Purple marsh flowers, growing in the beaver pond at Cooper Park, East Peoria, Illinois.

Barn Swallow.

First Summer Male Purple Martin.

Geese and Goslings. Swimming out on the river from the point at Spindler Marina in East Peoria.

Goose Reflections on Peoria Lake.

Girl by the River.

Muskrat out in the Marsh at Cooper Park. Check out those teeth!

Dredged beach at Hamm's Marina in Chilicothe, Illinois.

Yellow Prairie Flower at Forest Park.

Spiderwort at Forest Park Nature Center.

Common Milkweed blossom.

Tufted Titmouse.

Purple Cone Flowers.

Chicory Flower. I love this color of blue.

White Cabbage Butterfly.

White Cabbage Butterfly in flight.

Cooper Park in Tazewell County

Prothonotary Warbler. Cooper Park was full of life on Friday. We observed the Prothonotary Warblers, Baltimore Orioles, and House Wrens that we have been seeing there. Unfortunately a large group of people came through like a heard of elephants, scaring most of the birds away. They let one of the boys in the group climb down from the boardwalk into the beaver pond with a net; he was trying to catch something, possibly one of the turtles we had seen sunbathing by the beaver den earlier. We told them they were not allowed off the boardwalk and that the area was a protected nature preserve. They were pretty testy with us, but they soon left and we continued our walk without further interuption.

Red-bellied Woodpecker.

Mayfly.

Water Snake.