Fur, Feathers, and a Butterfly

Otters from the Phillips Park, in Aurora, Illinois

We have had a Mourning Dove nesting in our blue spruce in the backyard.  She was keeping a watchful eye on us.

Okay, this is for my husband.  Princess is made to dance for her supper.  She loves tuna juice. Somehow, she knows when he is going to make tuna salad. She will follow him, until he gives her a little.  She does beg for it!

Baby Robin
They can grow to 11 inches. This baby is likely from the first brood of the year.  Robins are know to have 2 broods a year. It is likely there are 2 eggs in a nest.  This baby may have been from a next in our back yard.

Here is a Great Blue Heron.  They grow from 42 to 52 inches. The male is gray with black eyebrow extending into several long plumes off back of the head.  He has a long yellow bill.  Feathers at the base of the neck drop down in kind of necklace. The female looks like the male,and has only 1 brood per year. 
The interesting thing about them is that they will bark like a dog when startled.

The the Fermi Lab in Batavia, Illinois there were 5 baby buffalo (bison) born this season.  As of this season the herd has 25 animals.

I think this may be a Block-crowned night-Heron. It has been reported they have been seen in our area.  He is still a ways away, so we are not sure.  Could be a Great Blue that is hunkered down.

Brown Thrasher turned up in our yard on 4-10-2011.  The female looks the same as the male.  They are prodigious songsters, they are often found in thick shrubs where they sing deliberate musical phrases. They repeat each twice.

Wild Turkey
This is a huge one. They can grow from 36 to 48 inches. There have been a pair at the Morton Arboretum in West Chicago, Illinois.  When we went for concerts you could see them walking around the grounds. They are the largest game bird in Illinois. The turkey was eliminated by the turn of the century from hunting and the loss of their habitat.  They have been reintroduced. The males have "harems" of up to 20 females.  They are strong fliers and can reach up to 60 mph. They are able to fly straight up then away.  Their eyesight is 3 times better then humans.  Their hearing is excellent, able to hear competing males up to 1 mile away.  They roost in trees at night.

American Goldfinch
Love these yellow birds.  They have the sweetest song. In the winter the they will change to the color of the females, a brownish color. We called them "Wild Canary" when we were growing up. They love Nyger Thistle. I try to keep a supply in their sock feeders.  When the cone flowers are blooming they will take the seeds from them.  If I can keep the feeders full, they will stay the winter.  Love to watch and hear them.

Killdeer
This is not the greatest picture. I have to find the better ones.  Plus the other ones have the babies.

These are the Robins that we saw last Christmas.  They were perched outside Dad's windows at Alden.  It is the first time I have ever seen robins in winter.

Canadian Goose
They will grow from 25 to 43 inches. In the Spring it is fun to watch when they pair up. They will have from 5 to 10 babies in the Spring.  Adults will mate for life, but do not breed  until their third year. The male will act as a sentinel, and will come aggressive to anyone that approaches.

Red-winged Blackbird
The male is jet black with red and yellow shoulder patch on upper wing. He has a pointed black bill. The male will return first and defend territories.  Their nests are usually over shallow water in thick stands of cattails. They have a distinctive song. You know Spring has sprung when they appear.

Cooper's Hawk
We have had them come to our backyard looking for doves, that are unaware.  They will grow up to 20 inches. They are a medium hawk with short wings and a long rounded tail with  several black bands.  He has a rusty colored chest with dark wing tips. Slate gray back with a bright yellow spot at base of gray bill called a cere. He also, has red eyes. He really loves to frequent my backyard. 

American White Pelican
On the Mississippi River in March you can see them migrating  North.  They are very large, heavy-bodied, long-winged bird. They have a long bill and large pouch typical of pelicans. They are graceful fliers.  Before they fly north, breeding birds may get yellowish feathers on breast, crown and upper wing coverts.  They grown a rounded keel on their beak. Once they are feeding the young, the feathers change and the keep is shed.
We have found an area in Aurora that has a pond,and the White Pelican has been seen on their migration.  They truly are a fascinating bird to watch.

Here is one of the Pelicans in flight. You can see the keel on his beak.

Baby foxes.  On a trip to Kolona, Iowa last Spring, we came upon a group of baby foxes. Mom was nearby, watching us, to make sure we did not bother them

The babies were playful.

