The Eagles are Coming! (Pike County Eagle-watching) Vertebrate Zoology Journal #Bonus#

On Saturday, December 3, I ventured into Pike County, Illinois as part of the final field trip for Vertebrate Zoology, looking for Bald Eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus).  Of course, that began with me running late out of my house to meet up with my classmates.  On my way to meet them, I spotted a Great Horned Owl, which turned out to be one of the best birds of the day. thought sadly not in a photographable location.

We  met up with a couple of other people and ventured on to Pike County (above).  Pike County is one of Illinois' oldest counties, famous for its deer hunting (supposedly, but more on that later).  In 1821, Pike County covered all of the counties north and west of the Illinois and Kankakee Rivers, including the Chicago area and what is now Calhoun County.  Bits of land were whittled away until only modern-day Pike County was left.

 This is easily one of the most attractive counties I've ever visited in Illinois, with a diverse mix of  rolling hills, rocky streams and robust woodlands.  Our first stop  in Pike County itself was the quarry/floodplain near the bridge at Florence. (We had seen some eagles and hawks just across the river in Scott County, in the floodplains west of Winchester.)

Here, a small, muddy lake and some brush around the edge provided us with a few birds, including these Song Sparrows (Melospiza melodia):

We also found several hundred circular rosettes of this plant growing in the mud.  Any ideas?

From there, we drove along the river.  This section of Illinois was badly affected by the flood of '93, and every house along the river built since that time is up on stilts.  I didn't get photos of that, since we had a lot of ground to cover.  The scenery was picturesque, too, at least for Illinois. I'd imagine even better earlier in the fall, when the leaves are still mostly on the trees.

Yes, we do brake for woodpeckers.  This Red-bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus) is eating small pieces of gravel, which end up in its gizzard and help with digestion.  All birds, to my knowledge, do this, although it's uncommon to see them do it.

We saw several Belted Kingfishers (Megaceryle alcyon) on our journey, and I believe all were males:

Eventually, we pulled off to look at a Bald Eagle nest, which I realized was occupied after looking at my photos.  There are two on the nest in the photo below, which is heavily cropped:

While stopped, I took a brief hike up to look at the bluff behind us:

While doing so, I found some Cedar Waxwings (Bombycilla cedrorum), and their associated berries:

We then drove on further down the river, encountering several mores species along the creeks, including American Tree Sparrows (Spizelloides arborea):

One of the local creeks was being used as a birdbath by all kinds of sparrows, as well as jays and cardinals.  We lingered for a bit here, before moving on.

Several miles down the road, we came to a spring.  I've never drank water straight out of the ground before, but it was quite fine water, for as much as a "city boy" like myself would know about it.

While there, I was sitting in the car eating chips, when deep in the woods across the road, I spotted a Pileated Woodpecker.  As my mouth was full of chips, I could only mumble incoherantly.  "El Presidente", who was sitting next to me, told me that he couldn't understand me.  With my non-greasy hand, I flipped through my field guide, which is quite difficult to do with one hand, looking for the woodpecker section.  In the meantime, the bird flew away.  I eventually showed everyone the guide's picture of the Pileated,  and explained. too late for them to see it.  The moral of the story is don't eat too many chips at once!  Just after this, we also found a turkey pelvis, and that was all. I have no idea how it ended up there, as intact and clean as it was.  Here, the man who found it has it in hand:

We then went along and stopped at another spring, this one a bit further back in the woods:

Here, we found some amphipods.   The amphipods (and an isopod) are hidden on this leaf, towards the back.  We were dared to eat them, as a sort of challenge.  Since they lived in a spring that people regularly drink from, we did.  They have no flavor and very little texture whatsoever.

Having massacred the amphipods, we then posed for a photo above the spring:

After this, we went back on the road, going inland at Bee Creek and upland into the farmfields.

One of the fifty-odd Red-tailed Hawks (Buteo jamaicensis) we saw:

While driving around, we saw one Ring-necked Pheasant (Phasianus colchicus), but it got away before I could take a picture, to my chagrin.  Imagine my surprise when a second pheasant appeared, in better view!  This is the best photo I've ever taken of a Pheasant:

Further on yet, we spotted two American Crows (Corvus brachyrhynchos) and a Red-tailed Hawk in a showdown.  The hawk eventually left, leaving the crows behind as victors.

