Three years ago we started out the month of September at our (then) second home in NE Illinois. My archives include 450 photos processed that month. As usual, I will look for images which depict favorite memes-- critters (especially birds), skies, reflections, fences and scenes which speak for themselves.
Yellow was the predominant color in the prairies, as goldenrod and sunflowers bloomed. Male American Goldfinches had not yet begun to change into their drab olive winter plumage:
The Mallards had molted into unisex "eclipse" plumage and were temporarily flightless, but the male could be identified by his bright yellow bill:
The Compass Plant looks a bit like a sunflower, whose blooms rotate to face the sun. However, this plant got its name because its flowers were believed to point to the north and south. which is not always the case. It is a plant of the tall grass prairie, and its tap root reaches deep into the soil, allowing it to survive fire and drought:
Early in the month, we accompanied our daughter and her family on a short vacation trip to Baileys Harbor Yacht Club Resort in NE Wisconsin, nearly 300 miles north of the Chicago area. Located in Door County, on the Upper Peninsula east of Green Bay, its namesake harbor opens into huge Lake Michigan. We occupied a waterfront condo, an easy walk from the shoreline.
Monarch butterflies abounded. This one was fighting the wind as it held fast to the flowers:
A curious Red Squirrel looked on as we walked the rustic pathways:
Red-breasted Nuthaches were common:
A Pileated Woodpecker, identified as a male by his red "mustache," foraged in the trees and on the ground, where I caught him in 'mid-hop:"
Black-capped Chickadees flocked to the feeders:
The shoreline on a foggy morning:
The Marina:
Back in Illinois, a young ("colt") Sandhill Crane followed its parents across a neighbor's lawn:
The windy weather made it difficult to find reflections, but this Great Egret saw itself on the surface of the Fox River at Lippold Park, near our home:
Wind-swept "horsetails" stirred in the clouds above Nelson Lake preserve...
...where our Granddaughter Graci accompanied us on our final hike for the year. She wanted me to try to photograph all her sightings, which I did, and will not bore you here except for:
We saw a White-breasted Nuthatch...
...and a line of ants carrying a dead moth:
By the time we departed for Florida, the leaves were turning to autumn colors, almost hiding this diminutive Ruby-crowned Kinglet:
We will miss the colors which accompany the change in season...
...New England Asters, so common on the fall prairie:
Nashville Warbler in a daisy patch:
A Common Buckeye on daisies:
Back in Florida, there is something magic about the morning light, which envelops an Ovenbird:
On September 29, sky and clouds reflect on lily pads, the "Reflection of the Month:"
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Linking to Misty's CAMERA CRITTERS,
This has become a habit of mine, to look back at photos I took three years ago. It may be boring to some, but it helps me to remember the good times past and anticipate the sights which may greet us this October as we venture out into Illinois parks and back to our south Florida Everglades remnant preserve, our "Wounded Wetland." To add some interest to my quest, I will try to include some favorite memes-- wild critters (especially birds), skies, reflections, fences, signs of the season, and scenes which speak for themselves. We spent the first three weeks of October, 2014 at our second home in NE Illinois, missing the best of south Florida's warbler migration but enjoying the clear weather and cool temperatures. (This year we plan to get back to Florida a week earlier to celebrate the Quinceañera of the daughter of our son-in-law's first cousin in Miami.) Lippold Park, in Batavia, IL was adorned in fall colors: We got to welcome some winter birds, many of which do not visit south Florida. Yellow-rumped warblers arrived early in the month. In Florida they are among the last to appear and signal the end of warbler migration: White-throated Sparrows had arrived from northern breeding grounds: White-crowned Sparrows visited our daughter's feeders and rested on the deck railing. This is an adult: First-year White-crowned Sparrows have brown and dull gray rather than black and white head stripes: Ruby-crowned Kinglets appeared. In Florida we may see one or two some winters: White-breasted Nuthatches are Illinois residents and are seen all winter, but they do move erratically southward and may be replaced by migrants or wanderers from the north. Few make it into south Florida: Black-capped Chickadees were abundant. This is another resident species which may wander about unexpectedly in some winters. A very similar relative, the Carolina Chickadee, ranges into central Florida: Canada Geese were moving