Compressed Photo Quality

I've run out of storage space on Google Drive, so I had to go back and compress my photo quality, which allows me to upload an infinite number of pictures without needing to buy extra storage, in exchange for a slight decline in quality.  This affects all current and past blogposts.  I didn't want to do this, but it had to be done.

What Should I Be Doing?

It's been an interesting past few days.  Having reread most of my blog over the last week or so, I've come to the conclusion that it's mostly a travelogue all about my exploits.  Is this blog really about exploring nature, or is it about me exploring nature?  Which is better for me to write?  I know which is easier to write.  Some of you may or may not know that I'm an aspiring fiction writer on the side of everything else, and that has slipped as I've done more work on the blog.  It's easier for me to write a blog than it is to write fiction, because every detail in a blogpost has already happened.  I just have to write it in a humorous and informative way.

I also wonder whether I should keep the ads I've put out on the blog.  Someday, they might pay for the time I spend running the blog... but I don't get enough pageviews currently to get paid for them. It's an interesting situation, and I'm not sure what to do with it at present.

Speaking of interesting situations, I found this Poison Ivy (Toxicodendron radicans) vine growing on this Honey Locust (Gleditsia triacanthos).  Two of my least favorite plants in Illinois, next to each other.  The day improved steadily from then on.

This American Redstart (Setophaga ruticilla) is a warbler, and I rarely see warblers, much less photograph them.  The bird gets its name from its spring colors, not its fall plumage.  Even then, it's orange and black, not red.  From what I understand, if there's even a hint of red in an animal or plant's appearance, the early settlers and naturalists would call it Red Something or Other.

After this, I decided to take a drive.  First I went up along Irwin Bridge Road, along the Sangamon River, one of the most scenic drives in the county.  It's not a scenic county.  There was a rainstorm the night before, and the area was fairly flooded.  As a result, the Sangamon River was even wider and muddier than usual, although like most Illinois rivers, it is usually big and brown.

I took a picture from the top of the bridge while I was there.  With bluffs on the right side, the Sangamon River can be quite picturesque here, particularly when not flooded.

As I walked back, my old friends the Conservation Police arrived.  Back in February I was suspected of terrorism by this organization, so I was a bit nervous.  They asked me if I was the only person there, and I said yes.  That seemed to satisfy them, and they drove off.  This was definitely better than last time.  I got back in my car and decided to keep driving, as I hadn't found anything.  I drove past the town of Athens, locally pronounced Ae-thins, in the proud Illinois tradition of mispronouncing everything.  Yet, we get offended when people from out of state say Illinois and pronounce the S.  I'm certain Athens, Cairo, Berlin, and many other major cities which have their names bequeathed upon Illinois towns didn't expect to be called AE-thins, Cay-ro/Caro, BUR-lin, etc.

Either way, north of Athens, I scared some Bobwhites into a cornfield.  These were the first Bobwhites I'd seen in about three years, so I stopped to get a picture.  However, they had vanished.  The only birds remaining in the area were a few Horned Larks (Eremophila alpestris), so I photographed them instead.  These birds get their name for small tufts they have on their heads, which this particular bird lacked.

Driving north still further, through the great sea of corn that is Central Illinois, I spotted mountains.  Well, that's actually an exaggeration, as a two-hundred foot hill is hardly an official mountain.  Central Illinois being one of the flattest lands in North America, we take what we get.

Along another dry country road, just south of the "mountains", I spotted a second flock of Bobwhites, and both they and I paused for a brief picture.  I hadn't seen any in three years, and now I see two flocks in one day?  Bobwhites (Colinus virginianus) are declining in Illinois, as they have a hard time finding places to breed.  Technically, they're Illinois' only native quail species.  Millions lived in this state at one time, before European settlement.  But this is the story for dozens of bird species.  Despite being on the decline, Bobwhites are safe in this state, as they're too popular with hunters to be allowed to vanish.  It amazes me how much of the old prairie wildlife has hung on in farmland.

Crossing over Salt Creek, the largest tributary of the Sangamon River, I made my way to the
"mountains." These loess hills are the location of Revis Hill Prairie, central Illinois' largest remnant (existing since before European settlement) prairie and one of my favorite places in the area.

Even the road at the base of Revis Hill Prairie provides excellent views of the surrounding terrain. On top of the main section, the view is even better, but that is a difficult hike.

One of the smaller sections, however, has a partial trail running up one side of it, and I parked at its base.  Here, you can see the mixture of prairie and woodland that dominates the top of these hills.

The age of the prairie makes it an excellent home for several rare insects, some found nowhere else in the state.  Others are a bit more common, but I always find some strange ones, like this Big Sand Tiger Beetle (Cicindela formosa), running across the soil:

I also found what looked like a miniature Velvet Ant, running across the soil.  I suspect it may be some sort of ground-dwelling wasp, hopefully without the stinger that gives the Velvet Ant its other name of Cow-killer.  For perspective, this insect is the size of a small Carpenter Ant. The sand/gravel/loess soil is excellent for burrowing creatures:

Among those burrowing creatures was this Fowler's Toad (Bufo woodhousii fowleri), the rarer of the two toad species in this area.  Fowler's Toads prefer sandy areas in which to live.  This toad is the main food source for one of the rarer snakes in Illinois, the Western Hognose Snake, found only here in Central Illinois.  Hopefully I'll find it here someday.