We saw more eagles, including three in one small creek valley.  The majority of our wildlife seen was not photographed, and is thus listed in the Ebird checklists attached at bottom.  I had a Woodpecker Suite (all seven typical woodpecker species in Illinois), and we saw far more eagles than photographed.  Most of the day's photographs, due to the lighting, are actively terrible:

Some of our group (possibly including myself) were dying to get out and stretch our legs.  So we did. likely on someone's private property.  Still, they forgot to post No Trespassing signs, unlike everyone else. Pike County is (supposedly) big deer country, and thus No Trespassing signs are everywhere. We spotted what appeared to be a bomb shelter, which turned out to be an old root cellar instead, and investigated an old barn in the distance, in the most badly timed photo I've done all year:

One of our party found a dead raccoon skeleton in the barn.  Several others climbed up into the barn's upper layer.  I would like to say that I did not do so for moral reasons, but I did not do so because I did not trust the flooring of the barn not to give way, and by the time I did, it was time to leave:

Several exciting, and mostly unphotographed miles later, we ended up in Pittsfield, where we had an excellent lunch at McDonalds.  I would like to go out of my way to praise the Pittsfield McDonalds.  It is rare that I get my order correct at any McDonalds, especially if I order a hamburger (notably, not a cheeseburger.)  The Pittsfield McDonalds correctly made my order of hamburgers and fries, and thus sets an example for all the ones in Sangamon County that never have.  I understand if some of my readers don't care for McDonalds, but in many small towns it's the only option.  (In Pittsfield, this is not the case, but it was one of the few options, and we all didn't mind it, so we went there.)

Anyway, this is not a restaurant review service, but a nature blog, and that means back to Bald Eagles.  After lunch (at around 2:30 PM) we went to Lake Pittsfield.  Here, we saw five Bald Eagles:

All but one were immatures, patterned in shades of brown, black, and white, instead of the familiar white head and tail on black body.  The size, shape, and bill of these birds is unmistakable, however:

They sat out on an old oak tree at the edge of a cliff above the lake:

Fifth Orchid of the day was, if anything, a Meadowlark in  an airport field.  All in all, we saw around 30 Bald Eagles in one day.  We also saw 467 cows, give or take a cow, a new personal record.  Pike County, however, is known for deer and deer hunting.  I saw three wild deer and three dead, skinned ones in someone's front yard.  I believe the authorities have confused cows for deer, or perhaps the hunters have killed most of the deer. Either way, Pike County 's deer population seems a bit overrated.  I shall have to come back and see Pike County again, to decide this.

Ebird Checklists:

Area before lunch:

http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S32845943

Lake Pittsfield:

http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S32845741

Year List #2 (AKA Discontented List)- 17 Goals for 2017!

My goats for this upcoming year (January 1, 2017- January 1, 2018)

This is basically a Scrabble hunt for what I want to see.  I want to complete at least nine of these, as a sort of challenge to myself.  I don't know that all of these are complete-able, but I think they are.

Crossed-out means that they were seen before January 1.  Bold means they were seen after January 1.

1. Find Yellow Lady's Slipper Orchids!  Bloom would be nice, but isn't necessary.

2.  See five of the following birds: Rough-legged Hawk,  Long-tailed Duck, Golden Eagle, Mississippi Kite, (either) Bittern,  American Wigeon, Trumpeter Swan (in IL), Tundra Swan, Red-throated Loon. Western Grebe, Black Scoter, Yellow-crowned Night Heron, Greater Prairie-chicken,  Dunlin, Whimbrel, Willet, Wilson's Snipe, Piping Plover, Snowy Plover, Upland Sandpiper, Buff-breasted Sandpiper, Western Sandpiper, Barn Owl,  Long-eared Owl, Northern Saw-whet Owl, Snowy Owl, Eastern Screech Owl, Nelson's Sparrow, Snow Bunting, Lapland Longspur, (either) Cuckoo, (any) Rail,  Northern or Loggerhead Shrike, Marsh Wren, Orchard Oriole, Chestnut-sided Warbler, Cerulean Warbler, Kentucky Warbler, Canada Warbler, Yellow-throated Warbler, Bell's Vireo, Pine Siskin, (any) Crossbill,  Purple Finch, and/or Evening Grosbeak.

How I'm going to do this:  Hope and pray for good birds at Montrose.  Just keep my eyes open everywhere else.  Some of these could be at Sand Ridge State Forest during the winter.

3.  Find two of the following reptiles: Ornate Box Turtle, Blanding's Turtle, Spotted Turtle, Slender Glass Lizard, Bullsnake, Rough Green Snake, Smooth Green Snake, Western and/or Eastern Hognose Snake, Milksnake, Fox Snake, Lined Snake, Smooth Earth Snake, Coachwhip, and/or Plains Garter Snake.

How I'm going to do this:  Most of the turtles are northern, so check wetlands in Chicago area (revisit Volo if possible).  Most of the snakes are more or less within two hour's drive of here, and many can be found in Mason County if I look hard enough.  Lined Snakes are theoretically in Sangamon County, so finding where they are will involve lots of research.

