Emiquon and Fulton County in December

I haven't been posting as often since we moved to Fulton County. My wireless connection is variable, especially on uploads. I hope to rectify that soon!

December started off nice enough, but it sure became cold with snow covering the ground from mid month on. Thompson Lake froze solid, from bank to bank.  The eagles left following the waterfowl as they headed for warmer territory in Arkansas (my assumption).

A Red-tailed Hawk flew overhead.


One lonely immature Bald Eagle flew over.


A horse stood out in the snow covered pasture along Prairie Road.


A Northern Harrier hunted the fields and prairies along Prairie Road.


The Nature Conservancy office and surrounding buildings were covered in snow.


A flock of geese flew across the setting sun as I look west from Prairie Road.


As I came around the turn looking towards the bluff, I spotted some people watching something I couldn't see in the snow.  The snow was pretty deep and hadn't been traveled much on that stretch of the road, so I backed into the driveway of TNC outbuilding and turned around.


I stopped to take a photo of the Rare Fish Pond on the Butt track of TNC's property:


Along Clark Road, another Northern Harrier flew over.


And I spotted the Dark-morph Western Red-tailed Hawk that I first saw on December 5.

Here is a better photo taken on the 5th, when the sun was shining.

Sunny Emiquon Days

We had some lovely sunshine in November, which disappeared in December. I drove down the bluff to the Emiquon Preserve. I walked out the south end of the levee. Coots and Grebes were swimming in the channel heading towards the levee.





The black dots on the lake are mostly Coots. There were nearly one hundred thousand Coots at one time on Thompson Lake at the Emiquon Preserve. Several eagles flew far out over the water surveying the coots and other waterfall.



A Northern Harrier flew acrobatically across the fields along Emiquon Prairie Road.


As the sun set behind the bluffs, it turned the sky bright orange.

In the other direction, a tree that I regularly photograph stood vigil over the prairie.

Clark Road

I love walking along Clark Road, which runs between the bluff and the Emiquon Preserve north of Thompson Lake. There is always something interesting to see. One of my favorite spots is an rock outcropping that reminds me of southern Illinois.



Looking south from Clark Road, you can see the smoke stack of the Havana power plant, which is at least 8 miles away.



On some days, the steam bellows out, forming clouds over the valley.



This was taken in 2007.



The area is now filled with water; it is what I call the Clark Road Estuary, between IL SR 78 and Clark Road.

We frequently find hawks and eagles flying along the edge between the bluffs and the valley. One day we found a dark morph red-tailed hawk rested in a tree along Clark Road.




Bluebirds and other small birds reside in the brush along both sides of the road.

Scenes from Little America

Prichard Road, not far from our house, leads down to Little Sister Creek.





The dog jerked the leash just as I snapped this photo of cows on the horizon.




From our back yard we can see all the way across the Emiquon valley to Havana.

Emiquon in November

November 8, 2009

November had some good days in the beginning of the month. Sunday, November 8, was an exceptionally warm and sunny day this year. I drove to the south end of the levee and walked to the first bend, about a mile, before turning back to the car. It gave me a great opportunity to observe the wetland forming around the channel that would lead to the Spoon River system if it weren't for the levee upon which I stood.



On the other side of the levee lies the bottom forest that surrounds the Spoon River on the Emiquon National Wildlife Refuge, providing a great contrast.







The day was so clear that I could see the two towers on the bluff at Little America from the levee.



A small group of American White Pelicans sat on a finger of higher ground like whipped cream on a sliver of pumpkin pie.



I found Horned Grebes, the first time I've identified this species. They were swimming with American Coots and Pied-billed Grebes in the channel of water threading its way through the wet prairie.





A Monarch butterfly landed briefly before flying off over the trees at the refuge.



A female Northern Harrier hunted the wet prairie as I walked back to the car.

Emiquon in Autumn -- October 2009

October 7, 2009

Pelicans were swimming and fishing in Thompson Lake right up front, along Route 78 on Tuesday morning. Usually they are swimming so far out that they look like white blobs in my photographs, a part of the landscape. On this morning they became the subject of the photographs.









Thompson Lake along Clark Road sparkled in the morning sunlight.





October 10, 2009

On Saturday, the 10th of October, the pelicans were farther out on the water again. However, Ed and I noticed they seemed to be flying across the river, so we headed to Chautauqua. sure enough, the large birds were out on the water at the end of the levee separating the pools of water.



Several pelicans flew directly overhead, allowing for some decent flight shots.





We went back to Havana for lunch and then headed back to Emiquon. It was overcast that day, with a very flat gray light. Regardless of the light, I made a few panoramas, two from Thompson Levee and one from one of the pull-offs at the south end of the lake.







October 18, 2009

American White Pelicans were still around on Sunday, October 18. Far out on the lake this time, like little white dots.



The sky was a nice shade of blue, so I took some more panoramas from the levee south of the lake.







At one of the pull-offs, we found pelicans closer to the shore.