We began the month of May at our second home in northeastern Illinois.
Fair weather clouds over Nelson Lake in Batavia, Illinois on May 2, 2013
The observation deck at the east side of Nelson Lake
A Canada Goose kept watch inside the flimsy fence around the roof of a silo:
Yellow Warbler:
Eastern Meadowlark on budding oak sapling:
Violets in bloom on May 6:
Leaves were emerging on the hickory trees:
Wake Robin (Trillium sp) bud ready to burst on May 6:
Fittingly, a gathering of American Robins:
Rose-breasted Grosbeak, May 8:
Baltimore Oriole in song:
House Wren singing:
Wild Blue Flox:
A visit to the Brookfield Zoo outside Chicago to see gorillas and wolves:
Clay-colored Sparrow on May 13:
Female Mallard and Spotted Sandpiper:
Our granddaughters collected dandelion seed heads...
...and blew on them, dispersing them like little parachutes:
Before leaving for Florida I snapped this view from the front door of our Illinois condo:
Construction of the 74 new dwelling units was well underway. Our dooryard prairie which had harbored so many birds, butterflies and flowers was now extinct. Our unit is in the second building from the left. The open space in front of the camera would soon be occupied by additional homes. The black plastic fence did not contain all the construction debris:
The next morning after we returned from Illinois we visited the herbicide-damaged heron rookery and found four active Yellow-crowned Night-Heron nests, inclucing this one with sky-blue eggs:
A Great Egret cast a fine reflection on the still water:
The off-road vehicle vandals had cut through fences and knocked down the signs which provided no barrier to their rampages:
On May 27 the night-herons were raising their chicks:
Many great photos. I love the sky shots in the first two. I'm a gorilla hugger, too. They are so majestic.
ReplyDeleteHello Ken!:) It's always a delightful experience to visit you. There are always quality photos of amazing wildlife. I love the pictures of the Yellow-crowned Night Heron, and chicks, the Eastern Meadow Lark, and Rose-breasted Grosbeak, but all your bird captures are special, such as the action shot of the Sandpiper with Mallard, and fun capture of the Goose on top of the Silo. Very sweet photos of your grandchildren, pretty flowers, and Zoo images. Thank you for sharing!:)
ReplyDeleteGorgeous series, and your granddaughters are lovely! So nice to see a Canada goose, too. Our Canada geese sure get around! :)
ReplyDeleteYou did a super job capturing all these interesting sights.
ReplyDeleteoh my goodness, these are all so wonderful!
ReplyDeleteWonderful series of photos ~ love the wolf and gorilla ~ birds are awesome as well ~
ReplyDeleteHappy Weekend to you ~ ^_^
smashing bird shots, as always! love the beautiful watery views, too. and your pretty flower girls. :)
ReplyDeleteThese photos are great. I adore those Heron chicks. Faces only a mother could love.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful shots, and I love looking through your Retrospectroscope! Great shots of your granddaughters as well.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great collection of images!
ReplyDeleteGreat shots!
ReplyDeleteAnother fabulous series of photos!
ReplyDeleteSo much to see here. It was all wonderful. Loved those fuzzy headed Night Heron babies. Seeing the Wolf and Gorilla was also neat. Your granddaughters looked adorable blowing the dandelions, such fun! A wonderful selection of fences, scenery & birds.
ReplyDeleteHello, wonderful series of photos. My favorite are the night heron chicks. The sky and birds are beautiful. So sad to hear about all the new construction. Thank you for linking up and sharing your post. Happy Saturday, enjoy your weekend!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful pictures. I love to see your granddaughters!
ReplyDeleteHello Ken. Thanks for sharing your memories with such glorious images. I would dearly love to photograph a Meadowlark in full song one day.
ReplyDeleteThose Night Herons are hilarious looking Kenneth. Great reflection shot of the Great Egret. Lovely shots of your granddaughter and shameful they are building on that land. I left an answer on my blog today. Have a wonderful week ahead.
ReplyDeleteThose YCNHerons are incredibly cute!! Awesome.
ReplyDeleteLove the Goose Sentry too.
Your entire post is fantastic.
Thank you very much for sharing this post with us birders at I'd Rather B Birdin'
The buildings do not look to be ab adding value.
ReplyDeleteThat Eastern ML must have a sore throat, I think its the first one I have seen that is not singing!
Cheers - Stewart M - Melbourne
Excellent series of photos! I particularly like the goose on the silo. :-)
ReplyDeleteFabulous collection of birds and flowers! The heron chicks are so cute.
ReplyDeleteGreat, great photos! I like most the photo of the night-heron with their chicks.
ReplyDeleteStunning photos, so much to take in and delight at. Lovely photos of your grands. I have never seen a goose on the top of a silo. The new homes, oh dear, I know people have to live somewhere but oh dear. The run-over sign makes me quite cross at the thought of such a rampage, but your bird shots are wonderful and that last shot of the chicks melts my heart. Wonderful collection. Thank you so much for sharing with Today's Flowers and wishing you a very happy week.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely wonderful photos of the birds and wildflowers and all! Great post as usual!
ReplyDeleteI always love your retrospects. Beautiful birds in both your home States.....those baby night herons are insanely cute. You catch the smaller song birds so well ...a skill I haven't developed...sad about the development in IL , I remember you talking about that habitat loss. The off-road vandalism is even sadder . But still all in all a happy post, because wonderful birds and spring flowers.
ReplyDeleteYou've got so many great shots! Many interesting meetings have occurred))
ReplyDeleteGreat post with beautiful pictures :D
ReplyDeleteGreat shots of all the birds and flowers.
ReplyDelete