Allerton on New Years Day

On New Years Day I drove over to Allerton Park near Monticello. The sun was supposed to come out in the afternoon, and it tried, but it never made it.

On the way, I crossed Clinton Lake. Some Mallard Ducks were out on the ice. Steam was coming off the water because the water is warmer than the air.




At Allerton, I walked down the trail leading to the Death of the Last Centaur statue.

It was flooded on the other side of the statue area. The Sangamon River was way out of its banks.

Ice crystals formed patterns along the banks of one of the streams leading to the river.

I found a spot of color among the browns, blacks, and whites of winter.


After leaving Allerton, I went by Riverbend to watch the geese. There were thousands of geese flying every which way, with a large gaggle out on the ice.

Emiquon in Late December

I visited Emiquon on December 28 with my friend Ed. We found two Northern Harriers working the wet prairie by Thompson Lake.




Sister Creeks Farm is visible miles away from the tranquil lake.


A Red-tailed Hawk posed briefly before flying away:


A juvenile Bald Eagle sat in a tree along Dixon Mounds Road:


Scott and I went back on December 30 and found thousands of geese, mostly Canada, but with a mix of several hundred White-fronted geese and a thousand or so Snow Geese! What fun!







A Red-tailed Hawk cruised along the levee:



On the way home,what we think were three Trumpeter Swans were in a corn field just south of Duck Creek Road: