Great Horned Owls at Salem Ranch in Livingston County, IL

American Pipit at El Paso Sewage Treatment Center in Woodford County, IL

Madera Canyon - Old Baldy Trail to Mt. Wrightson Peak

On April 22, I hiked 10.8 miles to the top of Mt. Wrightson and back on the Old Baldy Trail at Madera Canyon with my brother-in-law Ben. My wife Carrie and mother-in-law Laura joined us most of the way to Josephine's Saddle before heading back.



Although our main purpose was hiking, I had a total of 26 species. We hiked the 0.3 miles from the parking area, and turned left on the Old Baldy Trail. Not far up from this turn I heard an ELEGANT TROGON singing. Then two Elegant Trogons flew over Carrie and Laura, who were hiking behind me, and I heard a third singing to them ahead of me. I was able to see it, and it was a female. One of the other Trogons was calling to it, and it flew to the other side of the trail to join it.



Next we had ARIZONA WOODPECKER, GRACE'S WARBLER, and BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLER.



A little further up the trail, Ben saw a large bird flush. I walked ahead and saw a BAND-TAILED PIGEON sitting in a branch. I barely had a glimpse before it flushed again.

Other birds we were able to identify by song or sight before we reached Josephine's Saddle were MEXICAN JAY, PAINTED REDSTART, BRIDLED TITMOUSE, SPOTTED TOWHEE, YELLOW-EYED JUNCO, BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHER, BUSHTIT, WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCH, ACORN WOODPECKER, HERMIT THRUSH, NORTHERN FLICKER, HOUSE WREN, and GREATER PEWEE. I only heard the Greater Pewee, and it has a delightful song as does the Painted Redstart.



In the first 0.2 miles from the saddle up, we heard and then saw 3 STELLER'S JAYS, which I had missed the previous day at Mt. Lemmon.



A little further up, we had some more Steller's Jays.







Then we had a ZONE-TAILED HAWK fly over us. I heard several CANYON WRENS and saw two of them.



I had 3-4 RED-FACED WARBLERS. One of them was flitting from branch to branch at eye level and flew past my head. I was surprised to find a VIRGINIA'S WARBLER at such a high altitude. This was another bird I had missed at Mt. Lemmon.





Other birds that I saw on the way to the top that I had not already seen further down were HAIRY WOODPECKER, TURKEY VULTURE, and WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCH.



However, the most interesting sighting of the day was not a bird, but a pack of Kawata Mundis, also known as White-nosed Coatis climbing near the top of Mt. Wrightson. We had not idea what they were when we first saw them, but some of the other hikers told us what they were when we described them. They are beautiful creatures, red like a fox, with long, ringed, bushy tails, and long striped snouts. They are related to Racoons.





I became sick on the way down with nausea and leg cramps and received some much needed encouragement and assistance from a hiker named Steve Wamba, who carried my bag and camera and lent me one of his poles on the way down. By the time we got close to the bottom, I was feeling much better. My wife and mother-in-law were waiting for us at the bottom with Gatorade.

Adult Male Snowy Owl in Livingston County

A coworker of mine found this bird near Salem Ranch (Flanagan) in Livingston County on Monday, March 30. I did not post because at the time, we thought the bird was sick or injured since it seemed immobile (5 yards from the road all day), and we were planning to capture the bird so that it could be helped. However, he seemed to have moved on by the next day. So hopefully, he is okay and on his way back to the Arctic to find a mate.

Here is a female Brown-headed Cowbird, I saw in the same area.



Written and published on April 5, 2015.

Eared Grebe at Evergreen Lake

Here are a few photos of the Eared Grebe that Dave Weth found today at Evergreen Lake. My friends Justin Watford and Andrew Easling, who were visiting today, went with me to see it. When I photographed it, it was swimming back and forth across the county line between McLean and Woodford Counties. Eared Grebes are fairly rare to Illinois. I had seen one in Woodford County several years ago in 2010, but this was the first one I had ever seen in McLean County and the first I had ever seen in breeding plumage anywhere.



Grebes' feet are obviously not designed for walking.



Other birds at Evergreen Lake today included Horned Grebe, Pied-billed Grebe, Common Loon, Red-breasted Merganser, Common Merganser, Bufflehead, Lesser Scaup, Double-crested Cormorant, and American Coot. There were also a couple of American White Pelicans and a raft of Redheads and Ruddy Ducks at Lake Bloomington.

Birds With Horns

This week I saw three different bird species that are named after their "horns." On Thursday, I photographed this Great Horned Owl sitting on its nest at Salem Ranch in Flanagan, IL.





Then on Friday morning , I photographed this Horned Grebe at Lake Bloomington.







There were a few other birds near the grebe--Turkey Vultures and Redheads.





Then I saw this Horned Lark near Salem Ranch in Flanagan, IL. Unfortunately, the light haze prevented me from getting a clear shot.



So why do some birds have "horns?" They are not actually "horns" in the sense of being part of their skeletal structure. Nor are they ears as they are called on some other related birds such as the Long-eared Owl, or the Eared Grebe. The true ears of an owl are actually located on the sides of the head rather than the top. The so called "horns" or "ears" are actually tufts of feathers, which the birds can move. Owls can make these feather tufts stand straight up or pull them back so that they are barely visible.

So if they are not actually horns or ears, what function do these tufts of feathers have? There are several theories as to their purpose for owls, including non-vocal communication, identification, camouflage, and intimidation. Grebes only have "horns" or "ears" during the breeding season, which may indicate that in grebes, they may play a role in attracting a mate. As for Horned Larks, I do not know the purpose of their horns. Perhaps it is merely to reflect the artistry and glory of their Creator.

I do not know of any North American birds with true horns, but American White Pelicans have a protrusion on the top of their bills only during the breeding season. They shed these "plates" when the breeding season ends. In this photo the protrusion is not as round in shape as it normally is on these birds. I photographed this pelican at Lake Bloomington on March 24.

Rusty Blackbirds and Eastern Phoebe in McLean County

This was Carrie's weekend to work, but a beautiful sunny weekend nonetheless. I spent some time birding on Saturday, beginning at Ewing Park. It was still pretty cool as I walked through the park in mid morning. There were few birds, but I did come across this Eastern Phoebe in the meadow. It was my first of the year.



When I first arrived, I saw a beautiful adult Cooper's Hawk fly across the park. Then as I was about to leave the park, I found a small mixed flock including Brown Creepers, a White-breasted Nuthatch, and a Downy Woodpecker.

A little later in the day, I drove to the Kenneth L. Schroeder Wildlife Sanctuary, where I found a nice mixed flock of sparrows foraging in the woods, including Song Sparrows, a couple of Fox Sparrows, and a White-throated Sparrow. Also, in the vicinity, there were Black-capped Chickadees, White-breasted Nuthatches, Blue Jays, Northern Cardinals, American Robins, Red-bellied Woodpeckers, and a singing Northern Flicker. Then to my surprise, I heard and then saw a group of about 7 Rusty Blackbirds. These birds were not particularly skittish, so I was able to take quite a few photos of them.