Snow Again in February

This has been a very snowy winter.  We've had snow on the ground all month long.




A pair of mallards and a hybrid followed the domestic ducks around the yard at the corner of Dickson Mounds Road and County 9, across from the Rare Fish Pond at Emiquon. 


An opossum hunted in the corn field along Prairie Road.


Looking back at Emiquon from Clark Road, you can see how Hwy 78 turns as it winds down the bluff.


A deer posed briefly before bounding across Prairie Road and on up the bluff.


A small herd of deer headed out across frozen Thompson Lake on the other side of the trees growing along a creek feeding the lake.


I frequently find hawks along Clark Road. Not as many this winter as last year, perhaps because of the snow cover for most of January and February.

More Snow in January

We have had a lot of snow this winter.  In January the trend continued.  Dickson Creek was covered in the tracks of the animals using the frozen creek for a highway up and down the bluff.

Near Coal Creek a couple of deer were grazing in the snow.

A cardinal singing made me think of spring, in spite of the blanket of snow.

I stopped to take a photo of the tree on Prairie Road, just before the final turn to IL 78.

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.


One lonely immature Bald Eagle flew over.


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


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


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


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


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.


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


Along Clark Road, another Northern Harrier flew over.


And I spotted the Dark-morph Western Red-tailed Hawk that I first saw on December 5.

Here is a better photo taken on the 5th, when the sun was shining.

Sunny Emiquon Days

We had some lovely sunshine in November, which disappeared in December. I drove down the bluff to the Emiquon Preserve. I walked out the south end of the levee. Coots and Grebes were swimming in the channel heading towards the levee.





The black dots on the lake are mostly Coots. There were nearly one hundred thousand Coots at one time on Thompson Lake at the Emiquon Preserve. Several eagles flew far out over the water surveying the coots and other waterfall.



A Northern Harrier flew acrobatically across the fields along Emiquon Prairie Road.


As the sun set behind the bluffs, it turned the sky bright orange.

In the other direction, a tree that I regularly photograph stood vigil over the prairie.

Clark Road

I love walking along Clark Road, which runs between the bluff and the Emiquon Preserve north of Thompson Lake. There is always something interesting to see. One of my favorite spots is an rock outcropping that reminds me of southern Illinois.



Looking south from Clark Road, you can see the smoke stack of the Havana power plant, which is at least 8 miles away.



On some days, the steam bellows out, forming clouds over the valley.



This was taken in 2007.



The area is now filled with water; it is what I call the Clark Road Estuary, between IL SR 78 and Clark Road.

We frequently find hawks and eagles flying along the edge between the bluffs and the valley. One day we found a dark morph red-tailed hawk rested in a tree along Clark Road.




Bluebirds and other small birds reside in the brush along both sides of the road.

Scenes from Little America

Prichard Road, not far from our house, leads down to Little Sister Creek.





The dog jerked the leash just as I snapped this photo of cows on the horizon.




From our back yard we can see all the way across the Emiquon valley to Havana.

Emiquon in November

November 8, 2009

November had some good days in the beginning of the month. Sunday, November 8, was an exceptionally warm and sunny day this year. I drove to the south end of the levee and walked to the first bend, about a mile, before turning back to the car. It gave me a great opportunity to observe the wetland forming around the channel that would lead to the Spoon River system if it weren't for the levee upon which I stood.



On the other side of the levee lies the bottom forest that surrounds the Spoon River on the Emiquon National Wildlife Refuge, providing a great contrast.







The day was so clear that I could see the two towers on the bluff at Little America from the levee.



A small group of American White Pelicans sat on a finger of higher ground like whipped cream on a sliver of pumpkin pie.



I found Horned Grebes, the first time I've identified this species. They were swimming with American Coots and Pied-billed Grebes in the channel of water threading its way through the wet prairie.





A Monarch butterfly landed briefly before flying off over the trees at the refuge.



A female Northern Harrier hunted the wet prairie as I walked back to the car.