Bad Photos of Good Raptors and Other Winter Birds

This post is just a report of some of the birds I have seen and photographed over the past month in McLean, Woodford, and Livingston Counties, including some cool raptors, waterfowl, etc.

Winter is a great time to visit the feeders at Sugar Grove Nature Center in Funks Grove, IL. Sugar Grove is one of the most reliable spots in the state to see Eurasian Tree Sparrows, which can be seen at the feeders there year round. These birds are always exciting to see since parts of Illinois and Missouri are the only places you can see them in the wild in North America. Like their relatives the English House Sparrows, they were brought to the United States from Europe, but they have not spread as quickly. Here are a couple of shots of these birds at Sugar Grove on January 14.





Other birds of interest at the feeders at Sugar Grove were Common Grackles and Brown-headed Cowbirds. These two species are not easily found in central Illinois in the middle of winter, but a few of them seem to hang around the feeders at Sugar Grove.

On January 16, I saw this Rough-legged Hawk near El Paso in Woodford County. Unfortunately, this skittish bird took off after I took this shot, and I could not relocate it.



Earlier this Winter, Deanna Frautschi had graciously invited me to see the Great Horned Owl that hangs out in her backyard. Deanna, who lives in South Bloomington, has turned her yard into a mini nature preserve. Not only does she have well tended feeders. She has also planted enumerable trees and other plants, including a large number of pines to provide food and habitat for the birds. On January 21st, I visited her yard with Les Allen. Although we did not find the Great Horned Owl, we did see a Pine Siskin and the Chipping Sparrow shown below. Although Chipping Sparrow is common in Illinois in the Spring, they are rare in the Winter.



Also present in her yard was a small flock of Cedar Waxwings, probably drawn to her berries, Downy and Red-bellied Woodpeckers, Black-capped Chickadees, Dark-eyed Juncos, and a large flock of American Robins, and a European Starling. Below are pictures of a waxwing, a junco, a robin, and a starling from her yard.









After I took Les home, I stopped by Given Harper's yard in Normal to see the Eastern Screech-owl, which roosts in the Screech-owl box he made. Given has also been gracious to allow me to visit his yard to see this fascinating bird. Notice the blood remaining at the base of this predator's bill.



The next day, I saw this Northern Harrier near Lake Bloomington on my way to a weekend appointment with a client's family at work.







This flock of Wild Turkeys was in a field North of the lake.



On my way home that evening, I saw the adult male Snowy Owl I had seen on January 11 and 12 East of Gridley in a field South of Highway 24. The owl was in the exact same field pretty close to the spot I had first seen it on January 11.



On January 23, I checked El Paso Sewage Treatment Center in Woodford County for waterfowl. I saw a Lesser Scaup with two Ring-necked Ducks. Below is a shot of the Ring-necked Duck and a shot with both the Ring-necked and the Lesser Scaup for comparison.





Here are a couple of shots I took of Red-tailed Hawks on I-39 on January 24.





Later that morning I saw this Rough-legged Hawk South of Highway 24 very close to where I had seen the Snowy Owl.



I returned to the same spot later in the day and saw this Northern Harrier.







Then I saw this Red-tailed Hawk in Livingston County.



I continued my search for raptors that evening, but only saw more Red-tailed Hawks, a couple of guys ice skating at the South end of Evergreen Lake, and a beautiful sunset.





On January 26, I got a text from Matthew Winks, who had found over 20 Tundra Swans at Evergreen Lake. I had never seen Tundra Swans, so as soon as I got off work, I headed toward Evergreen, hoping to see them. Earlier that day I had seen this Rough-legged Hawk in Livingston County with a client. After the initial shots, I actually drove up to this bird, which was perched on a short pole by the road. I got about five yards from it, but my camera was not set up correctly and I ended up photographing the bird's tail as it flew away.





On the way to see the Tundra Swans, I saw a few Ring-necked Pheasants in the fog.



When I arrived at Evergreen Lake next to the water pump station, it was very foggy, but I could see Tundra Swans out on the frozen lake from behind the pump house. I set the scope on them, and eventually the fog cleared up enough that I could take some pictures. Not long after I had arrived, Mary Jo Adams showed up to see these beautiful birds. She had run into Dale Birkenholz and Les Allen, who had told her about the swans. She was in a hurry and did not stay long, but it was nice to meet her. I had read her posts on the Central Illinois Birders' Forum.