Birdwatchers, however, should flock to Revis.  The mixture of old forest and old prairie makes for great habitat.  I got my first photograph of a Black-throated Green Warbler (Setophaga virens), and there were dozens more warblers too indistinct for me to identify.

Back on the road, I found something a bit disturbing:

This is a Leopard Frog (Lithobates spp.), dead , and based on the symptoms quite possibly to chytridomycosis, or the amphibian plague.  It's a disease that is currently killing off many tropical amphibians, but as it has been present in Illinois for over 100 years, most native species are less susceptible.  Chytrid, to use the most popular name, is a scary fungal infection that's wiped out over 200 species of amphibians in the last 20 years or so.  However, that's not what's disturbing.  These two Common Skippers (Pyrgus communis) landed on this dead frog, ignoring my camera only inches away, and they appear to be feeding on the corpse.  I don't generally associate butterflies with this vulture-like behavior, although from what I've observed this year, they do seem to congregate on some corpses to obtain nutrients.  Still, it's creepy to me, and so I left.

Just north of the Bradfordton Grain Elevator on Route 97,  I came across thousands of migrating dragonflies, and following them came dozens of Common Nighthawks (Chordeiles minor) and swallows.  I pulled off and photographed the Nighthawks, some of which flew only arm's length from me as they pursued the dragonflies.  It was a wonderful natural spectacle which sadly did not lend itself well to photography.  Like much of what I write about, you had to be there to appreciate it.

Michigan! (w/ Video)

This is a bit more personal than usual.  Also, some of the photography is worse than usual, since I spent most of the time hanging out with friends instead of taking pictures for my blog.

Recently, I took a trip with a few friends up to Rockford, Michigan, where my former Sunday school teacher, Chris Paoni, above, had recently accepted a job as pastor.  (He's very good at it, too.  More on that Sunday in a bit.)  While staying at a local house and visiting, I took a walk in the backyard.

Michigan has a large variety of plants that are not present in Illinois, and the weeds are equally as different.  In this part of Michigan, the soils were acidic and sandy, as opposed to the alkaline clay-loam most prevalent in Central Illinois.  As a result, the weeds were vastly different.  I found this Field Horsetail (Equisetum arvense) growing in a well-trampled area next to a playground.  By contrast, in Illinois I have only ever seen this plant in moderately well-preserved landscapes.

A nearby backyard pond also gave me the chance to find  Northern Green Frogs (Lithobates clamitans melanota), a species common in Illinois.  These are not Bullfrogs, which are far larger, but everyone I know calls them Bullfrogs.

The nearby woods were quite a bit different, with Partridge Berry (Mitchella repens) and Doll's Eyes (Actea pachypoda) growing under  the shade of maples and beeches.

This forest would have been a nature preserve back home, with its complete lack of bush honeysuckle making it even better.  I could stroll through it completely upright, without needing a machete.

Speaking of beeches, I found the parasitic plant Beechdrops (Epifagus virginiana) in seed.  This strange plant, rare in Illinois, has no leaves and sucks nutrients from the roots of Beech trees to survive.  As beeches are infrequent in Central Illinois, this plant is restricted to the forests of the Wabash and the Shawnee National Forest counties.  Most people probably think it's just a few sticks.

Thanks to the cooler weather this far north, some spring-flowering plants were still visible, like the leaves of this Trillium.  The tree behind it I believe is a Beech (Fagus grandifolia).  After I was done hiking, I rejoined my less-than-nature-enthused friends and went on to further adventures. On one of these then visited the city of Rockford itself, easily one of the most attractive small towns I have ever visited. Rockford is a tourist town centered around the Rogue River, which is dammed in the center of town, as you can see below:

Rockford loves its dam, and has made what could be a hideous flood-control structure into a highlight of the town's area.  We had ice cream from one of the many ice-cream sellers and walked along.  One of the restaurants along the riverfront bore this amusing name:

As always, I kept an eye out for wildlife, and walked around with my camera, ready for action.  One man on the dam asked me what I was doing with it, and I told him birdwatching.  This necessitated a bird, and North America's deadliest bird was close at hand:

Why do I call this Mute Swan (Cygnus olor) North America's deadliest bird when it isn't even native?  Two reasons.  First, thanks to prolific breeding, this invasive species is now firmly established in North America.  Secondly, over in Eastern Europe, these birds reportedly killed a toddler too close to their nest.  More recently, in the Chicago area, a Mute Swan knocked a man out of his canoe, which led to the man's death by drowning. The link to that story is here.  Don't get close to this swan.

I then turned my attention to the turtles, which turned out to be Common Map Turtles (Graptemys geographica), a species I don't believe I've seen in the wild before.  It's odd to me to see turtles that aren't Painted Turtles or Red-eared Sliders, although I have seen the Ouachita Map Turtle before.  Chris's son L. and I watched the turtles for quite awhile, and so the turtles watched us too.

