Prior to departing departing for our Florida home we visited several parks and preserves near our northeastern Illinois condo. While not expecting a riot of yellow, orange, gold and red as experienced in New England, we hoped to see some fall color.
Before the first frost, a touch of yellow as this Clouded Sulphur butterfly visited a lingering Dandelion:
However this year, because of unusual heat and rainfall in late summer and early autumn, most of the trees simply turned from green to brown. Windy storms stripped many of their leaves. Only a few maples showed their red colors.
On October 14, when trees should have been approaching the height of fall color, the leaves of Cottonwoods along the Fox River at Lippold Park simply "turned loose" rather than "turned yellow:"
Contrast this with the expected modest show of color in Lippold at the same time just two years ago:
We witnessed passage of flocks of Canada Geese...
...and family groups of Sandhill Cranes:
The cranes often called loudly, alerting us to their approach:
Here a large flock of geese moves in over Jones Meadow Park. A rail fence separates the wild from the manicured and landscaped areas (click for enlarged view):
The presence of Yellow-rumped Warblers and winter sparrows signaled that migration of northern-breeding land birds was dwindling down. We hoped that American Tree Sparrows and longspurs might arrive before we departed, and it was yet too early to expect an influx of northern duck species.
One welcome arrival which does not winter in south Florida was this "upside down bird," a Red-breasted Nuthatch, seen at Lippold Park on October 13. Most of my photos were badly back-lighted by the bright sky:
The "upside-down bird" lived up to its reputation:
Oddly, this Orange-crowned Warbler followed the nuthatch closely from one tree to another, possibly benefiting from any insects stirred up by the latter's meticulous foraging:
In a cloudless sky, from ground view, these two aircraft appeared to be on a collision course. Suddenly the smaller plane on the right veered down and away, possibly on orders of a flight controller, perhaps because their degree of separation was judged to be unsafe. They were obviously flying at different altitudes:
At Hickory Knolls woodlands in St. Charles, fall beauty was "confined." This beautiful maple tree exhibited its rich colors from behind the razor wire fence surrounding the medium security correctional facility:
An anonymous "jailbird" perched on the razor wire:
In keeping with a Halloween theme, I found this old stub of a branch protruding from a large oak, also at Hickory Knolls. Does it resemble a rhinoceros, a turtle, or some kind of prehistoric monster?:
This little bird is not "creepy," rather it is one that I have only rarely photographed, an inconspicuous Brown Creeper circling its way up a tree, unlike the nuthatch which usually works its way down headfirst: 
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Linking to Eileen's SATURDAY'S CRITTERS,
Linking to GOOD FENCES by Tex (Theresa),
Linking to SKYWATCH FRIDAY by Yogi, Sylvia and Sandy,
Linking to WEEKEND REFLECTIONS by James
Linking to Misty's CAMERA CRITTERS,
Linking to BirdD'Pot by Anni
Linking to Wild Bird Wednesday by Stewart
Linking to Today's Flowers Friday by Denise
Linking to Wordless Wednesday (on Tuesday) by NC Sue
Please visit the links to all these memes to see some excellent photos on display
Jones Meadow is a small "pocket" park within walking distance of our condo in NE Illinois.
It includes a variety of habitats. Near the entrance is a playground and then a pond which occupies about 5 acres:
A marsh area about the same size is separated from the pond by a levee:
A paved trail leads about 3/4 mile along a strip of woods and wetlands. The entire park occupies about 30 acres and is entirely surrounded by houses, roads and cornfields:
The old barn in the distance was a favored subject, but it has since been torn down to make way for more construction at the periphery of the park:
During my usually brief visits over the years I have observed 59 species of birds in this little park, not a very impressive total unless you weigh this against the minimal effort expended in my search.
This spring, shortly after arriving in Illinois, I visited the wetlands in search of two rail species, Sora and Virginia Rail. I heard and caught fleeting glimpses of a Sora, but was lucky when a Virginia Rail appeared. It can be difficult to see amid the cattails:
A Mallard eyed me suspiciously and then took flight:
A Great Blue Heron foraged along the shore of the pond:
The reflections of a Great Egret and two female Mallards were distorted by the breeze:
A Muskrat nibbled on greenery:
Two Tree Swallows seemed to be disputing over ownership of the park:
When the winds let up, a Pied-billed Grebe reflected nicely:
Overhead, Sandhill Cranes circled as if intending to land...
...but continued on their way:
My archives include over 500 photos taken in Jones Meadow Park. The earliest date back to 2008, when I started taking photos with my first DSLR, a first-generation 6.3 megapixel Canon EOS Digital Rebel 300D. A bicycle staged in a back yard along the trail provided the opportunity for me to do a bit of creative photo processing:
During a visit at sunset, a Great Horned Owl was silhouetted against the sky:
When younger, our Granddaughters begged to accompany us to the park:
An American Robin stood guard over the playground:
New England Asters appeared along the path in August:
Bee Balm bloomed in the meadow:
Thanks so much for visiting! I will be on the road for the next couple of weeks and often away from WiFi and even out of cellular range. Mary Lou and I are celebrating our 56th Wedding Anniversary! Tending to my blog from a cellphone does not work out very well, so I have put my posts on "autopilot" in the interim, but promise to visit you as soon as possible when I get back to my PC.
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Linking to Misty's CAMERA CRITTERS,
Linking to Eileen's SATURDAY'S CRITTERS,
Linking to GOOD FENCES by Tex (Theresa).
Linking to SKYWATCH FRIDAY by Yogi, Sylvia and Sandy
Linking to WEEKEND REFLECTIONS by James
Linking to BirdD'Pot by Anni
Linking to Wild Bird Wednesday by Stewart
Linking to Today's Flowers Friday by Denise
Linking to Wordless Wednesday (on Tuesday) by NC Sue
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Please visit the links to all these memes to see some excellent photos on display
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