Birding in July is hot! hot! hot! Dakota and I went to Severson Dells yesterday afternoon and found active, singing birds despite the warm temperatures.
Severson Dells pond
We found Dickcissels, Indigo Buntings, Bluebirds, Field Sparrows, Song Sparrows, Common Yellowthroats, House Wrens, Yellow-billed Cuckoos, Eastern Wood-pewees, Eastern Phoebes, White-breasted Nuthatches, Downy Woodpeckers, Red-bellied Woodpeckers, Cardinals, and Bluejays and we only walked from the shelter to the pond.

This Dickcissel was found near the entrance.
Dickcissel
Where there was shade, we lingered around a bit, and at the pond we found a sunning turtle, plenty of dragonflies, and some frogs jumping around. It was much busier than I had expected and we had a great time!
Finding Shade at Severson Dells