Tag: iroquois

Beautiful Dragonflies

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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.

Common Yellow-throat Warbler

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Female Common Yellow-throat Warbler

Female Common Yellow-throat Warbler

September 13, 2018 – A female Common Yellow-throat warbler pauses for only a moment atop some dried thistle standing at the edge of the thick undergrowth. Quickly the little bird vanishes into a maze of green as she searches for insects on top and below every leaf she encounters, at times revealing her location as she flutters from branch to branch in her quest.

Common Green Darner

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Common Green Darner

Common Green Darner

July 22, 2018 – The dragonfly has had its’ place in the myth and symbolism of humans for thousands of years, both good and evil has manifested in the folklore and the art of both prehistoric and modern humans. From the primitive cave paintings to the Art Nouveau dragonfly pendants there is no denying that their beauty is an inspiration. Their evolution began over 300 million years ago, as some fossil records show amazing giant dragonfly like insects with wingspans of over two feet. But from a different path millions of years ago our modern dragonfly evolved. The modern dragonfly is much smaller, the largest dragonfly in North America is the Giant Green Darner of the Southwest that has a wingspan of around five inches. Here in Illinois we have the Common Green Darner that looks similar to the Giant Green Darner but it is a little smaller with a wingspan of a little over three inches. The photo shows the Common Green Darner clinging to a corn stalk leaf where many others were feeding along a grassy road in rural Iroquois county.

Short-eared Owls

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Short-eared Owls

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

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

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

Short-eared Owl

A Bird of a Different Feather

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Leucistic Starling

Leucistic Starling

October 13, 2017 – A flash of white caught my eye as I was driving past a partially harvested field of soybeans in Iroquois county this past Friday the 13th. A flock of over 50 European Starlings were feeding on the ground near the edge of the field when I noticed the leucistic bird of the same species. Leucism is genetic condition that prevents melanin pigments to be deposited into the feathers properly. The lack of melanin pigments can cause a range of visible abnormality in the plumage color of birds. The results of this condition can manifest from an faint washed out look barely showing any semblance to a birds normal strong color patterns, to showing just small patches of white feathers lacking pigment. In some cases the affects of leucism can even produce a white bird that appears completely devoid of any plumage color.

European Starlings

European Starlings

The Palm warbler

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Palm warbler in non-breeding plumage

Palm warbler in non-breeding plumage

Palm warbler in its' breeding plumage

Palm warbler in its’ breeding plumage

September 14, 2017 – The Palm warbler is considered a medium distance migrant wintering in the Gulf Coastal region of the United States and the islands of the Caribbean west to the Yucatan Peninsula. The Palm warbler spends the summer on its’ breeding habitat in the low marshy areas of the Northern United State and the fens and marshes in the boreal forests of Canada which is quite appropriately known as “North America’s bird nursery”. The warbler can lay up to five eggs in its’ specialized grass nest lined with feathers and soft plants near the base of a small conifer tree or shrub. One photo shows a Palm warbler in its’ breeding plumage which was photographed in May during the northerly spring migration and the other photo shows a Palm warbler in non-breeding plumage captured this past week in mid September as the little warblers are heading south during the fall migration.