Prairie, Wetlands, and Beaver Ponds at Emiquon

One of the privileges of being a member of the Emiquon Corps of Discovery is to be able to walk along paths that are not usually open to the public. In May, the path from Clark Road to the North Levee was interrupted by a large pond. In addition, beavers are damming the little creek that flows through the wetland, right along the bridge. If it keeps going up the bridge will be under water. Hopefully the water levels will start to go down before long.

From Clark Road, looking south, I could just barely see the new observatories near the boat ramp. The observatories blend in with the surrounding landscape.


Walking down the path between the wood line and the prairie, I could see Thompson Lake peeking from between the trees.


As I turned around to photograph the bottomland trees planted back in 2007, a yellow school bus headed up the bluff on IL 78 Hwy.


The beavers have been busy building a dam across the stream that runs through the wetland.


I found a Peal Crescent butterfly resting on a twig near the stream.


I walked on along the mowed path that leads to the hunting areas until I encountered the new wetland, spreading out across the path.


I wanted to walk out to the hunting signs and turn north on the path to the levee. However the wetland over the path had water approximately 6 inches deep in spots on the twelfth of May.


Since I couldn't walk through it without disturbing it greatly, I turned back and watched a pair of Mallard ducks flying over.

Mid-May at Emiquon

Black-necked Stilts foraged in the shallow water at the edge of Thompson Lake.






Northern Shovelers and other waterfowl hung out at the Rare Fish Propagation pond by County 9 Road.




American Coots:


Redhead Ducks:

Sunrise at Emiquon

Early one morning in May, I headed down to Emiquon. The prairie was shrouded in fog.






Over the lake, the sun rose over the clouds.






The wetland observatory stood out against the sunrise.