One Antler Buck

This the season when Big Bucks fight to see who is the toughest and gets to breed the Does. This guy apparently lost since he only has one antler.

Common Buckeye

Pictured is the Common Buckeye. It is thought that the eyespots of the Common Buckeye Butterfly may be used to scare away predators. The Common Buckeye was featured on the 2006 United States Postal Service 24-cent postage stamp.

Viceroy

The viceroy butterfly is dark orange with black veins. A row of white spots edge its wings. Its color and pattern mimics the monarch butterfly's pattern except for a black horizontal stripe that crosses the bottom of its back wings. The viceroy caterpillar is white and olive-brown. The viceroy and monarch were once thought to exhibit Batesian mimicry where a harmless species mimics a toxic species. Studies conducted in the early 1990's suggest that the viceroy and the monarch are actually examples of Mullerian mimicry where two equally toxic species mimic each other to the benefit of each. Just goes to show you there's always something new to discover in the natural world!
The picture shown is two Viceroys in copula and was taken today in Coles County.

Coyote

The coyote is a member of the dog family. In size and shape the coyote is like a medium-sized Collie dog, but its tail is round and bushy and is carried straight out below the level of its back.
One of the most adaptable animals in the world, the coyote can change its breeding habits, diet and social dynamics to survive in a wide variety of habitats.
Alone, in pairs or in packs, coyotes maintain their territories by marking them with urine. They also use calls to defend this territory, as well as for strengthening social bonds and general communication. Coyotes can easily leap an 8 foot fence or wall. They have been spotted climbing over a 14 foot cyclone fence.
Environmentalists firmly believe that the coyotes are necessary to preserve the balance of nature. Some sportsmen feel the coyote is responsible for the declines in game species. Biologists agree that individual animals preying on livestock and poultry should be destroyed but that the species as a whole is not necessarily harmful, because much of its diet is made up of destructive rodents. Biologists also agree that coyote populations have no lasting effects on other wildlife populations. So the controversy rages on.

Red-tailed Hawk

The most common and widespread hawk in North America, the Red-tailed Hawk is a bird of open country. It is frequently seen sitting on utility poles where it watches for rodents in the grass along the roadsides. The hawk pictured is an immature bird and testimony to this was that he let me get quite close before he/she flew. Also notice the tail has not turned red yet.

Albino Deer

Last year I posted this same deer. He definitely has grown and has added 4 points to his rack. The rack is still covered with velvet and has a pinkish tint. He has moved about a mile from where I saw him last year. He is shown here eating soybeans about a mile south of Charleston.

Indigo Bunting

The Midwest has been extremely wet this year and even as July comes to an end several farm ponds are still full. I was driving by one today and noticed several Solitary Sandpipers feeding. They apparently were stopping here on their way south. I had taken a couple of pictures when this male Indigo Bunting stopped right in front of me. I quickly fired several shots and off he went. Sometimes you just get lucky...

Scarlet Tanager

A striking black-winged red bird, the Scarlet Tanager is a common species of the eastern forest interior. Despite its brilliant coloring it is often overlooked because of its rather secretive behavior and its preference for the forest canopy.

In late spring I was using a common call of "psssst" trying to attract warblers. I had seen a birder at Crane Creek a few days prior to this using this call with great success. I had attracted a couple of warblers when this beautiful Scarlet Tanager landed a short distance from me. He stayed long enough for me to snap a couple of shots.

Eastern Kingbirds

Featured in this picture is a mother Kingbird feeding her recently fledged babies. It also shows babies begging for food. These pictures were taken just west of my house.

Nesting Flycatchers

In my last blog, I featured Great Crested Flycatchers. The next day, from my back deck, I observed two Great Crested Flycatchers gathering in their beaks large amounts of old leaves which had been mowed and laid under a Shagbark Hickory tree. I watched as they flew over my house and disappeared. They kept coming back and forth and I finally went to other side of the house and located their nesting tree. If you read the last blog you know that they are cavity nesters and, true to form, they were using a large hole in a walnut tree.

Great Crested Flycatcher

The Great Crested Flycatcher is a bird of the treetops. It spends very little time on the ground, and does not hop or walk. It prefers to fly from place to place on the ground rather than walk. A treetop hunter of deciduous forests and suburban areas, the Great Crested Flycatcher is easier to hear than to see. The only eastern flycatcher that nests in cavities, it often includes snakeskin in the nest lining.

