Friday, May 29, 2009

Emiquon Nature Preserve

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

GreenHeronEmiquon05292009JGWardIMG_2565
GreenHeronEmiquon05292009JGWardIMG_2547
GreenHeronEmiquon05292009JGWardIMG_2558

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!

CommonSootyWingSkipperButterflyEmiquon05292009JGWardIMG_2764
BlackSwallowtailButterflyEmiquon05242009JGWardIMG_2064

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.

Red-wingedBlackbirdBrownThrasherEmiquon05292009JGWardIMG_2582

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

IndigoBuntingPrairieRoadEmiquon05292009JGWardIMG_2756

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

PelicanFishermenLakeThompson05292009JGWardIMG_2625

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

Red-tailedHawkClarkRoadEmiquon05292009JGWardIMG_2827

Sunday, May 24, 2009

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.
SnowyEgretEmiquon05242009JGWardIMG_2221
SnowyEgretsEmiquon05242009JGWardIMG_2215
SnowyEgretEmiquon05242009JGWardIMG_2276
SnowyEgretEmiquon05242009JGWardIMG_2277
SnowyEgretEmiquon05242009JGWardIMG_2284

A pair of Blue-winged Teal swam near by.
BlueWingedTealEmiquon05242009JGWardIMG_2299

A Great Egret foraged north of the boat launch area.
EgretTealEmiquon05242009JGWardIMG_2316

A Green Heron landed briefly on a skinny branch behind the Great Egret before flying away.
GreenHeronEmiquon05242009JGWardIMG_2341
GreenHeronEmiquon05242009JGWardIMG_2359
GreenHeronEmiquon05242009JGWardIMG_2360
EgretGreenHeronEmiquon05242009JGWardIMG_2361
EgretGreenHeronEmiquon05242009JGWardIMG_2362
GreenHeronEmiquon05242009JGWardIMG_2363
GreenHeronEmiquon05242009JGWardIMG_2365
GreenHeronEmiquon05242009JGWardIMG_2366

A drive along Prairie Road was filled with the songs of Red-winged Blackbirdsl, Dickcissels and Indigo Buntings.
PrairieRoadEmiquon05242009JGWardIMG_2188
DickcisselEmiquon05242009JGWardIMG_2176
RedWingedBlackbirdEmiquon05242009JGWardIMG_2143

We also found an Orchard Oriole in the recently burned grass.
OrchardOrioleFeEmiquon05242009JGWardIMG_2106c
OrchardOrioleFeEmiquon05242009JGWardIMG_2107

We also ran into both Red-bellied and Red-headed Woodpeckers on our drive along Prairie Road.
RedheadedWoodpeckerEmiquon05242009JGWardIMG_2448

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.
DeerEmiquon05242009JGWardIMG_2462
The deer quickly took off through the prairie, springing high above the grass.
DeerEmiquon05242009JGWardIMG_2469
DeerEmiquon05242009JGWardIMG_2465