July 2020 – Wildlife In Nature

Yellow-billed Cuckoo

Posted on July 23, 2020 by Gary R. Soper

July 26, 2020 – Yellow-billed Cuckoos breed in most of the eastern half of the United States including from Texas to Florida and north to the Canadian border including Southeastern Canada. The Yellow-billed Cuckoos are a fairly large bird, larger than a Robin but smaller than a crow. According to The Cornell Lab All About Birds they are a long and slim bird with a bill that is almost as long as the head, thick and slightly down curved. During the North American winter, the cuckoos are in South America from Peru to Northern Argentina inhabiting the scrub forests and mangroves of those regions. The food of the Yellow-billed Cuckoos is not much different from many other birds. Along with small lizards and some invertebrates, they eat primarily large insects like crickets, grasshoppers, and even cicadas. The photos show two individual cuckoos each with insects just caught, one with a small seemingly harmless tiny insect, perhaps some kind of weevil, and the other with a Monarch butterfly just before it was consumed wings and all. The photo of the bird with the butterfly might beg the questions, doesn’t the Monarch butterfly taste bad, or aren’t they poisonous to predators because of the toxic milkweed plant they eat? The milkweed is a vital link to Monarch butterflies survival, the female monarchs deposit their eggs on the leaves of the milkweed. The development from egg to butterfly includes a stage where the monarch caterpillar feeds exclusively on the milkweed until it reaches the chrysalis stage. After about 14 days it will emerge as a beautiful and iconic, but toxic, Monarch butterfly. Monarch butterflies arrive in our area of Illinois from late May to early June and the photo of this cuckoo with the monarch in its bill was taken this year in Iroquois County on May 27, suggesting this butterfly was a spring migrant from an overwintering site probably in central Mexico. Research has shown that the toxins from the milkweed called cardenolides are strongest in the newly emerged monarchs but loses some potency after the fall migration when the butterflies are at their wintering sites. During the winter, predation by birds, primarily Black-headed grosbeaks, Black-backed orioles and Steller’s jays, take a heavy toll on the monarchs, contributing to their winter mortality. Yes, the Monarch butterflies are toxic and they warn predators with their bright colors to stay away, but maybe the spring migrant monarchs arriving in Illinois in May are at their lowest level of toxicity and perhaps the Yellow-billed Cuckoo, like the one in the photo, can tolerate low levels of cardenolides. It is a fact that the Yellow-billed Cuckoo can and will eat the toxic, hairy covered tent caterpillars which is an important food source to these migrants.

A tiny insect held firmly in at the tip of the Yellow-billed Cuckoo’s long down curved bill.

Semipalmated Plover

Posted on July 23, 2020 by Gary R. Soper

July 16, 2020 – A little over a month ago a flock of eight very small shorebirds stopped at a flooded field south of Kankakee for about three days to rebuild their fat reserves and rest. The little plovers were on their northerly migration to their summer nesting grounds on the rocky and sandy terrain and gravel bars along rivers, and around small lakes and ponds in the higher latitudes. The plovers nest on the shoreline around Hudson Bay and east to Newfoundland and west above the Arctic Circle as far as the Aleutian Islands. The little flock of plovers are known as Semipalmated Plovers and they are somewhat similar in color to the common, but larger Killdeer, a relative of the little plover. The Killdeer is a bird we see quite often along rural roads here in Northern Illinois and familiar to most. The Killdeer has two black breast bands and the Semipalmated Plovers have only one. The larger, noisy Killdeers always announce themselves, trying to lure you away from the nests, as you drive along the rural roads. When the low profile dark colored Semipalmated Plovers are in the area during migration they can easily go unnoticed as they quietly hunt for insects and worms along the edges of the muddy undrained wet areas in the agricultural fields. Locating the plover requires more than a quick glance, they can instantly go out of view as they quickly navigate across the rutty ground of a farm field where they can easily be missed. The semi-webbed toes of the plover, which surely must help on mudflats, is where the bird gets it’s name. There is webbing from the middle toe to the outside toe but none from the middle toe to the inside toe. After the breeding season, which runs from early May to late August, the little plovers will once again head south where they will spend the winter months on the south eastern and southwestern coast of North America and the coasts of Central and South America.