My wife Carrie loves swans so I called her to see if she would be able to meet me to see these Tundra Swans. She said she would come as soon as she got off of work so I decided to stay there to keep my eyes on the birds in case they moved. While I was waiting for her, I photographed one of two Song Sparrows in the tall grass by the pump station driveway. There was also at least one American Tree Sparrow in the same area.



Just before Carrie pulled up, the swans walked off the ice into the water and started to swim further out into the lake. However, they did not go far, and she was able to get good looks through the scope when she arrived.



It was not long until the swans left the water and returned to the same spot on the ice. This was a great way to start the weekend with my wife. This was the first time either of us had seen a Tundra Swan and we were seeing them together--all 22 of them. I counted 15 adult and 7 juvenile birds.





The next day, I saw this juvenile Red-tailed Hawk on Airport Rd. in Bloomington, IL.



On January 31, I photographed this American Kestrel sitting on a fence beside I-39 on the way to work.



Later that day, I checked El Paso Sewage Treatment Center, hoping to see Snow Geese because I had read a report by Rich Laramore, who had seen Snow Geese further South. He said in his report that they were moving North a few weeks early apparently due to the unseasonably warm weather we were having. Thanks to Rich for the heads up! As I drove down the road beside the sewage lagoons, I saw 46 Snow Geese and 1 Ross's Goose standing up on the hill between the road and the ponds. They were beautiful, and the light was perfect. Notice the one Ross's Goose on the far left. It is smaller, and its bill is short and stubby compared to the other birds. Also, it does not have a noticeable gap between the top and bottom of its bill like the other birds do.



There were both adult and juvenile light and dark morph birds (also called white and blue morph). The adult light morph birds are all white, while the juveniles are have white heads dark backs and mostly white bellies. The adult dark morph birds have white heads and necks and dark bodies, while the juvenile dark morph birds have dark heads with just a little bit of white spotting around the eyes.





Below is a picture of an adult dark morph Snow Goose with a juvenile dark morph Snow Goose.



And this shot has an adult light morph, an adult dark morph, and a juvenile light morph.



Below are a few more photos. Notice the variation in size among these birds. There was on small light morph Snow Goose that I first mistook to be a Ross's Goose, but it had the Snow Goose bill. I also noticed that at least a third of these birds were dark morphs. I thought the percentage of dark morphs in the flock seemed unusually high based on what I had noticed in the past.









It's always entertaining to see goose getting goosed by another goose!



I was taking these pictures from my car along the road, but eventually these birds grew weary of my presence so they took off and circled around a bit before they landed in one of the lagoons.







The same evening, I saw this American Kestrel in Woodford County



When I checked Evergreen Lake on the way home, I found this Bald Eagle flying over the water pump station along with several gulls. The light was poor so I could not tell for sure whether they were Herring Gulls or Ring-billeds.



On February 2, Les Allen met me in El Paso when I got off of work, and we went to the location South of Secor where Matthew Winks and Ted Hartzler have seen a Northern Shrike. I had been there several times already looking for this bird. I thought I had seen it just briefly once on a power line, but it flew off shortly after I got my binoculars on it, and I could not be 100% sure. I hoped I would have better success with Les, but we were unable to locate the shrike.
We did, however, find 2-3 Northern Mockingbirds.



Just a few days later, I picked up Les to try again. Before I picked him up, I saw this juvenile Red-tailed Hawk feeding on something by the on ramp to the I55 S in Normal.



Les and I stopped by Evergreen Lake on our way to the shrike location, and saw two Herring Gulls with several Ring-billeds at the South end.





When we got to the shrike location, we could not find the shrike, but we saw a gorgeous Barred Owl along the creek by 800 N Rd, which made our efforts worth while. It was just staring at us as I photographed it from the car.





Eventually the owl flew a little further away from the road where it was better hidden by the trees along the creek. This is almost a "Where's Waldo?" picture. Notice how the barring on this bird makes it blend in so well with the trees. This owl's amazing disguise reminds me that it was designed by an intelligent being--the Creator and Architect of the universe. Glory to God!



On February 6, I saw this very dark Eastern Red-tailed Hawk along Highway 116 in Livingston County.





The next day, I saw this Rough-legged Hawk in Woodford County near El Paso Sewage Treatment Center. It flew back and forth between McLean and Woodford Counties.



This Red-tailed Hawk I photographed the following day is in just the right position to compare with the Rough-legged Hawk above.



On February 9, I found four Canvasbacks at El Paso Sewage Treatment Center.





The same day, I checked the shrike location and found a small flock of Cedar Waxwings, but no shrike.



Written and published on February 14, 2012