Yorkville Dam

I have been wanting to stop by the Yorkville Dam in Yorkville to see if any new birds for me had shown up.
Much to my surprise, there were five Trumpeter Swans.  There four adults and one juvenile.
All were feeding on the river. At first we thought they were lumps of ice, as we could not see any heads. This is a new bird for me to add to m list.

Here is the juvenile swan.  He still has gray feathers.  They will keep this plumage through their first winter.

Saw another Bald Eagle.
It is always a treat to see them. I keep working on taking good pictures.

Tree full of Rock Pigeons

A little further down the Fox River in Plano, is the Farnsworth House.
It sits along side the river.  In the Spring there is always the fear it will be flooded  There is a frame under the house to  keep it above the water.  

Fox River, Saw Wee Kee Park

Decided to take a ride out to Saw Wee Kee Park on Tuesday.  It was a beautiful day, after all the snow we had had over the weekend.  There is one place just before the entrance to the park that was full of male and female Cardinals.  They were beautiful to watch

All the birds were in a posing mood.

Black-capped Chickadee.
There was another area in the park by one of the parking lots that I stayed at for over an hour.  There was a lot of activity, as someone had put bird seed on a park bench.  The birds were loving it.

Several Blue Jays came to visit.

White breasted  Nut-hatches were flying back and forth between trees.

Blue Jay's were into posing as well.

Red-bellied Woodpecker was flitting between two trees, and put on quite a show.

Caught him in flight.

Peek a boo!

Dark-eyed Junco's came to visit too.

A couple of Song Sparrows came to visit as well.

As well as Mourning Dove's

Blue Jay's and Cardinals

Blue Jay and female Cardinal

The gangs all here.

Female Cardinal posing

Blue Jay

Pair of Cardinals

Song Sparrow and Junco

Female Cardinal

Song Sparrow

Female Merganser

Canada Geese are on the move.

There was sun, and what seemed like a bit of warmth.
No new birds today, but all that I saw looked beautiful against the snow.
Chicago had it's 5th worst snow storm on Sunday.
More is coming.

A good day on the Fox River, Oswego

Juvenile Eagle
Today I saw 7 Bald Eagles

Merganser, male and Canada Goose
There were thousands of Canada Geese on the river.

Herring Gull, and Ring-billed Gull, and at least one I don't know.

Male Merganser.  There were several males and females in a couple of different places.

Common Golden-eye.  It was interesting to watch as they floated on the river, diving for food.

Saw this Heron land on the branch.

These two were just sitting on the bank of the river.

Female Merganser.

There were lots of mallards on the river.

Geese in flight.
There were flocks of geese all along the river.

Juvenile Bald Eagle.

This one looks like it is almost an adult.

Another juvenile Bald Eagle

And another juvenile Bald Eagle.
I spent hours along the Fox River today.  Also went down to one of the parks on the other side of Oswego.  Will do a post all about those birds.  It was fun taking the time to just watch them.
Mary

Let it snow, let it snow

This morning the birds and us woke up to a lot of snow
We are thinking we have about 10 inches at least and more coming.
This mourning dove seemed to be hunkered down on a branch waiting for the other birds to scratch seeds to the ground.

Junco's were checking out the suet.

Sparrows were not having a problem hanging on to the feeders.

What our little backyard looks like this morning.

Success, the Junco's are able to feed on the suet.
It is afternoon, and the windows are getting covered with snow. The pictures I took this morning are all through our kitchen sliding doors.
As you can see, there are pine trees all along our back, so the birds have plenty of protection from the blowing snow.
It is a winter wonderland out there.
Mary

Prescott Mills

There is a subdivision not far from where I live that has a pretty big pond.  Several birds check it out on a regular basis.
Yesterday I needed a little down time and decided to see what was there.
I love to watch the Pied-billed Grebe.  They have the softest call that is interesting to hear. 

There were at least 5 Great Egrets in various places around the pond.

One of the places I walked I saw American Coot. As I continued walking the suddenly took flight.  They did not go far though.  They hop on the water before actually taking flight.  

Somehow I manage to get the Blue-winged Teal with their heads in the water.
The pattern of their feathers is so pretty.

I felt like every Canadian Goose in the United States was here.  The park area was covered with them.  Watching them coming in for a landing is so interesting.

Greater-yellow legs

Killdeer were present around the edges of the pond.

Two American Finches were talking up a storm with each other.

This one was enjoying the sun.

House Sparrows are flocking up.

This one tree was full of sparrows.

Better picture of the Blue-winged Teal.

Great Blue Heron seemed to be hiding from the other birds.
There were lots of Mallards along the shore area.

A closer look at the Heron, you could see Mallards resting in the background.
Have a wonderful Fall day.