With our stay in NE Illinois drawing to a close, we have spent limited time in the field. Badly needed rain showers also "dampened" our plans.
A visit to Hannaford Woods preserve in Sugar Grove yielded a sought-after Red-headed Woodpecker, though it was not very cooperative. It spent all its time high in the treetops looking down at us:
A Magnolia Warbler posed nicely in a natural halo of bokeh created by a break in the canopy:
The barn at Hannaford is such an interesting subject. I rendered its image as an oil painting (Click on image for more detail):
At nearby Nelson Lake preserve...
...a Black-capped Chickadee welcomed us:
A male Eastern Bluebird stood guard near the entrance path:
Autumn colors were subdued, but the play of shapes and colors along the entrance path begged for an impressionistic interpretation (Again, click to see the painterly effect)...
...as did a bright patch of goldenrod under a lone tree on the prairie:
An Orange-crowned Warbler foraged among weed stems...
...and then flew to a small tree to get a better look at us:
A Tennessee Warbler posed in good light:
A foot bridge, dedicated to Audubon, spans the creek at Nelson Lake...
...but two months without rainfall have left it dry. Animal tracks punctuate the muddy course:
A Sandhill Crane hunted in a field near the preserve:
A small flock of bluebirds included this young male, not quite adorned in full adult plumage:
We walked in Jones Meadow, the "pocket park" only a few blocks from our condo in North Aurora. Homes reflect on the surface of its pond:
A Great Blue Heron roosted in a tree nearby:
At Hawk's Bluff, another small park just doors from our daughter's home in Batavia, we found more chickadees:
A White-breasted Nuthatch followed its upside-down instincts:
It was rewarded with a juicy titbit hidden in the bark under a crooked branch-- maybe it was a nut stored there by a squirrel or jay:
White-throated Sparrows had arrived from northern breeding grounds:
A resident Song Sparrow even sang a few notes:
A Cooper's Hawk kept the small birds in hiding at Lippold Park in Batavia:
Gathering clouds cluttered the sky over the twin oaks at Nelson Lake. Much-needed rain was indeed on the way!
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
Linking to Misty's CAMERA CRITTERS,
Linking to Eileen's SATURDAY'S CRITTERS,
Linking to FENCES AROUND THE WORLD by Gosia
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 Wordless Wednesday (on Tuesday) by NC Sue
Linking to ALL SEASONS by Jesh
________________________________________________
Please visit the links to all these memes to see some excellent photos on display
________________________________________________
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,
Linking to Eileen's SATURDAY'S CRITTERS,
Linking to FENCES AROUND THE WORLD by Gosia
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 Wordless Wednesday (on Tuesday) by NC Sue
Linking to ALL SEASONS by Jesh
________________________________________________
Please visit the links to all these memes to see some excellent photos on display
________________________________________________