Emiquon Nature Preserve

A lovely Green Heron was sitting on some twigs near the edge of Lake Thompson.





I found a Common Sooty Wing skipper butterfly and a Black Swallowtail butterfly. I also spotted but did not photo a few dragonflies. One was a Halloween Penant and another may have been a Common Green Darner, but I didn't get a great look before it disappeared. They are such fantastic fliers!




A Red-winged Blackbird was showing his red epaulets. A Brown Thrasher was in the same tree, but I didn't see him until he flew away a few seconds after this shot.



Many Indigo Buntings were present in the prairie off Prairie Road.



A pelican flew over some fishermen out on Lake Thompson. Several other pelicans were flying around or floating on the water.



A couple of Red-tailed Hawks were interacting in the prairie by Clark Road.

Snowy Egrets at Emiquon

When we visited Emiquon on May 16, we found a pair of Snowy Egrets in a grassy area, but the birds were mostly hidden by the grasses. When we returned on Sunday, we found the pair feeding near the boat launch on Lake Thompson, near rubble left over from the former farm buildings.






A pair of Blue-winged Teal swam near by.


A Great Egret foraged north of the boat launch area.


A Green Heron landed briefly on a skinny branch behind the Great Egret before flying away.









A drive along Prairie Road was filled with the songs of Red-winged Blackbirdsl, Dickcissels and Indigo Buntings.




We also found an Orchard Oriole in the recently burned grass.



We also ran into both Red-bellied and Red-headed Woodpeckers on our drive along Prairie Road.


In the middle of the sea of green, which is the color of the prairie following its early spring burn, I noticed a pair of eyes and ears peering out at me.

The deer quickly took off through the prairie, springing high above the grass.