The Rogue River was quite lovely, here shown not far behind the dam.  A trail runs alongside it for several miles, and canoeists are extremely common.

Also extremely common was one of my favorite birds, the Cedar Waxwing (Bombycilla cedrorum).  These berry-loving birds are uncommon in Central Illinois, but further north they seem prevalent.

One decided to pose for me in the setting sun, in one of my favorite pictures I've taken this year.

It wouldn't be a trip without a mystery plant, and this one was it.  At first, I thought it was Poison Ivy, but it has five leaves, not three.  This is in fact the sapling of the Boxelder Tree (Acer negundo).

Downtown Rockford has an antique train parked near one of the canoe rental places.  It's a bit odd, but it adds to the charm of the city.  We rented canoes at this place, and set out on an adventure. Foolishly, I took my camera and wallet along.  Don't do that.

We disembarked on the Rogue River near this meadow.  Virgin's Bower (Clematis virginiana) blooms in the foreground, the first time I have ever seen this plant in the wild..

In the boulder-strewn river, we found crayfish, trout, and even a few leeches, as both I and the man below can attest.  I detest leeches, and therefore removed it without even a photo.

This is Big Hoss (M. pemberton), King of the Gators.  In a bit of goofyness, some of our group called every animal they saw a "gator".  We saw plenty, too, quite even possibly a bobcat.

I sat in a canoe between Chris Paoni and a man known as Tackett, neither of whom were experienced at steering a canoe.  As a result, we ended up in several snags.  Tackett got a trifle annoyed when I called out every snag, but we hit most of them.

A greater danger to my camera was the occasional splashing wars we ended up participating in.

Here, Big Hoss lies in wait to ambush and splash for two more of our party.

Despite the occasional rowdiness, we enjoyed the tranquil, clear river and cool, fast-flowing water.

I enjoyed it so much that I fell in it, twice, although with enough grace to keep my camera above water.  Tackett and Chris were less enthused, considering I'd tipped the canoe twice with them in it.

Here's my canoeing view of the world, from behind Tackett's shoulder.  In a fit of silliness, we got in front and decided to ambush the rest of our party from the shore and scare them.  After sinking into the two-foot deep mud, Tackett lost his shoe, which he only found again because of the bright green soles.  After this, I tipped the canoe (although I hold Chris 41% responsible), and Tackett got back in, only for us to tip the canoe yet again.   After this, I baled out the canoe with an old Doritos bag.

Still seeking to ambush our fellows, we paddled back to the front and stopped on firmer ground.  While there, I found this colorful Damselfly, likely some sort of Jewelwing.

While also there, I discovered Cardinal Flower (Lobelia cardinalis),  Sensitive Fern (Onoclea sensibilis) and Stinging Nettles (unpictured, and boy, did they hurt.)  Tackett did manage to almost get a reaction out of Big Tex ( D. Moorman), but overall the ambush attempt was a failure.

Back on the river, the water grew somewhat deeper as we neared the dam.

Everyone except me was quite tired, and I was quite wet.  Thankfully, my camera case had kept my camera from getting wet.  After all, having just replaced it, I would hate to break the camera again.

We beached our canoe and kayaks  just in front of the dam, where a plethora of bird life had congregated.  Several Canada Geese (Branta canadensis), two feuding Ring-billed Gulls  (Larus delawarensis), and a Great Egret (Ardea alba) as a white blur in the back can all be seen above.

Easily the rarest bird was this juvenile Hooded Merganser (Lophodytes cucullatus), a small diving duck I haven't seen in several months.

Along the banks of the Rogue River grew the Water Forget-me-Not (Myosotis palustris), in great quantities, such that I will not likely forget it.  This was the last flower I saw that day.  After that, I went to the excellent resteraunt Vitale's.  The pizza and cinnamon breadsticks are easily the best I have ever had.  We enjoyed these at four in the afternoon, having kayaked through lunch.  Overall, Rockford, Michigan is easily one of the finest towns I have ever visited, and I'm glad I was with the friends that I was. This, of course, is thinking after the fact. At the time I was wet, cold, and tired.  Still, it was a great day.  I have a video, below, of our group kayaking.

The Fifth Orchid of the trip was a new bird species for me.  On the very last day of the trip, before we left for home, this hawk landed on the Wood Duck box over the pond.

After considerable review, I deduced this was a juvenile Red-Shouldered Hawk (Buteo lineatus), a small hawk much rarer in Illinois than it is in Michigan.  You can see the shoulder below:

A last note:  Driving back was nuts.  From the Kalamazoo River in Michigan all the way to Joliet, Illinois, the traffic was so heavy that it turned an ordinarily 5.5 hour drive into an 8.5 hour nightmare.  One brave Tackett drove the whole thing for us, and he deserves the heartiest congratulations.

Overall, I haven't even covered half of what went on, but as we all know, what happens at "FUGE Gone Wild" stays at "FUGE Gone Wild", except for the bits I've made available above.  Sometime next year, I hope to visit Chris again, albeit with more time and no wallet in my pocket on the canoe.