Crops & Clips: In and around Batavia, Illinois

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):



= = =  = = =  = = = =  = = = = =

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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Catching up with migration

Although our granddaughter Graciela summed up her Florida visit very nicely in her recent guest blog, I had to cut her words short before she really got into describing the sights in Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in Sanibel Island, Florida. 

Here are a few images from this marvelous place. Unfortunately each of our three stops in the Refuge occurred at time of high or incoming tide, not good timing for wading birds. Yet, we got to see...

...Roseate Spoonbills...



...Least Sandpipers...



...Semiplamated Plovers...



...Spotted Sandpipers (this one was stalking a crab)...



...and a stunning Northern Cardinal.



OK, I'm boring you but I must share this photo of a mischievous Fish Crow caught in the act of raiding a bicyclist's camera bag.



I obtained a mug shot of the culprit.



Upon returning to the wetlands next to our Florida home I captured a pleasant image of three young White-tailed Deer. The wind was in my favor and they stared at me for a long time before bolting off (click on the image for a slide show of many more photos in my FLICKR collection).



There followed our unplanned trip to Arizona for the memorial Mass of Celebration of the  life of Mary Lou's brother, who passed away on Easter Sunday. From Phoenix we flew directly to our second home in NE Illinois. Migration in Florida had been rather slow in our neighborhood, so I looked forward to catching up with the northbound songbirds.

Listen to the bird sounds in this brief video clip, along the shore of the Fox River in Batavia, Illinois. If it does not display in the space below, visit this link. 

Blue Violets, the State Flower of Illinois, were blooming profusely.



We were greeted by numerous Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, a species that had migrated away from Florida during the the previous weeks. This one looked a bit perturbed by my presence.



Yellow-rumped Warblers had exchanged their drab plumage for spring colors.



At nearby Nelson Lake/Dick Young Forest Preserve the Yellow Warblers were singing profusely.



This Yellow Warbler inspected the undersides of the leaves in search of insects.



Wilson's Warblers wore their black skull caps.



Baltimore Orioles showed off their blazing colors.



Black-throated Green Warblers passed through in good numbers.



Boldly patterned Black-and-White Warblers did head stands as they explored the twigs for insect prey.



Rose-breasted Grosbeaks filled the air with persistent warbling song.



Flocks of Bobolinks appeared in the prairies. This male sang and displayed to a female hidden in the grass below.

 

The three primary colors were represented, first by the Scarlet Tanagers...



...then by the Indigo Buntings...



...and finally by the American Goldfinches.