Spring Migration

Spring migration of birds across North America is a sure sign of spring. Each year birds which have been wintering as far south as South America return to nest and raise their young. Not all the birds seen in the spring stay here in central Illinois, but they do stop,rest,feed and continue as far north as Canada. Several travel at night using the stars to guide them which means that one day they are here and the next they are not. The three birds shown are warblers. The Palm Warbler and Yellow-rumped Warbler will continue north while the Common Yellowthroat will stay here. This is a great time of year to get out and check the trees. There are amazingly beautiful birds to see. The top photo is the Common Yellowthroat(not at all common!), the middle photo is the Palm Warbler and the bottom photo is the Yellow-rumped Warbler.

Spring Bird Count

Today was the Illinois Spring bird count. The rules are pretty simple, record each bird you see or hear. We are part of a group which covers Coles County. As of noon today the group had seen 118 species. There were 21 species of warblers with notable sightings Cerulan Warbler, Mourning Warbler, and Hooded Warbler. My wife and I covered our property and saw 63 different species. One of the species pictured is the American Redstart male and female.

Eastern Meadowlark

The Eastern Meadowlark has a bright yellow breast adorned with a distinct broad black necklace (in the shape of a V), short tails and short rounded wings, white outer tail feathers, long starling-like bills, and brown-streaked backs. Migrating adults arrive in Illinois in March and stay until October or November, flying by day short distances at low altitudes. Eastern Meadowlarks live in grasslands, prairies, hay fields and fallow farm fields, and in row crops. In tall grass they build a cup-like nest of dry grass, horsehair, pine needles, and plant stems. The female lays 2-6 white eggs spotted with reddish-brown. The eggs hatch in about 12 days. The bird pictured is in a small tree but most of the time they will be seen on a fence post or fence.

Eastern Kingbird

The Eastern Kingbird likes to perch on exposed fences, tree tops or utility poles. It is a highly aggressive bird, even towards birds much larger than itself. They may attack hawks and crows or any bird of this size, perching on the intruder's back and knocking the intruder's head with its' bill. It will vigorously defend its' territory against other Kingbirds. When feeding, the Eastern Kingbird waits on an exposed perch, and flies out to catch insects on the wing. It may also pick food off of vegetation. It is even able to pluck berries from a tree or vine while flying. It returns to the same perch after hunting and sounds a sharp, triumphant call. The bird pictured has just left its' perch and is hovering above its' prey.

Summer Tanager

A summer resident of Illinois is the Summer Tanager. One might know the Summer Tanager by its alias, the "beebird." Due to its diet of bees, it is a well-known pest around apiaries and is persecuted by beekeepers. They are excellent flycatchers, able to seize adult bees and wasps in mid-flight and take them back to a perch where it beats them against the branch until they die. It then wipes them on the branch to remove the stingers before eating them. One of their favorite foods is wasp larvae and pupae. Summer Tanagers harass or kill the adult wasps guarding the vespiaries. This leaves the wasp nest abandoned and by tearing the paper covering open, the larvae are easily plucked from their homes. Just thought you might want to know.

Prothonotary Warbler

In East Central Illinois, spring bird migration is at its' peak. We have had at least 12 warbler species on our property in the last two days. The Prothonotary Warbler pictured is a beautiful bird and the only one of the eastern warblers which nest in a cavity. They will nest in Illinois and usually are in a swampy, low area using an old Downy Woodpecker hole.

Lift Off

Pictured is a Song Sparrow leaving a tree branch. I capture this shot occasionally by either holding the shutter button down for multiple shots or, as happened in this case, there is a time delay from the moment the shutter button is hit and the time the image is recorded. In any case, I like the shot with the light coming through the feathers,the bill pointed straight up and the feet pointing straight down.

Spring Wildflowers

Spring is a great time of year to get to the nearest woods and look for the explosion of spring wildflowers, mushrooms, and deer sheds. If you find the two I have pictured please give me a call as they would be a rare find for east central Illinois, but I guess after seeing a Black-necked Stilt here yesterday, anything is possible. Someone asked if I take all my own pictures. Well the truth of it is, I don't, my camera does!