4.  Find three of the following amphibians:  Tiger Salamander, Marbled Salamander, Slimy Salamander, Silvery Salamander, Cave Salamander, Longtail Salamander, Two-lined Salamander, Spadefoot Toad, Eastern Red-backed Salamander,  Narrowmouth Toad, Green Treefrog, Bird-voiced Tree Frog, Wood Frog, and/or Illinois Chorus Frog.

How I'm going to do this:  Visiting Southern Illinois will make things easier.  I plan to hunt in March/April up in Mason County for the Illinois Chorus Frog, when they're breeding in the sand ponds of the Illinois River Valley

5.  Find a venomous snake in Illinois, of any kind (albeit from a safe distance).  The best would be Massasauga, but that's highly unlikely.  Most likely, this will be either a Cottonmouth or a Copperhead along Snake Road, maybe even a Timber Rattlesnake (again, from a safe distance of several yards, and hopefully downhill of me, as it's harder for a venomous snake to strike uphill)

6.  Find a Kirtland's Snake

How I'm going to do this:  Possible nocturnal hunts, and visits early in the morning after rain.  This is a very rare snake, and while they are supposed to live around here, I have no idea where to find them.

7.  Visit four new (to me) state parks and/or nature preserves (Meredosia NWR, Middle Fork Nature Preserve, Kickapoo State Park, Doris Westfall Nature Preserve, Howard's Hill Seep Natural Area, Spring Lake, )

8. Revisit Fults Hill Prairie and find a Scorpion, Narrowmouth Toad, Great Plains Rat Snake, Flat-headed Snake, Coachwhip, Splendid Tiger Beetle or just something that's rare that lives there.  (We're going to count seeing my parents there as something rare.)

9. Visit Montrose Point, the birding capital of Illinois.

10.  Visit the Ozarks at least once, especially Johnson's Shut Ins and some of the larger glades where I see videos of snakes being found under most flipped rocks!

11. Visit Snake Road (should help with a lot of these)

12.  See a live, wild skunk, bear, or badger  (from a good distance away)

13.  Find a Snowy Egret in IL.

14.  Find at least three of the following plants:  Bird's Eye Primrose, Poke Milkweed, Wild Agave, Bunchflower, (either) Turtlehead,  Kalm's Lobelia, Obe-Wan Conobea, Lance-leaved Violet, Powdery Thalia, (either) Boltonia, Cancer Root, (any) Orobanche, Prairie Trout-Lily, (either) Ginseng, French's Shooting Star, Showy Orchis,  Indian Pink, Snow Trillium, Bird's Foot Violet, Turk's Cap Lily, (any) Twayblade, Pitcher's Leather Flower, (either) Camassia,  French Grass, Violet Wood Sorrel, Missouri Coneflower, Royal Catchfly, (any) Spiranthes, (any native in Illinois) Rhododendron, Filmy Fern, Matalea, Heart-leaved Plaintain, Pink Corydalis, (any) Sabatia, Ozark Milkvetch, Blue Hearts, Lobed Spleenwort, Walking Fern, Fameflower, (any in Illinois) clubmosses, Green Trillium, American Chestnut, Water Tupelo.

How I'm going to do this:  This list is weighted towards Southern Illinois and Mason County for a reason.  Mostly, I just have to keep my eyes open.

15.  Find at least one of any Platanthera orchid species (Fringed Orchids), preferably in flower.

16.  Find at least one Coralroot Orchid  (Spring Coral-root Orchid)

17. Have fun!

Top Sixteen Adventures of 2016

(Next year's list is "Top Seventeen Adventures of 2017", obviously.  2038 will get rather tiresome, I suspect, provided I'm still writing this blog by then!)

God has blessed me so much this year, and I've been able to participate in and see so many amazing sights and wonders.  If you're new to this blog and want to catch up on the most relevant parts of this blog, read on.  If you are an old reader of this blog, read on to see what I've ranked as what.  If you went on one of these trips with me, thanks for putting up with all my nonsense and for going along with me, because that really made my days.  If you've never been on a trip with me, sign ups are in the comments section below:)

By the way, I do know that we have a month to go, but I doubt I'll see anything in December that will be put on this list. December is such a busy month that I'm not likely to be able to do anything during it.  If I do have a surprisingly amazing adventure, it will be on next year's list.

16.  Electroshocking- Honestly, getting to go out and do this was great.  I caught more fish in this one outing than I ever have in my entire life, and I got to do it as part of a wonderful class.

15.  Being detained as a terrorist -This is one of my favorite stories to tell people, as an introduction to my life.  It probably shouldn't be, but it was quite exciting, even if that title is basically the punchline of the story.  Additionally, I got to hang out with my brother, something which I'm growing to appreciate a little bit more each year.  He actually took the photo above.



