Emiquon in September 2009

I have been preparing for our move from Peoria to Fulton County, and I haven't posted anything since the end of August. I'm catching up with some photos from September on several visits to the TNC's Emiquon Preserve in September, 2009.

September 9, 2009

Pelicans were streaming out across Thompson Lake. This panorama was taken from Clark Road:



The estuary that formed between Clark Road and IL State 78 highway was shrouded in clouds:



September 17, 2009

The light was fantastic on September 17. Here is a panorama showing the trees TNC planted in the field along Clark Road:



Pelicans were far out on the lake on a strip of land:



The estuary between Clark Road and IL State 78 was also bathed in a golden light:





September 19, 2009

I drove down to Dickson Mounds Museum on the 19th for an Emiquon Corps of Discovery meeting. In the afternoon, I went on a TNC tour of the property. We had a tour from the boat followed by a drive up on the ridge, which is composed of native American mounds. From the ridge you get a fantastic view of the lake.

This photo shows the north end of Thompson lake and the levee that separates Thompson Lake from the Sister Creeks estuary.



The afternoon light brought out the gold in the goldenrod growing in the prairie below the ridge and around Thompson Lake.





September 27, 2009

I didn't get back down until September 27, when I brought down more books and laundry to the new house. Mary came with us and we took her for a drive on Clark Road. We found a flock of Cattle Egrets following the sheep around a farm yard. It is always such fun to see the egrets in action, and I was glad that Mary was along to witness the event!







September 29, 2009

On the 29 I drove along IL 78 and stopped at the boat ramp. The lake water was painted in greens and blues from a cyanotbacteria that has been blooming since April and duckweed.



Waterfowl were pretty far out on the lake, but this Pied-billed Grebe swam close enough to crop out a photo.

Quick Trip through the Emiquon Valley

Scott and I d stopped at a few places at Emiquon on Monday, August 31, 2009. Walking North from the boat launch, I found a Snowy Egret hunting near the edge of the water.



Of course, it flew away as I approached.



I also flushed a few Blue-winged Teal that I would not have seen if they hadn't flushed.



Here is a panorama taken from the boat launch:



A Great Blue Heron stayed close to the water's edge.



A Great Egret landed on a former muskrat den.



A female Blue Dasher Dragonfly landed and posed for me in the former farm building area.



Where the farm homes were located, a small orchard exists.



Butterflies were flying around the mud road leading north from the boat launch parking lot. This Painted Lady rested briefly:



A beautiful Tiger Swallowtail butterfly flew along the muddy road, looking for the right place to land. The shadows at mid-day added to the pleasure this encounter.

Lake Festival at Emiquon Preserve

On Saturday, August 29, 2009, The Nature Conservancy (TNC) hosted a Lake Festival at TNC’s Emiquon Preserve located off Routes 78/97 north of Dickson Mounds Road. A wide variety of family activities were held. Visitors had the opportunity to learn about water quality, macro invertebrates, bird identification, invasive species and Emiquon through displays and hands-on activities. During the morning, The Nature Conservancy allowed bank fishing for those 15 years old and younger who are accompanied by an adult, a one-day only event. Fishing poles and tackle were provided.

Visitors were invited to experience the lake in a Voyageur Canoe. The short tour included stops on the lake to view two different science demonstrations.



Satellite activities included a hayrack ride to the UIS Field Station for facility tours and science demonstrations at the UIS Emiquon Field Station, bird identification with Maurie Brucker using his spotting scope, and an exhibit at Dickson Mounds Museum on bird migration.

Partners for this event included: Dickson Mounds Museum, Emiquon Audubon Society, Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, Illinois Department of Natural Resources, Illinois Natural History Survey, The Nature Conservancy, US Fish and Wildlife Service, the University of Illinois at Emiquon Field Station, and the University of Illinois at Springfield. The Emiquon Corps of Discovery, which works with the partners to document the transformation at Emiquon, also had a display.

[More photos to come]

After the event, Ed and I drove to Havana for lunch at the Chuck Wagon. Then we went back to Emiquon to look for particular habitats: mudflats (not much of that this year!), bottom-land forest (on the edges, but replanted in other places for the future), wet prairies, and wetlands. No problem with the last two categories, but the first two were challenging.

I found these mudflats off Forgotten Road, on private property bordering the Emiquon National Wildlife Refuge. No birds at either site, and vegetation encroaching rapidly.





Butterflies were hanging out on the mud. Here's a Comma Butterfly hiding behind some grass:



Painted Lady:



Cabbage White Butterflies:



I found bottom-land forests off of the Frank C. Bellrose Nature Trail at the Emiquon National Wildlife Refuge.







Wetland photos were easy to find. I pulled off at the first pull off north of the levee for these photos.







Much of the area where wet-prairie plants were planted last year are under water this year. Unplanted areas remain and are very wet!

More Emiquon in August

Some of the Emiquon Corps members got together on Friday, August 21, to make final selections for a display to be shown at the Emiquon Fest on the following Saturday. As I left Dickson Mounds Museum, a storm was blowing through. I pulled off at the South gate to Thompson Levee and watched it pass. As the rain stopped over the lake, I could still see it raining in Havana, on the other side of the river.









Dappled light shown into the bottom land forest south of the levee.



I drove north on 78 and pulled off at one of the chained entrances to watch some egrets and herons, with pelicans shining in the sun way out in the distance.









Pump House Road is under water.

Egrets and Herons at Emiquon

On Saturday August 15, after the Emiquon Corps of Discovery meeting, Ed and I drove the levee around Thompson Lake. The sky was so hazy that you could barely see the bluff in the background. The haze over the lake created a surreal beauty.



I photographed a Black-crowned Night-heron and found a Green Heron lurking in the shadows when I processed the photo:



Egrets like to hang out on the pumping structure on the River side of the preserve.



Three juvenile Little Blue Herons (one on either end and one on the lower level), two Cattle Egrets (one behind the Little Blue on the left) and a Great Egret. What a difference in size!



Here is a link to the large size to make it easier to see the LB Herons.
farm4.static.flickr.com/3444/3829869253_a833e 618d5_b.jpg

Cattle egrets like to hunt bugs on the levee.



As we drove past, they calmly moved down to the waters edge. After we passed, they moved back up the levee.



Pelicans were congregating far out on the lake on the ridge between Thompson and Flag Lakes.



Most of the egrets flew away as we approached, but this one Great Egret stood his ground at the base of the levee.



The eagle nest is difficult to spot through the foliage.



After driving the levee we drove Clark Road. The cows were in the pasture along side the road, and the Cattle Egrets were there feasting on flies!