Black-necked Stilt

Sunday I was informed of a rare visitor to Coles County. A pair of Black-necked Stilts had stopped at the Douglas Hart Nature Center wetlands. I was there in the afternoon and only one was left. Truly a very exciting bird to see with its long pinkish legs and needlelike bill. I was told this was the first time these birds had been seen in Coles County.

Varied Thrush

Pictured is a Varied Thrush taken at Mount Taber in Portland Oregon. I had never seen this bird before and was quite excited to see one. This is a very handsome bird whose numbers seem to be on the decline. A special thanks to my son-in-law who led me to this beautiful spot.

Lighthouse

One of my very favorite things to do on Sanibel is to go to the lighthouse beach just before the sun comes up. I have never been disappointed. Today was my last visit to the lighthouse this year and I was rewarded with a special treat. Just as the sun broke the horizon a Magnificent Frigatebird appeared. It was riding a gentle thermal and circled between me and the lighthouse. As per usual, my camera was ready and I captured the silhouette of the bird as it passed the light of the Sanibel Lighthouse. That is all from Sanibel until next year.

Birds in Flight

Undulating back and forth, up and down and doing this without running into each other. Breathtaking to say the least. Featured in this show are Dunlins.

Prairie Warbler

In Illinois, the prairie state, the Prairie Warbler is a rare visitor. In fact, this bird is not well named because it favors dense second growth and thickets, not open prairie. It is common in Florida and frequents the mangrove swamps. This guy was feeding on little green worms in the mangroves lining the edge of the wildlife drive in Ding Darling NWR. We had never seen a Prairie Warbler so this was quite a treat as she darted from branch to branch.

Wilson's Plover

In Southwest Florida in the winter months there are four small plovers to be seen. The largest of the four and the one with the biggest bill is the Wilson's Plover. I have never seen this plover on Sanibel Island. The one pictured was taken at Fort Desoto Park.

Yellow-crowned Night-Heron

A nocturnal heron of the southern swamps and coasts, the Yellow-crowned Night-Heron can also be found breeding along wooded streams northward to Indiana and Illinois. Even though I just said this is a nocturnal bird I often see it feeding in the daytime. It moves very slowly along the waters edge looking mostly for crabs. This slow movement makes it fairly easy to photograph.

American Oystercatcher

The previous post showed an American Oystercatcher with a group of shorebirds. Pictured here are close ups of this very unusual bird.

American Oystercatcher

Featured in this photo is the American Oystercatcher who has a bright red bill, black head, brown back and white belly. True to its name, it is specialized in feeding on bivalves (oysters, clams, and mussels) and uses its brightly colored bill to get at them. Its habitat is the coastal islands, beaches, and mudflats.

Ducks

Pictured are a Redhead and Ring-necked Duck. I will let you guess which is which. Well one hint is the Ring-necked has a white ring around its bill, consequently the name ring-necked. Confused? Well the Ring-necked does have a light brown ring around its' neck which is hardly noticeable. We spotted these ducks with others in a pond along the road to Fort Desoto State Park. Located south of St. Petersburg, we found this park to be quite lovely and hopefully we will go again next year and explore it with our grandson Zachary Cole Ezetta.

Bald Eagles

In August of 2004, Hurricane Charley blew through Southwest Florida destroying many homes. One of the homes destroyed was the tree that housed a Bald Eagles' nest. So, they relocated to an Australian Pine next to the Dairy Queen. The last four years I have intently observed the eagles who would care for their young and do daily house maintenence. This year, however, other tree branches have grown in front of the nest (anyone got a chain saw) and a couple the dead trees on which they used to perch have blown down. Consequently, I haven't been able to see or, more importantly, photograph them - until this morning. They were both sitting together on a dead snag. It was a foggy, misty morning so I gave it my best shot.

American White Pelican

The White Pelican does not dive for fish as the Brown Pelican does. Instead, it dips its head underwater to scoop up fish. Several pelicans may fish cooperatively, moving into a circle to concentrate fish, and then dipping their heads under simultaneously to catch fish. As they do this they usually attract a crowd of other birds such as Ibis and Egrets which can make for a spectular site. I was lucky to witness such an event yesterday.

Two Spoonbills

I recently posted pictures of Roseate Spoonbills but I thought this picture showed off their name sake bill from the front, the side, and even the inside. This is truly a very beautiful but a bit prehistoric looking bird.