Last August we saw American Golden-Plovers at a sod farm in Kaneville, Illinois, not far from our second home. This year we visited the farm six times during late August and early September, hoping to see them again before we flew back to Florida, but each time we were disappointed. It is a thrill to see this species, a rare but fairly regular visitor to Illinois during its long migration flights from breeding grounds in the Arctic to the southern tip of South America.
Thanks to a heads-up from our friend Marion, we learned that they had appeared the day after we decided that it would be our last visit. As many as seven had been seen in a relatively inaccessible area of the huge sod farm.
Luckily, two golden-plovers were still there that next day. This is as close as I could get for a photo without entering private land (September 11, 2013).
Last year, an American Golden-Plover lingered next to the road, and our auto came in handy as a blind (or hide).
It joined a Killdeer and a Buff-bellied Sandpiper for a group photo opportunity.
Last year I prepared a video strip that tells more about this bird's remarkable journey. If you cannot see it below, try this link: https://vimeo.com/66256602
Birds' faces are frozen for a lifetime. They cannot grimace or smile or furrow their brows. Yet, a bird can exhibit a certain expression that may or may not appear appropriate to a situation or its personality or demeanor. This can cause us to misinterpret its feelings or intentions.
Can a bird, such as the Mad Bluebird, make an angry face? This photo of mine shows a White-eyed Vireo with an "attitude," and was chosen by the National Audubon Society and the Sierra Club to promote their Climate Change information campaign.
The "Vehement Vireo"
This likely is a different bird, photographed a few months earlier within 1/2 mile of the above. What is "Vehement Vireo II" trying to say?
Can a bird have a "curious" look? Another of my photos was recently featured in an Audubon bird ID quiz. It shows a female Chestnut-sided Warbler looking quizzically at the camera. She did approach me quite closely, but did her facial expression change? Anthropomorphism at its worst?
Are these two catbirds engaged in an angry confrontation? (Actually, I am quite sure that this was a courtship interaction.)
Many raptors exhibit an eternally fierce countenance. Is this female Bald Eagle mad at the world?
Here she is tenderly feeding her young, not killing them.
Up close, this Red-tailed Hawk has fire in its eye. As it is with eagles, the pronounced bony supra-orbital ridge shades its eye, but also causes a permanent frown.
Instead of a pronounced bony brow, a dark area under his eyes reduces glare for this American Kestrel. He looks quite gentle, incapable of any evil intent to harm a little grasshopper or mouse.
A female House Finch is said to have a "blank" or "innocent" appearance, as her face is unadorned.
Contrast this with the "expressive" face of a female Purple Finch.
Of course, owls are said to look "wise," but this Long-eared Owl seems rather surprised to see me.
These young Great Horned Owls are hardly old enough to be "wise," but they already have that look.
Beyond wise, this Burrowing Owl appears to be omniscient.
The Horned Lark looks like a police inspector who means business.
This Yellow-crowned Night-Heron reminds me of a grumpy old man with bushy eyebrows and bearded jowls.
What about looking "fearful?" I know it is not possible, but to me this Whooping Crane expresses sheer terror.
The American Birding Association (ABA) used my Purple Swamphen photo to announce that this introduced species is now "countable" under their rules. It looks like a "Purple Gallinule on steroids," and has an aggressive style that matches its robust appearance.
Still not "countable," under the ABA rules of the game, the exotic and aggressive Egyptian Geese have spread rapidly up the Florida peninsula during the past five years. (See this video of an intense battle between Egyptian Geese, filmed by StuartDutchmanHQ of the Netherlands.) We just had the first pair on our lake, and the male viciously fought off a competitor, no holds barred! Like a masked gangster, the male (foreground) celebrates victory with his "gun moll."
