On the Fox River 2/24/2014

There has been a bit of a buzz in our area of someone spotting a Long-tailed Duck.

It has moved down to my area, along the Fox River in Montgomery.

The information was that the duck was at the Mill Street bridge.

On Sunday I went looking for it.I noticed a couple of other birders looking, and kind of started watching where they were looking.   No luck.

I then drove and parked just passed the bridge, and as I was driving thought I saw something different in the water. The other birders came and set up scopes and started watching.

Well I got to see her.  Problem,  all the pictures I took, were at a wrong setting and none turned out. You had to be quick as she was feeding. Each time she ducked under the water, she drifted a bit and came up in a slightly different spot.

Needless to say I was excited.

On Monday I decided to go back with correct settings on the camera and see if she was still there.

She was!

She is a small duck, all brown and white.

Long-tailed Duck

Here she is in the front with a merganser in the back.
This time I was really proud and got some decent pictures.
Andrew, my son, was with me and although he wasn't as excited, had been willing to check it out with me.
Then we went on the hunt for tundra swans that had been sighted on the other side of Aurora at an athletic park.
 We did search the area, but no luck, just geese.
On our way back, I said let's go along the river again, and see if anything new had shown up.

I saw white, big white!  Three mute swans were on the opposite side of the river.  Andrew drove over by the are we had seen them, and I was able to watch them feeding among geese, and mergansers and gulls, and of course a few mallards. 

With much better settings, I could get better pictures.

While we were sitting watching the swans, this big guy flew in to the tree on the bank.  He was kind enough for me to take several pictures. I have since found out it is a young red-tailed hawk.

I have never identified one before.  I have always seen them as adults, and they are distinctive with their red tails.
I admit, I have always thought that birds were hatched, grew up, and became breeding or adult birds that same year.
As with the eagles, I am finding out that is not true, and that even though they get  big,  they do not always look like the "finished" bird.  No two birding books are alike, as is no two birds are always at the same stages, and as distinctive.

Andrew and I went back across the river and found a spot to sit and watch, when our hawk came too.  I was not as quick to get a sitting still picture, but a happy mistake this became.  He is in launch mode!

Andrew could see him sitting in a tree a short distance and was able to get this back view for me. I was having a hard time getting him into my viewfinder.

The swans had floated down the river a bit and found a place to rest on a bank.
We have never seen swans on the Fox River.
No eagles today.  I had seen two on Sunday.

While sitting watching the swans, I caught movement out of the corner of my eye, and saw this, downy/hairy woodpecker.  Why is it we can see some things quite easily, and not others.  I mean this is a small bird, compared to the hawk!

Then I  caught sight of the Red-bellied woodpecker.  He was in another spot on the tree, where he had found a hole, and was happily pocking at it.  Then he moved around so I could get this picture.

I asked Andrew to  make one more stop by the Mill Street bridge to see if the Long-tailed Duck was still there.  She was, this time she was feeding, so the pictures had to be quick.
Not bad for about a two hour adventure.

All in all I was pleased with my outing.

On the Fox River

The other day after my dentist appointment I decided to take a walk along part of the Fox River.
It was so nice and peaceful. I could sit and watch the water travel by.  One place in the river was this Great Heron and several mallard ducks.  The mallards were this years, as they were just beginning to distinguish between males and females.

The dragonflies seem to be quite plentiful. I love it when one lights long enough for me to take a picture.

The Cabbage White butterflies seem to be plentiful as well.

The grasshopper looks so fierce up close.

This mallard is a male.  You can see that his head is beginning to turn dark green.

I think I have finally determined that this is a Downy Woodpecker.
I have had such a time between the Downy and the Hairy.  I am taking more time to read up on the differences between similar birds.  I never was able to get a totally clear shot, as there were a lot of tree branches between him and me.( I really need a longer distance lens!)  These old eyes just don't always see very well.

While I was standing checking out the Downy Woodpecker, I heard another noise.  Look what I came upon. This time it was a Red-Bellied Woodpecker.  He was so pretty

I was able to get a better shot of his back.  It looks like a Zebra.  

This was a different Heron on the river.  I must have seen at least 6 Herons that day.  He was stalking small fish. 

Having a bit of trouble identifying this dragonfly.  There was red on his wings not on the body.

Not sure what this bird is either.  He was very nice for me. I almost think it is a fledgling.

Then turned around, like, "are you done yet?"

Another dragonfly.  Maybe I better find a book, or some sort of reference so I can start to identify them. Some of these are beautiful.  

This is the same Heron in the above picture.  There was another one that had just came out of the tall grasses. I thought it was neat that I could get two for the price of one!

This is the same dragonfly as above with the red on his wings.
I was there about an hour and saw all these wonderful creatures.
I am so enjoying spending time out doors and having the chance to photograph nature at it's finest.

Downy Woodpecker

The Downy Woodpecker is a smaller bird, it is only 6 inches.  He has a white belly , black and white spotted wings, a black line running through its eyes, a short black bill, a white stripe down its back and a red mark on nape of neck.  He has several small black spots along the side of his white tail.

The female looks just like the male. They have 3 to 5 eggs that are white. Incubation is 11-12 days. She sits on the eggs during the day, and the male sits on them at night.  

They like seeds and suet feeders.

It is said they will "drum" on a hollow log or branch to announce territories.  These are one of the most abundant woodpeckers.  In winter it will roost in the cavity of a tree. 

All woodpeckers have long barbed tongues used to pull insects out of tiny places.