Star Trek Birding- Emiquon Wildlife Refuge

Emiquon is the best birding site in Central Illinois, by all accounts.  After an eh trip back in May, I was interested in revisiting this enormous wetland complex and finding birds I hadn't seen before.

So, of course, the first birds were Great Blue Herons (Ardea herodias).  I see these only... once a day.

Jokes aside, Emiquon is a wonderful spot for birding.  After a rather... interesting... hike earlier in the day, I wanted to just stay in the car and drive around, not unlike at Lake Springfield.  Here, usually, there's a pulloff on the southern edge which has a gate that says NO TRESPASSING.  However, the gate was open, so we went in.

Eastern Kingbirds (Tyrannus tyrannus) are common, but getting a picture of one eating a bug isn't.

Overhead, I spotted this Belted Kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon), moving fast over the marsh.

Driving along the levee, I would ask my dad "Full Stop" when I wanted to stop and photograph something, and "Engage" when I wanted to go again.  As these are the commands Captain Picard used on Star Trek,... Star Trek Birding, anyone?

The southeast corner of Thompson Lake is a large cattail marsh, and this is where the majority of interesting birds can be found, like this Great Egret (Ardea alba):

Possibly one of the best birds of the trip was this, the Black-necked Stilt (Himantopus mexicanus):

This bird flew right up to the shallows by the roadside.  Black-necked Stilts are fairly rare in central Illinois, with Emiquon being the only regular location in the area to find them.

While the birding isn't as spectacular in the summer as it would have been, say, a month ago, this is still an amazing place to visit.  The enormous lake/marsh and blue skies made for a lovely landscape.

Finding the occasional State-threatened Black-crowned Night-heron  (Nycticorax nycticorax)  was just a side benefit of the place:

Strange laughs, shrieks, and cries came from this patch of cattails.  I'd imagine that, unseen from the road, rails and other birds were having a ball deep inside.

I know for certain that at the very least, there were several Black-crowned Night-herons, a rare bird I've always wanted to see.  When I say rare, I mean in Illinois, as this bird can be found worldwide.

Double-crested Cormorants (Phalacrocorax auritus) nest here also, and several were out and about.

Out in the middle of the lake, we could see American White Pelicans (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos):

Closer to shore, however, it was almost entirely Wood Ducks (Aix sponsa).  I probably saw over a hundred Wood Ducks, and to be quite frank, I wouldn't care if I never saw any Wood Ducks ever again.  Most of the trip was spent, "Full stop!  Oh, what is that!  Oh, more wood ducks.  Engage!"

Far off, on distant shallows, we could see cormorants, pelicans and egrets, but they were too far away for an easy viewing.

However, we did get to see this Caspian Tern (Hydroprogne caspia) dive on a fish.  The method of attack is worth looking up on YouTube, but essentially, the tern spies a fish, and plummets full-speed down at the water. Cannonball!  I don't know if this bird was successful, but it was a joy to watch.

It surprised me how long it took us to find Canada Geese (Branta canadensis), actually.

From this point, we could look out and see nesting cormorants on dead trees in the middle of the lake.

At this point, we had reached about halfway around the lake, and the road gave out suddenly.  Thankfully, there was an area to turn around, and while paused there, we stopped to observe all the birds nearby.

Barn Swallows (Hirundo rustica) sat upon the reeds between chasing insects.

Their relatives, the Cliff Swallows (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota),were gathering mud for their nests, built on a nearby water flow control station and several of the nearby bridges.

Nearby, the introduced species Mute Swan (Cygnus olor) and this Great Egret appear to be having a staring contest.  Mute Swans are the only wild bird in North America known to have killed humans.  It was a freak accident with a toddler in Eastern Europe, if I remember correctly.

Far off, the cormorants sat on their dead trees, guarding their nests.  Cormorants and most waterbirds feel safer building their nests in areas inaccessible to predators such as raccoons, so islands.

All over the lake, Wood Duck families also foraged for food.

Winding back around to the visitor's center. the pelicans were far more visible than before.

To summarize Emiquon, I quote Lord Byron:

 "There is pleasure in the pathless woods, there is rapture in the lonely shore, there is society where none intrudes, by the deep sea, and music in its roar; I love not Man the less, but Nature more."

While it may be a lake, not a sea, the sentiment still stands.