south. Note the similar but much smaller Cackling Geese in the foreground: On October 22 we encountered our first flock of Purple Finches. This is a female: After breeding season, American Goldfinches change from bright yellow into more somber garb: Before departing for Florida we spent a long weekend of fun with our daughter and family at Sturgeon Bay in Door County, Wisconsin. It is located in far NE Wisconsin and straddles both sides of the inlet between Lake Michigan and Green Bay. Our lodge was on the waterfront and we enjoyed beautiful sunsets: Sturgeon Bay Marina: Beautiful split-rail fence at "The Farm" in Door County: It was much colder up in Wisconsin: October 26 found us back in Florida. We were out early the next morning and captured this Great Egret before sunrise as it lifted off: While visiting Chapel Trail Nature Preserve I obtained this unusual photo of a pair of Purple (Gray-headed) Swamphens reflecting in the lake: A Cattle Egret hunted for insects on a cow's back in the pasture next to Chapel Trail: Sadly, on October 30 I saw our local female Bald Eagle "Joy" for the last time before she disappeared and was never seen again. She was sitting rather deep in the nest, rearranging sticks while her mate "Pride" stood by: = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Linking to Misty's CAMERA CRITTERS,
Our stay in northeastern Illinois began near the end of warbler migration, so we were mostly in the "shoulder season" of birding, a more quiet time before the northern bird species start to arrive. The pair of Bald Eagles that nested last year near our Illinois home will not lay their eggs until early spring, but they were roosting in their nest tree: By the time we were ready to return home to Florida at the end of October, the winter sparrows began showing up in fresh plumage. White-throated Sparrows sported their golden lores; White-crowned Sparrows are notably larger than their white-throated relatives and breed on the Canadian tundra. This one suddenly appeared on the deck of our daughter's home and posed very cooperatively: The immature White-crowned Sparrow has a buffy crown but this does not detract from its beauty: Song Sparrows are seen all year, but the local breeders fly south in the winter and are replaced by migrants from the north: Larger and more richly colored Fox Sparrows followed: Ruby-crowned Kinglets move through after most of the warblers have departed, and will linger until cold weather sets in: Kinglets are active feeders, "hover-gleaning" for insects in the tips of branches: Hardy (Slate-colored) Dark-eyed Juncos, commonly called "Snow Birds," will remain all winter: Canada Geese arrived by the thousands in V-formation flocks, joining the permanent resident population. This video captures the sense of being immersed in the wild echoing calls of flocks of geese as they fly overhead. Many settled into the small pond in Jones Meadow Park, very close to our condo. Try to ignore the passing airliner! (If video does not display in the space below, please visit this link.)
These migrating geese come in two distinctly recognizable sizes. The smaller ones actually represent a separate species, the Cackling Goose, which breeds high in the arctic tundra and spends winter more to the south. The four in the foreground exhibit not only smaller size, but short necks, rounder heads and stubbier bills:Three Canada Geese are joined by a Pied-billed Grebe:The number and variety of birds was down, but in contrast to their muted plumage, the fall colors were superb. This is something that we really miss in Florida, where the Wet Season simply transitions into the Dry Season without fanfare around the middle of October. At Hawk's Bluff Park near our daughter's home in Batavia, Illinois this magnificent Oak provided copper highlights:The Cottonwoods along Mill Creek added gold to the palette:In early October we had already experienced a few snow flurries, so we were a bit apprehensive about our daughter's invitation to join her family for a long mid-October weekend over 200 miles to the north in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin. The city straddles the namesake inlet and bay that connects Lake Michigan with Green Bay. We were pleasantly surprised to find cloudless skies and fair temperatures. From the lawn of our condo on the bay, sunset was serene and colorful despite the clear sky:At a local farm, Sugar Maples were in fine color:Large flocks of migrating ducks followed Sturgeon Bay southward. This flock consisted of over 20 Redheads with a Red-breasted Merganser taking up the lead position.Hundreds of Horned Grebes foraged just offshore. This was the first time I ever was able to photograph this species, though the images suffered because the sun was behind the birds:These two Mallard drakes, though seen at a distance, were in better light:
