Rock Run Rookery Preserve

Second stop on my birding day in Will County, Rock Run Rookery Preserve.
As I pulled into a parking place, this flock flew up in front of me. I thought it was gulls.
As I looked closer, it turned out to be White Pelicans!

There were so many.

Could not believe my good fortune.

Mergansers

Gulls

Canadian Geese, Gulls

Gadwall, Scaup, Merganser

Ring-billed Gull

Canada Goose

Four Rivers Environmental Education Center

Okay, this isn't at Four Rivers, but on one of the roads I have traveled recently.  Geese, Canadian, are everywhere!

Snow Bunting on Ashley Road , on way to Morris.

Red-tailed Hawk on Ashley Road, on way to Morris.

One I got to the Four Rivers Environmental Education Center in Channahon, the first birds I saw was the American Coot. I have never been to this area, and thought as long as I was in Morris, Channanon was not that far away.

Mallards and Merganser

Merganser

Mallards and Merganser

Bluebird

Red-bellied Woodpecker

Bluebird

I noticed movement down a hill where I was walking, and noticed this guy eyeing me.  He stayed watching me for quilt a while.

Could be a Downy or Hairy Woodpecker

Young Bluebird

Carolina Wren

Carolina Wren

Bluebird.  Look how vibrant his color is.

Barge along the Des Plains River

I had fun trying to photograph birds. It was a beautiful day. Sunny, and relatively warm. Lots of people were out with dogs and kids enjoying the weather.

You just never know what you will see!

One of the farms we passed on Route 6 had these cute goats.  They were all willing to pose for us.

Llama's and Shetland ponies were on the same farm. 

We stopped at the lock and dam and found this group feeding on the ice.

There are always gulls flying around.

No one was willing to give me a frontal view.

From a distance it can be hard to describe what the bird is you see.
Okay, these turned out to be geese.

Some eagles are willing to pose for you.

Hawks are plentiful.

Looks like this opossum is just coming out of hibernation.
Now to identify each of these birds.
I will update as I find out.  

Eagle Trip

For our anniversary we had decided to take an over-nighter to the Quad Cities.  This includes Davenport and Bettendorf in Iowa, and Rock Island, Moline, and East Moline in Illinois, on the Mississippi.
We were not disappointed in seeing eagles.
It was amazing.

In the past we had found a few spots to observe birds and we were not disappointed.
Here you can see the eagle pyramid. 

I have a new camera, that I am trying out. Still have a lot to learn, but did have fun using it.

Saw mallards and domestic mallards.

Deer

What an education this trip was.
We were able to see the different phases the eagle go through before becoming full adults.

An adult and a juvenile that were feasting on something on the ground.

Here are a couple more juveniles.

The trees were full of eagles.

This looked like one shaggy bird!

And eventually become this!

This was a partial scene on Rock Island.

Another view on Rock Island.

How about this adult with two juveniles.

He was just landing.

We saw this pack of coyotes on Rock Island.

It was amazing to see all these beautiful, powerful birds.
A few more pictures tomorrow.

I have to admit, since I have started this adventure of birding, I have learned a lot, and have lots more to go.  When you see the birds that come to your feeder, you see relatively small birds. They nest, have their babies, and the babies become big and it does not take a long to become an adult.
The big birds is a different story.  I did not realize it takes several years for them to grow and reach adulthood.
All birds have to learn to take care and feed themselves. The small birds become adults much faster  then the big ones.  We have had two pair of cardinals that have stuck with us this winter.  On our trip home yesterday, I did see some blackbirds at a distance.  Don't know what type.
It appears the migration has started.  The eagles we have been seeing along the Fox River, are becoming fewer. So are the Canadian Geese.
Mary