Pelicans, Cormorants, and Coots at Emiquon

Yesterday there were a few dozen pelicans out by the Pump House Road pull-off. Surrounding the pelicans were many hundreds of Double-crested Cormorants, dozens of diving ducks, including Hooded Mergansers, and a couple dozen Ring-billed Gulls frolicking in the water.

A group of American Coots foraged for food in the mud and grass at the edge of the lake.

Ducks, Pelicans, and Snow Geese

Yesterday morning, thousands of ducks of various kinds covered the water at the flooded Emiquon National Wildlife Refuge, Wilder Track, and in the wetland by Bellrose trail, as well as along the edges of Thompson Lake.








On Thompson Lake, a small flock of pelicans was actively fishing, as were gulls swarming around them.



Across from County 9, a large flock of Snow Geese had been rather inactive for the past 40 minutes.


Just as we approached, they rose from the lake and began dispersing in all directions.

Illinois River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge

Snow Geese Migration

It seemed like there were a million Snow Geese spread out over Thompson Lake at TNC's Emiquon Preserve on the last weekend in February.

On Saturday Feb 26, we found thousands of birds on Thompson Lake. We stopped at the only shoulder on IL 78 Hwy, across from Dickson Mounds (County 9) Road. It was overcast and foggy in the distance, but we couldn't miss this large flock of geese.

All of a sudden, they rose from the water, circled around, and then settled down again.

On Monday, Feb 28, I went back and the geese put on an even more spectacular show.


I made this video of the geese rising en masse:


Every time I checked back last week, there were geese on the water and/or flying overhead.

Snow Geese and Eagles on Thompson Lake

Last week, as the ice started melting on Thompson Lake, Canada Geese gathered out on the edge of the water as a Northern Harrier flew over.


Snow Geese came flying over the bluff on the West side of Clark Road and just kept going.






Juvenile eagles flew over the lake and prairie at the junction of Rt. 78 and County 9 Road.








Bald eagles hung out on the melting ice covering Thompson Lake.

Eagles on the Illinois River

On the Sunday after the blizzard of 2011, we stopped by the riverfront at Havana. Eagles were everywhere, and a high percentage of them were young. They were gathered along the edge of the river, near the mouth of the Spoon River, eating fish which had been frozen in the sub-zero temperatures of the week before.










We left the riverfront and headed to Quiver Lake where we found more adult and juvenile eagles.








Out on Quiver Lake, where the water was open, an eagle snatched a fish only to drop it the next second.

Snowy Emiquon

After viewing eagles in Havana, I drove back home through Emiquon, taking a detour through Prairie Road, which had been cleared of snow. Before turning onto County 9 from IL 78, I stopped on the only spot of shoulder along the stretch of highway that bisects the Emiquon Preserve. I took a photo of the frozen lake. The gray area on the lake is the last open area and the first that will open up if the temperatures get up above freezing.


I stopped on County 9 and took a photo of the bluffs far across the snowy cornfield.


From Prairie Road, I had a different perspective using my wide angle lens.


Dickson Creek was picturesque in the snow.






A Pinto horse stood at the fence near the road as I passed one of the farm houses on Prairie Road.


A Red-tailed Hawk took off from the prairie and flew along the bluff before disappearing to the other side.


An American Kestrel landed in a tree in front of me and stayed put for a few moments before relocating farther away.


Little winter birds, mostly America Sparrows, darted into the prairie for shelter as I drove by. The snow covered bluff in the background stood out against the bright blue February sky.


I stopped at the Prairie Road Wetland and looked back at the bluffs. I could still see the scrolls of Prairie flowers that had bloomed in golden colors all summer.


I turned back towards the wetland and the juxtaposition of blue sky, white snow and dark trees, with the Havana cloud maker pumping away in the background.