14.  Exploring Carpenter Park with Dan and Jesse-  There were so many toads, a few lifer plants, and just great times with great friends.

13.  Twenty-Three Smallmouth Salamanders in Lick Creek Wildlife Area - What's better than a Smallmouth Salamander?  How about finding twenty-three of them in about an hour of searching?

12. The Great Northern Expedition- If you can't tell, I have some of my best trips with my dad.  He put up with a lot on this day, and we had a great time, especially late in the day at Nachusa.




11.  Exploring Lick Creek Wildlife Area with Dan and Jesse-  This was the first trip we did as a group, and the three hikes I went on with those two are among the best  I've been on.  All trips are better when taken with friends, especially friends who appreciate nature, but who can also drag you out of it for a random conversation about philosophical topics and general nonsense.  This is especially good when you're exploring someplace you've never been before.



10.  The Ides of March - First Common Loon and Western Chorus Frogs, two of the best new birds and frogs I've seen this year.  Overall, it was a wonderful day, and I enjoyed it quite a bit, so much so that I split it into two blogposts. Links are here and here.

9.  Michigan Canoe trip-  My shoes may never smell the same way ever again, I may have fallen out of the canoe twice, and my sunglasses have never reappeared since, but this was awesome.  Next time, though, I'm going to get a little more prepared!

8. Seeing 14-plus duck species in Center Park-  If Northern Harriers drew me into birding, this expedition capped it off!  I got to see just about half of all Illinois duck species at once!  Links for both sections are here and here.

7.   Going to Revis Hill Prairie and Scrub Oak- Sand Prairie with Dan-
It was a difficult hike, but a great trip to two of the wildest spots in Central Illinois, and even better because I brought a friend along for the struggle. Several new plants and many strange insects awaited us in these, the absolute wildest of Central Illinois natural areas.

6. Going to Southern Illinois with the Environmental Club-  This trip had orchids, salamanders, friends, and grand adventures.  Plus, I got to see a Logperch! (It's a fish). Unfortunately, we didn't find any of the scorpions, copperheads, or anything else scary or dangerous (other than the heights at Fults Hill Prairie).  Still, there's always next time!  Links for both sections are here and here.

5.  First winter trip to Nipper-  This single trip got me into birding big-time (to the point where I say birding instead of birdwatching).  A single Northern Harrier along the road ended up becoming a hobby which I have spent countless hours doing this year. I also met people I didn't know who read my blog, and that was back in January!  Honestly, sometimes I forget how many people read this blog, and who all that might be.  And, I got to do this all with my dad!

4.  Going up to Mason County for the first time-  That was a long, lonely trip, but there were so many new  birds and experiences I had that I will never forget.  I saw the rarest lifeform of the year there, the Tennessee Milkvetch, and I found a large number of nature preserves only an hour or so from my house, with tons of exciting plants and animals.  The wild sandlands of Illinois are the best.  Links for the three sections are here, there, and ere.

3.  Going up to Chautauqua and Emiquon with Jesse and Dan-  Trips are always best with friends, especially when we debate philosophical concepts while watching sandpipers on a levee in the middle of a mild thunderstorm.  Trust me, it's an invigorating experience, and one which brought me plenty of lifer shorebirds and great memories with friends, as well as an interesting experience in accidental trespassing which I hope no future employer sees as a reason to not hire me...
Links for both sections are here and there.

2.   Going to Indiana Dunes- Five Orchids in one day! I've seen seven this year, and as it's November I am unlikely to see any more.  Roughly a quarter to a third of the lifer plants this year were seen on this trip, including a plurality of the best ones.  And, as with several of my favorite trips, I got to go on this with Dad.  Links for all four sections are here, there, and also here, and everywhere.

1.  Surviving this year-  Thanks to God for my survival this year.  Considering this is a website open to the internet and the general public, I don't plan on sharing all that's happened to me over the course of this year.  I will say that a close family member suffered from a serious disease.  They are completely fine now, (again-  Thank you, God!)  but between that and the usual hassles that come with being a full-time student, it's been a rather... interesting... year.  At the same time, I've gained so many good friends... too many to list! (And besides that, half of them are all named Josh, Jesse, Dan, Logan, or Jake- It would get confusing:)  I've been so many wonderful places and seen so many wondrous creatures.  I really look forwards to next year!

P.S.  Some of the older posts have egregious errors.  Rather than redacting them, I've decided to leave them in, mostly because I'm lazy, but also because I think it's fascinating to see how much the tone has changed from month to month and year to year on this blog.  My apologies for any incorrect information.  Also, there may be photos taken by other people.  Other than ones taken from state websites, I will be removing those for copyright reasons, albeit slowly over the next month.