The photo shows the webbing on the middle and outside toes of the little plover from whence it gets it’s name.

Comet C/2020 F3 (NEOWISE)

Posted on July 23, 2020 by Gary R. Soper

Comet C/2020 F3 (NEOWISE) in the early morning hours of July 11th rising above the northeastern horizon at Willow Slough Fish and Wildlife Area just before the sun. On July 22nd Neowise will be at it closest approach to Earth at a distance of 64.3 million miles. The comet is now visible after sunset in the northwest and will be at about 10 degrees above the horizon by the 14th. If you miss this amazing comet it will be back in the neighborhood in about 6000 years. The comet was discovered March 27, 2020 by a NASA solar telescope.

July 11, 2020 – I had been waiting for some cloudless skies to possibly get a look and maybe a photo of this amazing comet that was discovered March 27, 2020 by a NASA solar telescope. Photos and testimonies from around the world were lighting up the internet feeding the excitement. Finely it looked like the early morning of July 11th would be my first chance to witness this spectacular event. I picked up my son Benjamin at 3:00 am to make the 28 mile drive to the dark skies on the Illinois Indiana boarder east of Kankakee. We arrived at Willow Slough Fish and Wildlife Area where Ben first spotted the comet in the northeast above the lake as was drove past the boat launch. The comet looked so amazing it was brightest at the tip, where the nucleus was pointing toward the horizon, looking like a long brush stroke of white paint on a dark canvas where the amazingly long tail stretched towards the heavens away from the sun that was below the horizon.

Beautiful Dragonflies

Posted on July 23, 2020 by Gary R. Soper

A male Common Green Darner with a bright turquoise blue colored abdomen holds tight to the female just behind her head with his claspers as they fly to some floating debris where she will deposit her eggs into the water.

July 9, 2020 – Roadside ditches, marshes, wetlands and prairies are alive with many beautiful species of dragonflies. From the dainty Eastern Amberwings that are warmly illuminated by sun and perched on the lovely petals in the low growing carpet of color, to the large Green Darners flying in tandem across a shallow wetland, one can hardly find a view that is lacking of these winged jewels. The sight of those zigzagging, quick flying marvels is almost more than the human eye can follow, registering only a blur, until they light nearby. The black and white spots on the Twelve-spotted Skimmer are bright and beautiful making this dragonfly stand out quite well as it flies in the sunlight or perches in the broken light of a shadowy wet ditch. Blue Dashers are visible as far as the eye can see, perched in the open areas on the tips of the many available stems, branches, and tall flowers along roads and on the summer growth surrounding the wet prairies. Sitting in the bright sun the dashers rotate regularly to regulate their body temperature, at times taking what is known as the “obelisk” position where they stick their abdomen in a straight up posture to help cool their bodies. The Common Green Darner is a large beautiful dragonfly that migrates over long distances from the south and breeds here in Northern Illinois during the summer. In July and August the larvae develop and the young dragonflies emerge and work their way south to a warm climate for the winter where they will breed and lay eggs and their young will develop from larvae to dragonfly and fly north in the spring repeating the process. There are 98 species of dragonflies in Illinois and all offer something unique that makes them easy to identify. Male and female of the same species can look similar with only subtle differences or they can look very different with confusing markings and colors. The Common Whitetail dragonfly is a good example of males and females having very different markings on both their wings and bodies that differ in pattern and color. The male has a white body while the female has mostly brown body but they both share a very similar stocky shape. These hot, humid, summer days demand a certain amount of attention devoted to observation of the dragonflies of Illinois. Bring binoculars.

