Piping Plover in Livingston County, IL

Carrie and I went to Avon, IL today to see here grandparents and her aunt and uncle. On our way back we decided to drive to Livingston County to chase the Piping Plover that Andy Sigler and Dave Johnson had found 16 miles East of Pontiac.

As we arrived at the fluddle where the bird had been found, Ted Hartzler pulled up right behind us. Initially, we only saw Killdeer, but then we saw several Pectoral Sandpipers and at least seven Short-billed Dowitchers. Then we spotted the Piping Plover shown above. We also found a Least Sandpiper.

This sighting was a lifer for Carrie, and it was only the second Piping Plover I have ever seen. Although the lighting was not great for photos, we had spectacular views of this bird through our spotting scope.

Willet 2015 at the Gridley Wastewater Treatment Ponds

On Monday morning, July 13, I found this Willet at the Gridley Wastewater Treatment Ponds on my way to work. Daniel Freburg and I found one at the same location last year. So this is the second Willet I have seen at this location.

Blue Grosbeak in Woodford County, IL

Dave Weth found a Blue Grosbeak at Evergreen Lake in Woodford County, IL on Saturday, July 11. I relocated it the next day. The bird was West of the water pump house and just West of the Woodford County line sign on the North side of the road. He was taking turns singing with a male Indigo Bunting, sitting in the tree next to His tree. The Indigo Bunting would sing. Then the Blue Grosbeak would answer, back and forth. In order to get photos of the Blue Grosbeak, I had to bushwhack through some tall grass, and I ended up picking up five ticks.



While on my way to find the grosbeak, I photographed an Eastern Kingbird and an American Kestrel near the South end of the lake in McLean County.





Just before I found the Blue Grosbeak, I photographed this young Eastern Bluebird in Woodford County.

Wet Owl

We photographed this Great Horned Owl on our way home near Towanda tonight. It looks like his day was about like ours. On our way to a graduation party, the lower end of our Santa Fe engine went out today. Praise God we pulled off the highway only 5 miles from Mike Miller Hyundai. The first person we spoke to when we walked through the door was Mike Miller himself. He and his brother Joe were very helpful. We found out that our engine was still under warranty. So they will fix the engine for free. We had been saving to replace our Malibu, which has high mileage and has had problems. So we went ahead and bought a used Sonata, while we were there. Unfortunately, we missed the graduation party, and seeing Carrie's grandparents in Avon.