Copperas Landing and Banner Dike Road

Yesterday, on the 4th day of the new year, Scott and I drove down to Banner. The mess left at the landing by the pipeline/pumping station construction is still there. Huge trees lying on their sides. The machines that pushed them down parked near by.




The entire area leading out to the landing, including the proposed mining site, is under water.


There is a cofferdam in the ditch by the road:


The levee on the south side of Morgan Ditch is under water.


Two hawks flew together from one snag to another.


But the most exciting find was a pair of Brown Creepers whistling in the trees a long the road on the proposed Banner Mine site! Brown Creepers are threatened in Illinois. The trees on the mining site provide an ideal habitat. And now we know they are present on that site!

Allerton on New Years Day

On New Years Day I drove over to Allerton Park near Monticello. The sun was supposed to come out in the afternoon, and it tried, but it never made it.

On the way, I crossed Clinton Lake. Some Mallard Ducks were out on the ice. Steam was coming off the water because the water is warmer than the air.




At Allerton, I walked down the trail leading to the Death of the Last Centaur statue.

It was flooded on the other side of the statue area. The Sangamon River was way out of its banks.

Ice crystals formed patterns along the banks of one of the streams leading to the river.

I found a spot of color among the browns, blacks, and whites of winter.


After leaving Allerton, I went by Riverbend to watch the geese. There were thousands of geese flying every which way, with a large gaggle out on the ice.

Emiquon in Late December

I visited Emiquon on December 28 with my friend Ed. We found two Northern Harriers working the wet prairie by Thompson Lake.




Sister Creeks Farm is visible miles away from the tranquil lake.


A Red-tailed Hawk posed briefly before flying away:


A juvenile Bald Eagle sat in a tree along Dixon Mounds Road:


Scott and I went back on December 30 and found thousands of geese, mostly Canada, but with a mix of several hundred White-fronted geese and a thousand or so Snow Geese! What fun!







A Red-tailed Hawk cruised along the levee:



On the way home,what we think were three Trumpeter Swans were in a corn field just south of Duck Creek Road:

Trees Downed at Copperas Landing

The city of Canton is putting in a water line along Banner Dike Road. They have done much damage to the trees along the dike, which is very disheartening for the wildlife in the area. However, I never dreamed of the destruction that would take place among the huge old Cottonwood Trees along the river. I took these photos last month, on November 22, 2008. I plan to go back to photograph the rest of the destruction sometime next week.





While there that day, we found an eagle in one of the remaining large trees, and it makes me so sad to think of the loss of habitat for these majestic birds.

Eagles on the Frozen River

Saturday morning Ed and I drove north on I-26 along the Illinois River, crossed the river at Henry and drove back to Peoria along I-29 and River Beach Drive. All together we spotted 14 eagles, most hunkered down on the ice out on the river trying to stay out of the 30 mile/hour wind. Two were flying together just north of the Marshall County eagle nest; we think they were the resident eagles. Another was a very dark juvenile eagle flying over the bluffs, the remainder were out on the ice.

Prairie Lane and Baker's Hollow in Banner Township

Well, it looks like citizen alerts to threatened and endangered species are not welcome by the owners of the land near Banner Marsh and Rice Lake Conservation Areas. They have erected a fence with a gate across the road.


It looks like something to keep trespassers out. The fence runs along Rt. 24, stopping at the creeks on both ends. However, still no visible No Trespassing sign.

It runs down to Baker Hollow Creek where it ends.

Here is a look at the creek from the Rt. 24 bridge.

A closer look:

Here is a view of the bridge showing the other side of the highway.



I then tried to drive down Banner Dike Road on the other side of the site, but it was closed for work on a pipeline, unrelated to the coal mine activities. So I went to the adjacent state conservation area, Bell's Landing at Banner Marsh SFWA where I found many swans and some other waterfowl too far out to identify. Hunters were probably in the blinds near by, but I didn't hear any shots.



Two Horned Larks flew in front of my car as I drove towards the levee.


The beaver lodge was quiet on this overcast early December morning.



Then I spotted a Northern Harrier, a marsh hawk, flying low over the grassy areas. Harriers are an endangered species, so finding it close to the mine site is important.


The area where it was flying was approximately 1/2 mile from the proposed mine site. Harriers and Short-eared Owls could very well be hunting that area as well.

On the way out, I spotted a Red-tailed Hawk flying out to a tree in the grasslands of the protected Waterfowl Preserve.



On Sunday I will drive out (no pipeline workers!) and see if I can find any harriers on the mine site!