A beautiful Twelve-spotted Skimmer returns to a perch just above some still water where other skimmers are also perched.

The Water Hole

Posted on July 2, 2020 by Gary R. Soper

A King rail holding one of the crayfish’s claws in it’s beak that it just removed by violently shaking the crayfish.

July 2, 2020 – Several acres of low ground in Iroquois County that is surrounded by a large tract of lovely cultivated prairie has retained water for a number of months providing a perfect habitat and a food source for resting ducks, geese, herons, egrets, and a number of species of migrating shorebirds. Now, as the water is disappearing and the temporary wetland pond is starting to dry up, it is resembling a coastal mud flat, with small areas of water that are barely a few inches in depth. The small pools of water now hold concentrations of crayfish, frogs, and turtles, and the muddy areas expose worms, snails, and insects for an easy meal for the visiting wildlife. The puddles and the surrounding mud left behind, that was until recently covered in at least a foot of water, has attracted gulls, grackles, and even a family of raccoons that are visiting the buffet daily feasting on crayfish. Individual grackles that are part of several large flocks can be seen at times standing over a crayfish that is in a defensive posture with its’ pincers up towards the much larger bird. The grackle will try repeatedly pecking at the crayfish but if the crayfish is too large and aggressive the grackle will move on to an easier prey. A lone Bonaparte’s gull wades through the shallow, dirty, water stirring it with its’ feet as it searches for snails, worms, or any other likely prey in the dwindling pools. A pair of rare King rails staying close to the tall grasses and aquatic plants wander out into the open areas searching for the abundant crayfish. The skittish rails cautiously hunt the edges of the little pools for prey and even at some distance away, when the prey is spotted, the rail quickly dashes over and grabs the little crustacean and hurries back closer to the safety of weedy cover. The King rail, the largest rail in North America, begins removing the pincers from the crayfish before eating it by grasping the large claws and shaking the crayfish violently until those large intimidating claws are removed. The King rails are not as common in Illinois as they once were because of the loss of wetland habitat, the Illinois Natural History Survey explains their occurrence in Illinois as uncommon migrant and locally uncommon summer resident.

The rarely seen King rail is holding a crayfish in it’s beak as it moves into the tall grass and out of sight.

The Muskrat House

Posted on July 2, 2020 by Gary R. Soper

An adult Muskrat cautiously looks out from the entrance of its bank lodge before leaving.

June 25, 2020 – Low water reveals the damp, muddy entrance to the den of a family of Muskrats east of Kankakee recently. The homes of these small aquatic mammals are called lodges and are similar to a Beaver lodge. The Beaver is the much larger relative of the Muskrat and both animals use several similar options for their lodges. One of the options is a structure that the Muskrat builds and it looks very much like that celebrated, iconic style made by the North American Beaver that most would envision on a small lake in the North Woods, but the Muskrat’s lodge is much smaller and the construction is not as durable as the Beaver’s. The Muskrat house is conical in shape, like the Beaver lodge, and is surrounded by water. It is heaped up in a pile of mud, cattails and sedges, along with other handy plant materials found in the shallow wetlands here in the Midwest. The Muskrat is relatively safe and protected from cold winter conditions in their homes, and like the Beaver lodge, the Muskrat lodge has an underwater entrance. The Muskrat does not store food for the winter like the Beaver, so it must find food every day and harsh winters can be a challenge. Another type of den that is more common to our area, because of the loss of wetland habitat, is the bank lodge. The Muskrat burrows into the banks along ditches, creeks, ponds, and rivers to create their earthen lodge. The Muskrat may burrow as far as fifteen feet into the bank raising up above the waterline and ending in a dry chamber where they can huddle in numbers during the cold of winter The chamber is used as a nursery for their young during the warm months. Even though Muskrats are more active at night and are considered nocturnal they can be seen at all times of the day busily feeding on an aquatic plant or bringing some fresh greens home to the den for their young.

