Pictures of the Day: 9 Nov 2019

I went birding at the Spring Bluff Forest Preserve and the North Unit of Illinois Beach State Park today. I didn't see much out of the ordinary - mainly gulls and geese - but also two cranes, two house finches, a group of red-winged blackbirds, a few dark-eyed juncos, and a red-tailed hawk. The finches and geese were the highlight of my observation.

The finches were perched on top of an evergreen tree that I've only seen dark-eyed juncos using up to this point. The male was fluffing its feathers and the female seemed to be resting. I watched them for at least ten minutes before they flew into the brush along the wetland. Not only were the not concerned by how close I was, they seemed curious and kept turning their heads to look down at me. It was a fun observation indeed.

The geese were foraging in a lawn on the other side of the road the runs along the wetland. Seven of them broke away from the group and flew right over my head to enter the preserve. Watching their attempt to land on frozen water was quite amusing (and far from graceful). What was most interesting was their attempt to use their bills to break through the ice. Only a couple of them were able to do this successfully and they seemed content with a hole barely big enough to fit their bodies into.

All in all, a good day. Here are some of my favorite shots: