Sunday, December 27, 2009

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.
Red-tailedHawkClarkRoadEmiquon12272009JGWard_MG_3604

One lonely immature Bald Eagle flew over.
ImmatureEagle12152009Emiquon12152009JGWard_MG_2749

A horse stood out in the snow covered pasture along Prairie Road.
HorsePrairieRoad12272009JGWard_MG_3536

A Northern Harrier hunted the fields and prairies along Prairie Road.
NorthernHarrierEmiquonPrairieRoad12272009JGWard_MG_3487

The Nature Conservancy office and surrounding buildings were covered in snow.
TNCEmiquon12272009JGWard_MG_3511

A flock of geese flew across the setting sun as I look west from Prairie Road.
GeeseSunEmiquon12272009JGWard_MG_3510

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.
EmiquonVisitorsPrairieRoad12272009JGWard_MG_3478

I stopped to take a photo of the Rare Fish Pond on the Butt track of TNC's property:
ButtTrackEmiquon12272009JGWard_MG_3425

Along Clark Road, another Northern Harrier flew over.
NorthernHarrierClarkRoadEmiquon12272009JGWard_MG_3598

And I spotted the Dark-morph Western Red-tailed Hawk that I first saw on December 5.
DarkMorphRedtailClarkRoadEmiquon12272009JGWard_MG_3631
Here is a better photo taken on the 5th, when the sun was shining.
HawkEmiquonClarkRoad12052009JGWard_MG_2342