and entertaining 23-hour Greyhound ride into the mid-West.





Caspian Tern, butterfly sp., male House Finch, Ring-billed Gull

Having landed, the following 48 hours in Chicago variously involved a night on the tiles, a rainy day resting up, a couple of evenings kicking back with our fine hosts Meg and Joe, and not least a sunny afternoon in Lincoln Park - a truly unique urban oasis in the middle of downtown, flanked on its eastern side by the lake.





Unique in that it not only admirably accommodates the multitudes of locals enjoying the late spring sunshine, but also plenty of wildlife close alongside - allowing, for example, approach of the park's colony of Black-crowned Night-herons and Green Herons down to barely a few metres....





Green Herons






Black-crowned Night-herons

Ma., USA, May/June 2011 - more locals

Scarlet Tanager


Wild Turkey



Hermit Thrush


Blue Jay


male House Finch


Field Sparrow


Baltimore Oriole


Tufted Titmouse (at nest site)



female American Redstart


singing male Blue Grosbeak


Wood Ducks


the right to roam, American style


American Red Squirrel


Eastern Phoebe



male American Redstart

Ma., USA, May/June 2011 - next door's House Wrens

Next door's three stand-alone nest boxes house a pair of Eastern Bluebirds, a pair of Tree Swallows, and a pair of House Wrens. All are entertaining, but none more so than the latter.