Wild Turkeys, Northern Illinois Year Round Resident

A flock of Wild Turkeys on the lawn of a house adjacent to Rock Cut State Park, Rockford, IL; 4/1/2013.

Along with the Ring-necked Pheasant (yesterday's post, 4/28/2013), Wild Turkeys are another upland game bird that is a year round resident of the Northern Illinois area.  After a day of hiking and photography, I was leaving Rock Cut State Park early this spring when a I saw at least two dozen Wild Turkeys feeding on the lawn of a house that borders the boundary of the park. With my 150-500mm Sigma lens I couldn't back up far enough to fit all of the turkeys into one frame, but (Above) are 16 of the 24 turkeys that were on the lawn.

A male showing off his stuff for the surrounding females, Rock Cut State Park, Rockford, IL; 4/1/2013.

There were at least 5 males displaying their full tail feathers - ah, must be springtime.

A good look at the tail feathers from behind, Rock Cut State Park, Rockford, IL; 4/1/2013.

When the male's feathers are at full display it almost looks like he wearing a floor length skirt as well as the feathered out tail.

Wild Turkeys are found throughout most of the U.S. east of the Mississippi and much of the West, especially in the Prairie States, but also into the mountains.

Whit-winged Crossbills; Northern Illinois Winter Visitors

An immature, male and female White-winged Crossbill, near Anna Page Park, Rockford, IL; 2/5/2012.

I often use the IBET, a birding site that birders throughout Illinois use to post about what birds they have seen (Link to the site at right):  http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ILbirds/

 A year ago, I noticed that one of the local active birders posted a report about a small flock of White-winged Crossbills were present in some Spruce trees on a road West of Rockford. I thought, Fantastic! - White-winged Crossbills (Above) would be an addition to my life list and it wasn't more than a 15-20 minute drive from my house. So off I went. After finding the spot, I explored the area and the grove of Spruce they were observed in. After a few minutes I heard some commotion in the trees and saw a flurry of activity high in one of the Spruce.  I zoomed-in on the birds which wouldn't stay still and hid themselves fairly well in the thick boughs. But I captured a few in my viewfinder long enough to identify them as the Crossbills I was hoping to see. I couldn't get a good photo as they wouldn't stay in an open spot for more than a  second or two. I slowly circled he grove of trees they were feeding in, but like the good instincts of wildlife trying to protect themselves from intruders, they always kept distance and branches in between them and me. Eventually, I was on the complete opposite side of the trees than where I parked my car on the side of the road. The Crossbills sunk deeper into the center of the tree, where they were impossible to see. I made the decision to climb through the thick lower boughs to get under the tree to see if I could get a photo of one of them from the inside.


A warp of White-winged Crossbills near Anna Page Park, Rockford, IL; 2/5/2012.

No sooner did I get near the trunk at the center of the Spruce and look upwards, a flock of 10 White-winged Crossbills (Above) double crossed me and landed on the roadside next to my parked car.  So I had the task of trying to sneak out from under the tree and circle back towards my car. They were now in the open, but I had to try to get to a spot where I could take pictures without scaring them back into the tree.

A female White-winged Crossbill, near Anna Page Park, Rockford, IL; 2/5/2012.

Eventually, after some stealthy movement, I was able to make a rather wide arc back around behind my car - opposite the side that the Crossbills were feeding on the ground.  Then I was able to use my car as sort of blind, and to my pleasant surprise the Crossbills did not flush back into the thick Spruce trees. I was then able to take some photos (Above and Below):


An immature male and female White-winged Crossbill near Anna Page Park, Rockford, IL; 2/5/2012.



Male White-winged Crossbills have a rosy reddish head, back, and breast, with dark lores and a small collar. They also have black wings with two bold white stripes (hence its name). Females are yellowish with the same wing markings. Immature Crossbills look like females with some additional streaking on their heads, back, flanks and breasts. Immature males will start molting into their red feathers thus giving them a rather splotchy red/yellow look about them (Above left). And of course, one can't forget about their bills which sport a long curved-down upper bill which crosses over its long curved-up lower mandible.


Another immature male White-winger Crossbill, starting to earn its red-feathered status of a male grown up, near Anna Page Park, Rockford, IL; 2/5/2012.

A male and female pair of White-winged Crossbills, near Anna Page Park, Rockford, IL; 2/5/2012.



A pair of White-winged Crossbills, near Anna Page Park, Rockford, IL; 2/5/2012.

It seems that just in recent winters that White-winged Crossbills have been venturing as far south as Illinois looking for a winter residence with enough food. Usually they will migrate only as far south as Central Wisconsin and across the most Northern States.  They usually spend their winters where they are also found during any season - across most of Canada, from coast to coast.

A good look at the crossbill of one of the females of this species.

Great Blue Heron with a broken bill

A Great Blue Heron with a broken bill, Rock Cut State Park, IL; 6/13/2012.

