Emiquon on a Cloudy Day

GreatEgretEmiquon04182009JGWardIMG_9704
Originally uploaded by jward199

Hundreds of thousands of Coots, with a few Northern Shovelers and Blue-winged Teal mixed in, are spread across the huge expanse of water that makes up Lake Thompson. A couple of dozen Great Egrets and a few Great Blue Herons were foraging at the waters edge.

I don't see many mammals at Emiquon. Deer are the most common. I've also seen beaver, a muskrat, rabbits, a young raccoon, and a few coyotes.

Hundreds of muskrat dens are scattered around the edge of Lake Thompson.


This coyote was hunting up on the ridge as we drove towards the gate on our way out.

Emiquon in April

As an Emiquon Corps of Discovery member, I can drive the dike at The Nature Conservancy's Emiquon Preserve. As a member of the Corps, I record observations so we can look back later and see how it has been transformed from farm land to wetland. This approximately 8.5 mile levee surrounds what was formerly Lakes Thompson and Flag, a lush wetland and back water lake off the Illinois River near Havana. Last Saturday my friend and I drove the levee to see what is happening in April on the Emiquon Preserve.


A hawk was off in the distance. After cropping and enlarging, I think it is a juvenile light morph Rough-legged Hawk.


American Coots were every where we looked on Lake Thompson. Where ever we drove (8.5 miles approximately around the dike) we found hundreds and thousands of Coots.




A female Northern Harrier was cruising the wet prairie between Flag Lake and the levee.



The channel heading towards the Spoon River (now the south end of Thompson Levee) is back. American Coots are taking advantage of the expansive waters of Lake Thompson.


Close to a hundred thousand American Coots were dispersed across Lake Thompson. The bluffs of Sister Creeks are in the far background.


A pair of Bald Eagles landed in the trees between Thompson Levee and the Illinois River just as we rounded the first turn.


A pair of Field Sparrows flew in front of us as we walked down Pumphouse Road from the levee.


This Coot landed in the brush, grasping a branch. I have never seen a coot in a tree or bush before!


As we drove around the turn of the levee towards the Sister Creeks entrance into the Illinois River, we saw an immature Bald Eagle on a snag over the river. He stayed in place as we drove by, and I was able to get a nice close shot (with challenging light!).


This is the eagle nest at Emiquon, near Mud Road. It doesn't seem to be occupied this year.


In the field by Clark Road, a couple of Turkey Vultures were eating something, possibly an opossum or raccoon.



On the way home we stopped by Lake Chautauqua on the east side of the river. A pair of Hooded Mergansers were swimming in the water next to the road leading to the dike separating the two pools of water.



A Tufted Titmouse was flitting around in the trees by the lookout over the lake. The lake is deep. No waterfowl could be seen.

Snow Geese at Emiquon!

Scott and I did our hawk run on Tuesday and then explored Emiquon for a while. It was marvelous, as always. There is something about the winter browns and golds of the wet prairie surrounding Lake Thompson that pleases my eye. I parked at one of the pull-offs and walked down to the lake to get a better look at the waterfowl congregating in an open pool. A small bird flew into tree in front of me. It was a Meadowlark! A sure sign of spring!


I attempted to get closer to the Meadowlark when an eagle flew over with a headless Coot in its talons. It dropped the Coot while I was photographing the scene.



Another eagle circled over the large flock of Greater White-fronted Geese before landing on the ice behind the flock.




Canvasback Ducks flew over and joined a mixed group of ducks in an open pool.


Another eagle flew over, and then another. As I looked around I realized there were about 7 eagles far out on the ice. Altogether there were 20 eagles flying over and around Lake Thompson.




Just as I was about to head back to the car I noticed a flock of white and black birds flying in a huge whirlwind of birds. This was the largest flock of Snow Geese I have ever seen. It looked like a million birds flying in and circling from one side of Thompson Lake to the other. They covered the horizon at one time, then they tightened their circle and dropped down from the sky.






Meanwhile, some American Coots came walking over the ice to the open pool near by.

January Raptor Survey: Eagle Migration Day

We did the Raptor Survey on the last day of January. Scott and I had done a survey earlier in the month, but my notebook with the data disappeared. We took the opportunity of beautiful sunny day on the last day of the month to repeat the survey. We must have hit the road on Eagle Migration Day, because we spotted 24 Bald Eagles, some juveniles, some adults, flying along the bluffs of the river just north of Banner Marsh. They were in groups of 3, 4, 4, and 8. All were too far for decent photographs, but we enjoyed watching them soar over the bluffs, some interacting with each other in the air before flying on their way.






Between Bartonville and where IL 78 splits from IL 24 and turns south towards Emiquon we only spotted 4 Red-tailed hawks. They apparently were all hiding down at Emiquon, where we found 10 Red-tailed hawks along with a couple of Northern Harriers, and three Rough-legged Hawks. Six of the Red-tailed and the three Rough-legged hawks were all along Clark road. Some were hunting out in the fields, some cruising along the bluff that runs along the west side of Clark Road. Two of the Rough-legged hawks were hovering in the strong breeze out over the prairie.