A (Caspian) Tern For The Better - Lake Springfield Birding (Part 2 of 2)

(Continued from this post here)  I visited further north, along the middle section of Lake Springfield. At this time. the heat was terrible.  Marine Point, my destination, was barren of birds, but full of fishermen and traffic.  As a result, I went to an alternate spot.   At the last intersection before reaching Marine Point itself, turn west and go down Maple Grove Lane.

 At the back of a long, narrow, shallow bay alongside the road, a creek flows under the road and into the lake.  Various plants, like the Water Willow (Justicia americana) above, grow alongside the bay.

Behind the road, a swampy second-growth forest has formed.

Winged Monkey Flowers (Mimulus alatus) grow along the banks of the creek, with hundreds of flowers in bloom.  This location has the largest population I've seen.  Monkey Flowers get their name because someone once thought they looked like a monkey's face.  Frankly, they don't.

An Eastern Pondhawk (Erythemis simplicicollis) posed for me on the rocks nearby.  These dragonflies are among the most common in the US, found around ponds as the name suggests.

Up in a tree, a Green Heron (Butorides virescens) watched over the bay.  I'm not sure what it was doing up in the tree, but Green Herons have a habit of being exactly where you don't expect them.

Evidently, everyone was gathering by the water, including these Northern Flickers (Colaptes auratus), a bird I haven't seen in two months.

For the first time in forever, I got pictures of a resting Belted Kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon) pausing between searches for fish, across the bay.  The lighting was not the greatest.

On an adjacent log, I spotted this female Wood Duck (Aix sponsa) and somebody else...

This little, blurry fellow is a Spotted Sandpiper (Actitis macularius), so called because I spotted it.  Well, that, and it's also covered in spots which are more visible in better lighting.

This is one of the few sandpipers you can find in Central Illinois away from the large reservoirs, as it can be found nearly anywhere with water.  After finding this fellow, the birding took a tern...

Ok, bad pun aside, I went to the abandoned Lake Springfield Beach.  Ever since a terrible incident when someone drowned here in 2007, it's been closed.  The birds have taken it over in the meantime.  Completely fenced off and inaccessible to the public, the birds have a safe habitat, which has resulted in a plethora of sand-loving birds.  This beach is located in Center Park, easily one of the best waterbird  and shorebird sites in Sangamon County.

Of course, there's also a few land birds, too, like this young Eastern Bluebird (Sialia sialis).

A large flock of Ring-billed Gulls (Larus delawarensis), like the one above, resides on the beach.  Ring-billed Gulls, aka Parking Lot Gulls, are easily the most common gulls in Central Illinois.

The main point of the trip, however, was to see the out-of-place Caspian Terns (Hydroprogne caspia) which have arrived in the middle of July during the summer's hottest weather when they should be up on Lake Michigan or further north.  Well, it's a tern for the better... or should I say birder?

(Look, if this is your first time reading my blog, I should let you know that I have used worse puns, and will continue to use bad puns in all communication, spoken or written.  You have been warned.)

 Caspian Terns are the worlds largest species of tern.  They can be found worldwide, although usually near the coast of large lakes and seas.  In the spring and fall, they migrate through here.  However, finding them in Central Illinois in July is unusual, outside of Emiquon and a few other spots along the Illinois River.  (As of this writing, the Caspian Terns have left Lake Springfield for parts unknown.)

Outside the beach, especially near the fence, there was considerable activity. This unknown sparrow species appears to be carrying nesting material.

This Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) appears to be hiding.  Great Blue Herons are one of the most common birds on the lake, but their pale colors tend not to photograph well.  As a result, I rarely upload pictures of most of the herons I see.  I'm not entirely sure why the stump on the left is charred.

This Eastern Kingbird (Tyrannus tyrannus) perched on a nearby post.  Eastern Kingbirds, despite their small size, are incredibly brave and have been known to chase away birds as large as eagles.  They are less aggressive towards people, thankfully.

The Fifth Orchid of the day was this plant.  (Fifth Orchid, by the way, is an unexpected last discovery, made while preparing to leave.  For the origin of the name, see here.)  This is a rare plant in Illinois, the Safflower (Carthamus tinctorius).  For those of you who buy birdseed, that name should be familiar, as it's one of the seeds included in most seed mixes.  Safflowers dislike Illinois, as it is too humid and rainy for this dryland plant.  Thus, I found it growing in the rocks along the beach house, which help to drain water away from the plant's easily rotted roots.  Safflowers, by the way, are not native to Illinois, nor are there bird feeders located nearby.  My guess is a birder, sometime this spring, walked by the beach-house with a few safflower seeds stuck in his shoe, and one happened to land perfectly on one of the few spots in town suitable for it.

After this, I went home.  Birding is fun and all, but the heat was getting unbearable.  Thankfully, it's cooling off a bit (down to the mid-80s).  Fall Migration is almost about to begin.  July, it seems, is the axis point of the year, when everything spring-like ends and everything fall-like begins.  With one last fall up here, I plan to try and make it count.