Bringing food home for the young, an adult Muskrat carries some freshly cut green vegetation in its mouth for the kits deep in the burrow.

Leucistic Red-winged Blackbird

Posted on July 2, 2020 by Gary R. Soper

A leucistic female Red-winged Blackbird perches for a moment showing her peach colored head and white wings where pigment is missing from the birds feathers.

June 11, 2020 – A flash of white catches my eye as an interesting bird with peculiar markings flies just above some intentionally destroyed, non-native invasive plants that are known as the common reed or Phragmites. The stems of the dead Phragmites lay strewn like pick-up-sticks across the soft, damp, muddy shallows. The mystery bird perched for a moment on the tall stem of a native wetland grass, but soon flew down to the mucky waters edge where it began searching through the dark, wet organic debris occasionally using the dead Phragmites as a convenient perch. The bird began picking up small pieces of plant material and appeared to be looking for something specific as it hopped over standing water to the next little bit of duckweed covered mud and broken reeds. Soon the birds’ beak was full of small pieces of plant material. The curious colorful bird flew up and over the higher dry ground where prairie plants were thriving and dropped down into the thick green cover where it disappeared. In no time at all the busy bird was back on the marshy ground continuing its’ search for nesting material. By now the bird was no longer a mystery, its’ behavior, its’ song, and the nearby male that was protecting the territory revealed the species as a female Red-winged Blackbird that was working on a nest. The unusual coloring of the birds’ feathers is caused by a genetic condition known as leucism, a condition that prevents melanin from being sent to some of the birds plumage. Leucistic birds are recorded and photographed across many species each year, from Great Horned Owls and Bald Eagles to Cardinals and Hummingbirds, and in this case a Red-winged Blackbird. Some of the leucistic birds are almost completely white while others might only have some plumage that is affected, sometimes referred to as piebald.

An example of a female Red-winged Blackbird that is not affected by leucism.

Lark Sparrow

Posted on July 2, 2020 by Gary R. Soper

June 4, 2020 – The Lark Sparrow is a large, sharp-looking, sparrow with strong facial markings of rich chestnut, bright white, and coal black. Those amazingly crisp colors on the face of these birds help to distinguish the Lark from most other sparrows, making them an easy bird to identify. The Lark Sparrow also can quickly be recognized even at some distance because of the unique patterns of its’ long tail feathers. When the bird is in flight and the tail feathers are spread wide, the white tips on the dark tail feathers are revealed identifying the bird as a Lark Sparrow. The lovely contrast of the sparrows’ tail feathers makes the bird stand out against the mix of green tones in the tangle of vegetation of its’ spring and summer habitat. As the Lark Sparrow swoops over the prairies of the Midwest it will easily catch the eye of the observant bird watcher. This is the time of the year that Lark Sparrows can be found in open country here in Northeastern Illinois and Northwestern Indiana. The restored sandy prairies, grasslands, and pastures, with some trees and bushes nearby, are ideal location and probable nesting areas for the sparrow. In these locations of prime Lark Sparrow habitat one might get a glimpse of a bird that is less common east of the Mississippi. The sparrow arrives in our area in the spring for the nesting season from its’ winter range in the Southwestern United States and south into Mexico. You may be lucky enough to get a close-up look at Lark Sparrows as they regularly forage, often in pairs, along the less traveled roads searching the weedy edges for seeds, caterpillars, and other insects.

A Lark Sparrow perches on the stem of a tall prairie plant but soon disappears into some tall grasses.

Cattle Egrets

Posted on July 2, 2020 by Gary R. Soper

A Cattle Egret with its’ beautiful reddish-brown plumage standing straight up on the crown of its’ head after preening.