The beautiful butterfly checked out one on my phlox. 

There will be more to come. No swans tonight.  You know how it is, if one picture is good a whole bunch is better!
Have a great evening.

Mary

Dragonfly and Swans

I don't have a bug book, so unfortunately do not know what this one is.  It must be a dragonfly of some sort. While I was cleaning up my garden today, he was nice enough to sit and pose for me.

Just had to show an update of the swans by Dad's.  They were enjoying the waterfall and the algae on the rocks.  Mom is teaching them something new everyday!

Marshall County, Indiana, July 2 and 3

When we went for a stern wheeler ride on North Webster lake, this female mallard was part of our send off committee.

This family of 3  came to visit as we were having dinner at the Frog in Syracuse, Indiana.

See how the male arches his wings.  It is beautiful to see.

Here is their baby. Check out the size of that foot.  The babies do swim with one foot on their backs.  This is the first time we had seen swans in the wild, and with babies too.  They were much bigger then the ones we see where my Father lives. The adults have their wings clipped so they can't fly away.  These wild swans were liking the handouts they were receiving at the restaurant!

Rose of Sharon was in bloom. It has been years since we have seen these. They are not so popular where we live, but seemed to pop up all around where we were touring in Indiana.

This was so pretty, too.  Another color of Rose of Sharon

While we were traveling the back roads of Marshall County, Indiana, I had to make my husband back up to get this picture.  She was so nice to stand in the water while I took her picture.

I love how her reflection was in the water.

As I have said before, these pictures are ones I thought turned out pretty good. They will win no prizes, but are a great reminder to me of the beautiful things we see in nature.

Mary

Birds

Riding the wave!.  This swan was having a great day in the hot weather. There is a waterfall at the community where my Dad lives, and this swan found it was great to sit undr the fall, and just ride the waves!

Here is this cute baby robin. I happened to see a spot in the grass and went to investigate. Here he was just sitting there. My guess was that he was resting after his first flight.  So precious.

Great Blue Heron. These birds can grow to 52 inches tall. The male and female look the same.  They build their nest lake a platform, or on platforms. The heron lakes 3 to 5 eggs and it will ake 56 to 60 days for incubation. There is a reserve near Joliet that has an island that the herons and  egrets flock to.  They are beautiful birds. 

Flowers and Robins

Easter lilies

Black-eyed Susan's

Sweet Peas

We have a robin's nest in our crabapple tree in the front yard.  I have seen 2 baby robin's in the nest.

Mom just flew back to the nest to feed the babies.

Flowers, Feathers, and a little bit of Fur

Going to start adding more pictures as I locate them. This one was from last fall.  I will have to update when I find out the name. It is just so vibrant.

This is wild aster that I found while walking in the woods..  They are just so pretty in the fall.

Sunflower, the yellow is such a pretty color.

A doe, that was so kind to pose for me.

The fawn, I think thought he was hiding from me.  You can still see his spots. This picture was taken in September of last year.

Pileated Woodpecker.  that was pecking on an old tree stump.  Tried to get him in a different position, but he would not cooperate. They are a large crow-sized black backed woodpecker with bright red crest on head.  He has a long gray bill with red mustache. You can hear them when they are pecking at an old tree.  This one was seen in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan in early fall.

A pair of Sandhill Cranes. These birds can grow to between 40 and 48 inches tall, and have a wing span of up to 6-7 feet.
They really are an elegant gray bird, with long legs and neck.  Their wings and body are often stained a rusty brown. They have a scarlet red cap on their head and red eyes.

Here is another sunflower, this time with a bee working his magic.  I love sunflowers.  They are cheerful because of their color.

This is a Black-capped Chickadee. He is gray with a black cap and throat patch. Has a white chest and tan belly, with small white marks on his wings.

Mute Swan and a Muskrat

Here is a Mom with her 2 babies. The babies are about 2 weeks old. One is gray in color and the other white. The male and female help in the incubation, and then with the feeding and training.  They are called mute swans, but will make a hissing  or a barking noise when disturbed or threatened.

This is the male.  Just look at the size of his head. 

The same day I took the pictures of this pair of swans, I noticed this young fellow, too.  It is a baby muskrat.  He lives in the same pond as the swans.

Have a great day.  Listen to the birds, there are beautiful songs in the air.

Mary