"Bat Doves"?

Over the last week,  Tuesday the 17th to Tuesday the 24th, I went on a number of small trips, here and there,  all but one of which were insignificant enough to not merit a post of their own.  There was an excellent Carpenter Park trip, which I will be posting following this.  Most of my little trips were around Lake Springfield, but I did venture out to Nipper Wildlife Sanctuary and the surrounding countryside.   (Caution- Snakes Below)

I think I'm getting better at this whole photography thing.  It helps that Graham's Crayfish Snakes (Regina grahamii) are not particularly afraid of people.  This particular snake is about as large as this species gets, over three feet long.  Crayfish must be very common along Marina Point, as I've seen a number of these snakes in that area, and crayfish is their main food source, hence the name.

At this point, I've lost track of Northern/Midland Watersnakes (Nerodia sipedon) I've seen in the last week alone.  This is an incredibly common species around ponds and lakes in Illinois.  Northern Watersnakes seem to emerge late and suddenly appear in great numbers when the temperatures consistently stay in the 70s.

Snakes over, we move back to some semblance of order.  Among the resident gulls of Marine Point appeared this interloper:

 This appears to be the less-than-common-in-this-area Franklin's Gull (Leucophaeus pipixcan), especially considering the large eye ring (white coloration encircling the eye).  This was the first of several species I had never seen before.

Also,  I finally got a picture of the Forster's Tern... No, wait, that's a Common Tern (Sterna hirundo).  Oh, well, new species!  I tried to make a joke based on the Comintern (International Communism), and then this Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis)  decided to muscle his way onto the buoy instead.  So, I ask you, what political system does a Ring-billed Gull represent?

 However, I know what the next bird represents:

I had assumed the Bald Eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) had left since the winter, but evidently not.  As I watched this eagle catch fish, some man approached me and told me that on Bay Island, a pair of  "Bat-Doves" had started nesting there and attacked someone in town.  "Bat-Doves" do not exist, and I told this man that.  I returned to Marine Point today, and I saw a friend there.  He told me about how some guy had shown up and started talking about "Bat-Doves" which nested on Bay Island.  Evidently, at Marina Point, this person approaches people and tells them about "Bat-Doves".  I have to say, I find people far more strange than nature, sometimes.

Over at the Beach House, however, we have Asian Carp (Hypophthalmichthys spp.) trying to swim through a chain link fence.  So, yeah, nature's still weird.  Also, who came up with that Latin name?  I'm not sure if I could get all the syllables of that name out at once, or if I'd need surgery to do so.

If you like swallows (the group of birds), the Beach House is an ideal place to visit.  The unused beach (abandoned since someone drowned there) is an excellent area for birds in general, but swallows, like the Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor) above, are especially prevalent.

Cliff Swallows (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota), in particular, nest under the adjacent bridge, and in order to gather mud for their nests, they come to the beach in flocks and resemble butterflies puddling.  (That description will fall flat for at least half of you, so I'll just leave it at saying google "Butterflies puddling" and that it was a cool effect.)  While filming the Cliff Swallows for a future video, this fellow below ran by in the background:

 Spotted Sandpipers (Actitis macularius)  are almost invariably found patrolling the empty beach.

Nearby the Eastern Kingbird (Tyrannus tyrannus) watches for flies.  If you ask me, there are far better birds deserving of the crown (not unlike an actual monarchy).  

Later in the week, I took a country drive, and took my first photo of a Horned Lark (Eremophila alpestris), a species I only see while driving.  I was still driving when I saw this bird, but I had ample room to stop and pull over for the picture.  Horned Larks are hard to see, as they are the same color as the ground and sit still when they know there is someone watching.

I then went off to Nipper Wildlife Sanctuary, where I found this Meadow Rue (Thalictrum spp.)

The prairie ponds had a full compliment of Irises blooming around them (Iris spp.).  I read that term "a full compliment" in an old book, and I feel as if I may have misapplied it here. There were a lot of irises, is what I mean to say.

Also on the ponds was a pair of Blue-winged Teal (Anas discors), fleeing as usual.

I was unable to visit all of Nipper Wildlife Sanctuary.  Evidently, Northern Harriers and Barn Owls are attempting to nest at Nipper, and a portion of the preserve has been closed to traffic for this.

I contented myself with the wetlands and the finding of new species of plants (for me).

 Evidently, the bushes above and the flower below are False Indigo (Amorpha fruticosa), a plant of wetlands and pond edges which I have failed to notice on any prior hiking trips whatsoever.

Also at Nipper was a lifer species, the Dickcissel (Spiza americana). Yes. I know. First Woodcock, now Dickcissel.  Who names these birds?  I have some questions for you, whoever you are.

On the way to leave, this Red-headed Woodpecker (Melanerpes erythrocephalus)  appeared suddenly.  One of the more threatened woodpeckers in Illinois, Red-headed Woodpeckers require savanna habitat, and thus are often found only in parks locally.  I used to insist that it's the jawbreaker of a Latin name which has led to this species' decline.  However, Asian Carp have a far worse time of it, so I'll accept the traditional explanation of habitat loss. ( I suffer from overdeveloped sarcasm.)

A second Red-headed Woodpecker joined the first, with food in its bill.  I think this is one of North America's most attractive birds, and it is unfortunate that this species is the only Illinois woodpecker to be listed as Near Threatened by the ICUN (for non-nature people, an organization which studies the rarity of species and classifies them accordingly).

I then drove over to Marina Point, as I mentioned earlier.  Despite a temperature in the upper 70s, it did not feel like the end of May, as I saw two Ruddy Ducks (Oxyura jamaicensis).  This species should have migrated through a month earlier.  It baffles me why these two were still here.

Even more confusing, a Redhead (Aythya americana) was also present.  I have never seen this species away from any other pochard ducks, yet here it was, easily a month since I'd last seen one.

The final bird is one I actually saw some time earlier, and it's last but not... Okay, it actually is least.  This is the Least Sandpiper (Calidris minutilla) , a truly tiny bird, but one with little fear of me.  As a result, I got the best bird picture of my life.  Thank you, God! This seems ideal to just end on:

Update:  Evidently, a lot of people really, really, really did not like this post.  I edited out the most politically incorrect parts, but it did loose me all of my Blogger followers on the eve of commercialization.  Eh, well, I guess that means no ads.