Earlier this summer while I was hiking in Rock Cut State Park, I was watching a Great Blue Heron (Above) about 200 feet across a secluded pond. I didn't notice it on my first few photos, but as I zoomed in, something looked unusual about its bill. It looked broken, but because of the branches behind its head, it was hard to discern from my distance.

The same Great Blue with a broken bill,  Rock Cut State Park, IL; 6/13/2012

When it turned to a more profile position, the broken bill was more evident (Above), as its upper mandible was bent up in a 45 degree angle. I wondered how this might have happened and also expected that this condition would greatly handicap its ability to hunt fish and other food.

A close up of its broken bill, Rock Cut State Park, IL; 6/13/2012

 At a closer look (Above), you can see that the upper bill is broken off and bent up and to one side. The lower mandible also seemed shorter than the usual size of a Great Blue. Compare the photo to a Great Blue Heron with a normal bill (Below).

Another Great Blue heron, RCSP, IL: 7/16/2012.

As you can see (Above), the lower mandible seems to extend further out than on the Heron with the broken bill. The Heron with the broken bill was obviously an adult-sized bird, so I am speculating that the injured bill was probably recent. It most likely was not born in this condition because it wouldn't have been able to hunt and feed very well, thus not letting it grow to normal size. And more than likely the broken portion of the bill would have long fallen off.

If the broken bill condition has been with this bird for some time, I am wondering how it has adapted its hunting skills in order to survive. It seems to me that it would have to jab deeper in the water to catch its prey in the back half of its bill, instead of a normal Heron who could nab a fish with the slimmer and pointed end of the bill. I am also wondering that if indeed this injured bird has been a successful hunter, what kind of prey it has been able to capture. It probably cannot probe into the mud at the bottom of a pond to catch crustaceans, but it might be able to grab onto slower prey such as turtles or larger fish such as catfish that it might be able to hold onto with its back half of its bill.

This is the only time I have seen this particular handicapped Heron, but I haven't been out to Rock Cut State Park much during the summer. Now that it's three months later, it would be interesting to find this guy again and what kind of condition it might be in.

Warbler Fall Migration: Northern Waterthrush

THE WARBLERS ARE COMING!

THE WARBLERS ARE COMING!

It's still only mid-August, but birders throughout Illinois are reporting that the fall migration has already begun. Indeed, shorebirds have been passing through the area for several weeks already. But just in the last few days there have been several sightings of Wood Warblers in Northern Illinois. The link below is one such report from the IL Birds Message Board from a birder who saw 14 different species of Warblers at the Montrose shore area in Chicago.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ILbirds/message/56626

Northern Waterthrush, Rock Cut State Park, Rockford, IL: 5/12/2012.

For myself with school starting, and working on several time-consuming projects, I probably will not be able to get out and do much birding this fall. I'll miss out on the fun, so I will feature photos of Warblers that I took during the spring migration and early summer. One such photo is from last May when I had a good look at a Northern Waterthrush (Above) as it was migrating the other direction. It was hopping around small branches in a thicket near the water's edge of Pierce Lake in Rock Cut State Park. It stayed pretty hidden for quite some time. I did not have a decent photo of this warbler, so I waited it out until it finally alit on a branch that was clear of obstacles so I could snap its portrait. Birding is a hobby that tests one's patience. Wildlife is not predictable and usually not all that cooperative to us photographers. So patience is indeed a virtue that pays off.

The same Northern Waterthrush, Rock Cut State Park, Rockford, IL: 5/12/2012.

Northern Waterthrushes spend their summers in northerly habitats: Northern Wisconsin, Minnesota and Michigan, spreading east to the Northeastern States from Pennsylvania up to Maine, and West in western Montana and Northern Idaho, as well as all of Alaska and coast to coast in Canada. Every once in a while I get a chance to see one of these guys as they travel through in the fall and the Spring.



Cinnamon Teal at North Pond, Chicago

This male Cinnamon Teal has been hanging around North Pond,
Lincoln Park, Chicago, IL; 3/30/11.

Since early spring a Cinnamon Teal has been spotted at North Pond in Lincoln Park, Chicago. This is quite rare, since it is a western bird, and is well out of its typical migratory range of the southern plains states (Texas, Oklahoma, Nebraska) and its summer territories of the Rockies and and west to the Pacific Coast. It does spend its winters in Mexico and Central America, so speculation is that it lost its way during a storm. As you can see (Above) it is a beautiful bird - the male with its dark reddish head, breast, and flanks, contrasted with dark brown and light brown wings and tail and large bill for its overall size. If you would see it in flight, it would have pale blue coverts (on the wings). The Teal seems somewhat confused about where he is and perhaps who he is, as he has been witnessed chasing after a female Mallard, which is quite comical as the Mallard is quite a bit larger (23" long) than the Teal (16" long).

Another view of the Cinnamon Teal, North Pond, Lincoln Park, Chicago; 3/30/11.

In the photo (Above) you can see the blue color on its coverts. Even with the tail in a shadow, I liked this picture because The Cinnamon Teal's bright red eyes are glowing in the sunlight.