Emiquon on a Cloudy Day

Last Saturday, in spite of the cloudy skies and recent rains, my friend Ed and I drove down to Emiquon. We stopped to take photos of the flowers in the prairie by the newly formed pond where TNC is raising fish.


A dog from the nearby farm decided to come see what we were up too, and get a few pets. Following the dog was the tiniest little kitten. Another farm cat stayed behind, but the little kitten followed that dog, crying for attention from the dog, but hiding from me when I approached.





The prairie flowers are in various stages of bloom.







Rabbits of all sizes were on both sides of Prairie Road.


A beautiful yellow male Goldfinch kept his eye on me as he pulled seeds from the thistle.


From Mud Road the view of Sister Creeks Farm appears under a film of haze. Humidity was close to 100%.


Pelicans, Egrets, and Herons are camouflaged out on the lake.





A Wood Duck swam in the waters near the levee.


A Blue-winged Teal swam out in the cattails.


In the distance, against a berm we could see what at first seemed to be a group of gulls, but on closer inspection, through the lens, looked like tiny egrets.


As we grew closer I could see that it was a group of at least 14 Cattle Egrets!






A single Double-crested Cormorant swam in the water in front of the egrets.


Swallows of all types were swooping over the lake scooping up flying insects. A group of them kept flying in and out of a tree along the canal by Pumphouse Road.


Several dragonflies were cruising and hunting and driving off other dragonflies along Pumphouse Road. Only two would stop for a photo opportunity.

Halloween Penant


Eastern Amber Wing:


A Common Sooty Wing Skipper posed for me briefly.


Orange Sulphur Butterflies were abundant.


Thompson Lake is heading towards the Spoon River, but will remain on the north side of the levee.


Dickcissels could be heard singing every where we went.


And an adult Black-crowned Night-heron was wading near the levee. This is the closest I have ever been to one of these elusive and endangered birds!



Several female Wood Ducks had broods of various sizes. One had 14 ducklings, another had only four.

Storms Over Emiquon

Scott and I drove down to Emiquon on Tuesday afternoon. It was nice and sunny when we arrived, and I was anxious to try out an extender on my lens to see if I could see the birds far out on the lake. However, by the time I set it up on the tripod, clouds moved in. I took some photos of pelicans in the limited light with limited success.





Scott and I then went into Havana for a sandwich at the Chuck Wagon restaurant. Afterwards we drove back to Dickson Mounds to attend a lecture as the storm moved in.



Large numbers of egrets and herons were gathered in a field that is being pumped to remove flood waters.







We drove around the prairie for a while taking photos of the stormy skies.







We got to the museum just before the heavy rains came pouring down. It continued to rain the entire time we were there, with no sign of letting up, so we made a dash for the car and got soaked for our trouble. By the time we got to Rice Lake, we had driven out of the rain.

Cooper Park Again

Only two weeks since the last time I visited, and the place is covered in green. You can barely tell the area had been under water a few weeks ago. Our first surprise was finding a snake in the bushes right by the car.



We think it is a Graham's Crayfish Snake.

As we walked south from the parking area into the woods, a juvenile flycatcher was begging food, but the parent flew away. The juvenile stuck around for a few minutes before flying away.











A Downy Woodpecker was working on a tree near the trail.



Arrowleaf plantain grows lush along both sides of the boardwalk. It is blooming right now. The blooms look like leaves opening. Later there will be huge seed pods.





There was a great view of the Peoria skyline from the end of the trail, behind Jonah's Seafood House, a great place for seafood with a view.