January 2018 – Wildlife In Nature

Red-Headed Woodpeckers

Posted on January 27, 2018 by Gary R. Soper

Red-Headed Woodpecker moving stone

January 27, 2018 – At first I wasn’t sure what all the Red-headed woodpeckers were doing flying out of the woods to the middle of a gravel parking lot. As I pulled in I could see them picking up something and quickly flying back to the woods. My thoughts were, what are they doing with those stones? After getting into position I was then able to observe them with my binoculars and I could see that they were getting bits of what appeared to be cracked corn from between the rocks. They would swiftly fly back to the woods but it wouldn’t be long until they would swoop in once more, three or four at a time. A mix of juvenile and adult birds would quickly locate more corn, sometimes moving stones that looked relatively large. While watching the Red-headed woodpeckers I saw Blue birds, Nuthatches, Blue Jays and a Tufted Titmouse working their way around the edge of the woods. Goldfinches are starting to show some yellow and high overhead the sounds from large flocks of Canada geese and those unique sounds of the Greater White-fronted Goose echoed. There were five Trumpeter Swans moving fast just above the black and gray leafless woods, their white feathers seemed to glow against the blue sky in the bright sunshine.

Red-headed Woodpecker with corn.

Backlight Buck

Posted on January 26, 2018 by Gary R. Soper

Backlight Buck on the run

January 19, 2018 – Almost silhouetted in the backlight of the morning sun, a spooked White-tailed buck does not waste any time increasing the distance between itself and possible danger. White-tailed deer can reach speeds of 40 mile per hour and easily jump barriers that are 9 feet tall. They have the ability to take to the air and leap an amazing distance of 30 feet while running to escape a threat that is in hot pursuit. In a matter of seconds that buck along with another was across the field, through a small woodlot, down a hillside and into a field of corn stubble well over a half mile away and then like a snowflake in the spring they were gone.

Snow Buntings

Posted on January 26, 2018 by Gary R. Soper

Snow Bunting

January 19, 2018 – Snow Buntings are a small songbird of the high Arctic, a visitor that can be seen in our area with flocks of Horned Larks and Lapland Longspurs and sometimes in larger flocks of their own species. During the winter months here in Illinois they can be found feeding on dropped seeds along roadways or in the harvested agricultural fields. An interesting fact of these little birds, unlike other birds that can claim and alternate plumage, they only molt once and that is in the late summer. By the time spring rolls around and the Arctic breeding season is underway the browns and tan colored tips of their feathers are worn off showing mostly pure white with coal black wingtips. During their breeding season there are only a few slight differences in the plumage of the female and male.

Snow Bunting

A Snowy Owl Perched

Posted on January 26, 2018 by Gary R. Soper

Snowy Owl after Fox Squirrel

January 18, 2018 – A Snowy Owl was perched at the top of an evergreen last week in Iroquois county and seemed to have set its sights on a Fox Squirrel busy looking for food around the base of a large cottonwood. A small flock of Tree Sparrows and the intended target, the surprised squirrel, scattered and vanished when the owl swooped in. A moment after the failed attempt the owl took to the air and headed to a waterway in the middle of the field. The number of reported sightings of Snowy Owls starting to come in for Illinois have exceeded 100 so far. Those numbers are likely to increase from the encounters yet to be reported. In a small part of Iroquois county my high count for these owls is three but this year it has doubled with six individuals and possibly a seventh. It has been a banner season for these beautiful visitors from the Canadian Arctic, they have brought much excitement across the United States along with much science yet to be understood. Remember, if you encounter a Snowy Owl please respect the owl and keep your distance, do not try to approach the owl just to get a photo, observe from a distance with binoculars or a spotting scope. Snowy Owls have just recently been listed as vulnerable by the Union for Conservation of Nature.

The Coyote

Posted on January 20, 2018 by Gary R. Soper

Coyote in corn stubble

January 18, 2018 – Persecuted, shot at and mostly misunderstood the coyote plays an important part in a healthy ecosystem. Helping to keep populations of mice, rats, foxes, opossums and raccoons in check which in turn reduces predation on ground nesting birds in areas especially where nesting habitat has been diminished by agriculture or urban expansion, the coyote most certainly plays an important role. Along with deer, small rodents, reptiles and insects; plants and fruits are also part of the coyotes diet when available. Livestock depredation is very rare and overstated in the exaggerated tales of the prairie wolf. The coyote is known as a Keystone species, which means without a healthy population of this carnivore the ecosystem goes out of balance, biodiversity is lost causing immoderate population growth of one species while another species can disappears completely from an area.

Short-eared Owls

Posted on January 9, 2018 by Gary R. Soper

Short-eared Owls resting in the winter sun

January 2, 2018 – Perched on the soft exposed dried grasses and using a snow bank piled up by a snowplow to reflect the morning sun three Short-eared Owls were soaking in a little bit of warmth on a bitterly cold morning in rural Iroquois county this past week. If a person is lucky enough to experience an encounter with a Short-eared Owl it would most likely be in that brief time at dawn or dusk while the owl might be perched on a fence post or gliding low over the grasslands searching for small prey animals. The negative temperatures with dangerous wind chills may have brought them to the edge of a less traveled country road in the late morning for some relief in the warmth of the winter sun. If not for the snow a person could quite easily pass right by these midsize owls and never see them. One can most certainly see from the photos how well the colors of the Short-eared Owls blend in with the dried vegetation they are sitting on.

Short-eared Owl sitting in a small depression in the snow

During the winter months here in North Eastern Illinois is the best opportunity to observe the Short-eared Owl. Areas set aside for the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) and restored prairies are good places to stake out in the late afternoon with binoculars and patience, scan the area for a perched or low flying bird that may be hunting over the grassland. The Northern Harrier and Short-eared Owl are very similar looking so it is a good idea to do a little homework before your adventure. The Nature Conservancy Kankakee Sands project in Newton county Indiana is a short drive east of Kankakee and is also a great place to see the Short-eared Owls hunting in the late afternoon over the dormant winter prairies.

Short-eared Owl perched in the dried grasses

The summer range during the nesting season, from mid-March to May, of the Short-eared Owl overlaps their winter range in the northern half of the United States from the Great Lakes west to the Pacific ocean. The owls also nest in most of Canada and Alaska. Listed as an endangered species in Illinois the Short-eared Owls do nest in our state, most likely the northern half and in very low numbers with the exception of Prairie Ridge State Natural Area. Located in southeastern Illinois in Jasper county, Prairie Ridge State Natural Area boasts the largest population of nesting Short-eared Owls in Illinois while providing nearly 2000 acres of grassland habitat. In Canada and the United States the loss of habitat from agriculture and urban expansion, mining and the use of pesticides and dangerous rodent control methods can have a negative impact on the Short-eared Owl and other grassland raptors.

Short-eared Owl