We just returned from a two week stay in northeastern Illinois. Surprisingly, we had a spell of hot weather with some temperatures higher than those back home in south Florida.
Although we were busy with volleyball games and preparations for a charity gala with 100 guests at our daughter's home, we found time to get out and walk in the nearby parks and forest preserves. We saw many more warblers than we were able to identify, as they tended to forage high in the trees against the very bright sky.
At Les Arends Forest Preserve in their home town of Batavia, we encountered a mixed flock which included American Redstarts. I was only able to get a decent photo of a female:
There were quite a few Bay-breasted and Blackpoll Warblers, which are quite similar in their dull fall plumage.
The Blackpoll shows some streaking of its underparts and has a more greenish cast to its head and neck, so this most likely is one here:
Bay-breasted Warbler? It should have dark legs but these appear to be light as in Blackpoll:
This is a dull female Chestnut-sided Warbler:
Bliss Woods Forest Preserve in Sugar Grove has very nice walking trails and a wooden bridge over Blackberry Creek, where Mary Lou is looking at a goldfinch:
A Wilson's Warbler brightened our morning:
We saw migrating Swainson's Thrushes...
...and a pair of Red-eyed Vireos:
A favorite spot is Nelson Lake/Dick Young Marsh Kane County Forest Preserve:
I caught sight of an early migratory Red-breasted Nuthatch, but had to wait a few days before getting one of these little acrobats in my camera viewfinder. It was foraging in this grand oak:
The male American Goldfinches were in various stages of molting into their somber winter coats:
A Mourning Dove struck a nice pose:
A Cedar Waxwing had a regal appearance:
Canada Geese were numerous...
...as were butterflies, including this Pearl Crescent...
...a Red-spotted Purple...
...a Cabbage White...
...and many beautiful Monarchs:
Colorful Milkweed Bugs clustered on the pods of their favorite plant, also host to the Monarch caterpillar:
A view of the upper reaches of the marsh at Nelson Lake is framed by tree branches:
Back home at our daughter's house, their oldest and youngest pets rested on their patio. Tibetan Mastiff Agramonte is eleven years old and Standard Poodle Cazador is 6 months of age:
In their back yard, a Silver-spotted Skipper visited a Rose of Sharon:
Upon returning to Florida, I captured this iPhone panorama of the western sky opposite the rising sun (click on image for full view):
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Linking to Misty's CAMERA CRITTERS,
Linking to Eileen's SATURDAY'S CRITTERS,
Linking to SKYWATCH FRIDAY by Yogi, Sylvia and Sandy
Linking to WEEKEND REFLECTIONS by James
Linking to BirdD'Pot by Anni
Linking to Our World Tuesday by Lady Fi
Linking to Wild Bird Wednesday by Stewart
Linking to Wordless Wednesday (on Tuesday) by NC Sue
Linking to ALL SEASONS by Jesh
Linking to Fences Around the World by Gosia
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Please visit the links to all these memes to see some excellent photos on display
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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
Following five nights celebrating our family reunion in the Colorado Rocky Mountains, we joined our younger daughter's family on a road trip back to Illinois. We entered South Dakota by way of Wyoming en route to Blue Bell in the Black Hills of Custer State Park.
We occupied adjacent cabins in a Ponderosa woodland at Blue Bell Lodge, just off the famous Wildlife Loop:
Anxious to tour the Loop before dark, we made 6:00 PM dinner reservations at the restaurant but waited over an hour before being served. The food was wonderful despite the terrible service. There was no time to drive the Loop's entire 18 miles, but the wildlife viewing was spectacular.
Hundreds of American Bison wandered freely along the road. Fences and cattle guards control their rotation between huge grazing grounds:
Pronghorn Antelopes abounded:
As dusk approached, White-tailed Deer became more numerous. Many of the does had fawns:
Ten-point buck in velvet:
Feral Donkeys, descendants of Wild Asses released by early settlers, approached our auto, apparently looking for treats offered by tourists despite prohibitions against feeding the wildlife:
All too soon, darkness descended and we made our way back to the cabins. This was the scene a little after sunset, under a waxing Strawberry Moon. This is the Algonquin Indian name for the full Moon in June. This year it coincided with the Summer Solstice, a "once-in-a-lifetime" event. (Better make that "twice in my lifetime" as the last time this happened was in 1967 but the next will not occur until 2062):
Birding was not a main pursuit, but during a brief walk around the cabins I found Red-breasted Nuthatches:
Early the nex morning, A Wild Turkey with five poults walked next to a neighboring cabin...
...and a Cottontail Rabbit huddled near the road, perhaps thinking I could not see it:
While I was taking in the beauty of a mountain stream which ran by the Lodge, a deer suddenly crossed the water towards me:
On the way to our next destination, we drove the length of Needles Highway, a winding road through magnificent rock formations and narrow tunnels:
We visited Crazy Horse Memorial, an ambitious granite statue being carved out of a mountain, billed to become world's largest sculpture, once it is completed. It honors the legendary war hero of the Lakota tribe, whose most famous victory against US troops was the Battle of the Little Bighorn (General Custer's Last Stand -click for more information. )
The carving was started in 1948 but has made slow progress. Only the warrior's face has been completed so far. His head will be 87 feet (27 m) high:
The smaller (60 ft/18 m high) faces of four US presidents are carved on Mount Rushmore, only 17 miles away. It is an awe-inspiring sight:
On our way to our next stop, Mount Rushmore could be seen in the distance:
Our last glimpse of Mount Rushmore through a gap in the trees as we headed east towards the Badlands:
For the "reflection" meme I must hearken back to a photo I took before we flew to Colorado. A few doors from our daughter's home in Illinois, this silo cast its image on a small pond:
Pale Coneflowers bloomed on the Illinois prairie:
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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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