Sunday, July 25, 2010

Mud Flats at Emiquon National Wildlife Refuge

I had heard that some nice shorebird habitat has recently appeared on the Wilder Tract at Emiquon National Wildlife Refuge along the Spoon River, so Scott and I drove down to check it out.

As we approached the parking area, a group of 15-20 Turkey Vultures were feeding on dead fish trapped when the waters receded after recent flooding.
TurkeyVulturesEmiquonMudflatsWilderTrack07252010JGWard_MG_6704

They flew off before I could get my camera attached to the mono-pod.
TurkeyVulturesEmiquonMudflatsWilderTrack07252010JGWard_MG_6711

Whirligig beetles, black, flattened and streamlined for aquatic life have eyes that allow them to see both above and below the water surface. Several groups of the erratically moving beetles swam on the surface of the water in the canal running from the Spoon River Overflow.
WhirlygigBeetlesEmiquonSpoonRiverOverflowWilderTrack07252010JGWard_MG_6737

The Wilder Track has great habitat right now; gulls and shorebirds foraged actively far out on the mud flats.
EmiquonMudflatsWilderTrack07252010JGWard_MG_6743

GullsShorebirdsEmiquonMudflatsWilderTrack07252010JGWard_MG_6820

EmiquonMudflatsWilderTrack07252010JGWard_MG_6908

American White Pelicans congregated in large flocks on the north side of the area.
PelicansEmiquonMudflatsWilderTrack07252010JGWard_MG_6784

Dickson Mounds Museum emerges from the bluff behind the pelicans, several miles away.
PelicansEmiquonMudflatsWilderTrack07252010JGWard_MG_6790

EmiquonMudflatsWilderTrack07252010JGWard_MG_6798

Herons and egrets hunted the mudflats and shallow pools of water.
HeronsEmiquonMudflatsWilderTrack07262010JGWard_MG_7186

They also hunted in the canal running between the levee and the road.
EmiquonSpoonRiverOverflowWilderTrack07252010JGWard_MG_6773

Clark Road Prairie

The trees that TNC planted near Clark Road will one day make this area a bottom land forest.
EmiquonClarkRoad07252010JGWard_MG_6482

EmiquonClarkRoad07252010JGWard_MG_6514

A female Indigo Bunting grabbed a bug, and then watched me warily before disappearing in the Horsetail weeds.
IndigoBuntingFeEmiquonClarkRd07252010JGWard_MG_6506

Gnats (not the dreaded Buffalo Gnats, which are gone) swarmed above the seed heads of a wild parsnip plant.
GnatSwarmEmiquonClarkRd07252010JGWard_MG_6526

A tree hanging over one of the ponds had more than a dozen Blue Dasher's waiting for prey on its branches.
BlueDasherDragonfliesEmiquonClarkRd07252010JGWard_MG_6554

Pearl Crescent butterflies are small butterflies, and this one seemed smaller than most, about an inch across. Adults live from early spring through three or more generations into fall. The species overwinters in the larval stage.
PearlCrescentButterflyEmiquonClarkRd07252010JGWard_MG_6570

An immature Hummingbird flew out of the brush and landed in a tree overlooking the mowed path.
HummingbirdEmiquonClarkRd07252010JGWard_MG_6604

An immature Eastern Wood Pewee also peaked out of the leaves.
WoodPeweeEmiquonClarkRd07252010JGWard_MG_6628

Then I found a pair of Black Saddlebags mating.
SaddlebagsDragonfliesMatingEmiquonClarkRd07252010JGWard_MG_6666

On the way back to the car an Estern Amberwing and a male Widow Skimmer posed for the camera.
AmberwingDragonflyEmiquonClarkRd07252010JGWard_MG_6678

WidowSkimmerDragonflyEmiquonClarkRd07252010JGWard_MG_6675