May 28, 2020 – Standing out among the greens and yellows of a spring prairie that surrounds a shallow, seasonal, wetland of only a few acres, the bright white color of the four migrating Cattle Egrets in Iroquois County recently made for an easy count. While two of the birds were occupied preening, the other two were busy hunting through the prairie flowers and grasses for prey. Earthworms, frogs, and insects were on the menu this day. The egrets eventually came into range as they worked their way around the waters edge hunting the surrounding grasses. I could now observe through my camera their successful hunting techniques getting a close-up look at their focused behavior as they cautiously stepped through the taller grasses carefully looking for prey. A large nightcrawler worm is consumed quickly, but a big frog takes some work to dispatch and eat, a process that quickly becomes a challenge to keep the catch from being stolen by another egret. Before long, keeping the frog turns into an aerial pursuit across the water to the other side of the wetland where the successful hunter eventually wins the prize as the thief soon gives up.

Cattle Egrets are not native to the Americas, they are believed to have flown across the Atlantic via the northeast trade winds and arrived in South America in the late 1800’s from Africa. The Cattle Egrets expanded north into North America and were nesting here by the 1950’s. Most people would recognize images of these birds in the country from which they migrated from, Africa. One can easily visualize these birds perched on a large Cape buffalo, Zebras, or walking around close to the trunks of grazing Elephants. Here in America the egrets are often seen in cow pastures perched on domestic livestock and walking near the head of foraging cattle waiting for insects or other prey to be flushed by the large grazer. The little birds have no problem plucking insects and parasites off the faces of the cooperative cattle. These recent visitors to Iroquois County were in their beautiful breeding plumage. Three Cattle Egrets in breeding plumage were most recently reported by Jed Hertz in Kankakee County feeding in a similar habit as those found in Iroquois County.

A pair of Cattle Egrets slowly search through the spring prairie for prey.

Tanagers and Flycatchers

Posted on July 2, 2020 by Gary R. Soper

A beautiful male Scarlet Tanager pauses for a moment as it searches from a convenient perch for prey.

May 21, 2020 – As we near the end of May we are about two thirds of the way through another spring season as newly arriving migratory birds continue to be seen in our area of Northeastern Illinois as summer draws near. The Great Crested Flycatcher is a recent arrival and is a large colorful bird that has a bright yellow belly and an impressive crest on top of its’ head, that feathery crest promptly raised straight up when the bird is excited. These beautiful flycatchers can be found hunting along wooded areas and near grasslands and along the rural roadways of Illinois. Sightings of this common bird are now being recorded in Northern Illinois and one was just recently found in Iroquois County hunting the edge of a small woods perched near some tall grass. The Crested Flycatcher stands out among the smaller and more drab flycatchers like the Eastern Phoebe and Eastern Wood-Pewee that have the same hunting behavior and can be found hunting the same territory. The Great-Crested Flycatcher winters from southern Mexico south into South America. Another recent arrival that looks quite dignified covered in black and charcoal-gray feathers, white throat, chest and belly with white-tipped tail feathers is the Eastern Kingbird. Like other flycatchers the Kingbird prefers perches near open grassy areas with a good view of flying insects where the fast flying, quick turning, Kingbird will quickly catch the prey on the wing. The Kingbird spends the winter in the western Amazon basin of South America and nests in almost all of the United States, except for the deep southwest. It also nests in most of southern Canada from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Exciting flashy red male tanagers, both Summer Tanagers and Scarlet Tanagers, have just recently arrived. The female Scarlet Tanagers do not have those bright red feathers but are covered in olive-yellow plumage with dark wings. The Summer Tanager females are mostly yellow and do not have dark wings. The Summer Tanagers are a long-distance migrant that winter in southern Mexico, Central America, and northwestern South America. The beautifully striking Scarlet Tanager spends the winter months in the foothills of the Andes in South America. This year seems to be a banner year for Scarlet Tanager sightings as there are a large number of people reporting and photographing for the first time Scarlet Tanagers at their backyard feeders Ruby-throated hummingbirds are establishing territories near good food sources and a variety of colorful warblers continue to excite birdwatchers as many will be nesting here and others will continue north.