We took a couple jaunts this weekend, taking advantage of the early Spring migration to meet some new friends. We got one new lifer: the Common Loon! Four of ’em.
Four Common Loons and three Red-Breasted Mergansers, Saganashkee Slough, Illinois, 27 March 2026Four Common Loons and three Red-Breasted Mergansers, Saganashkee Slough, Illinois, 27 March 2026Five Red-Breasted Mergansers swim on Saganashkee Slough, Illinois, 27 March 2026
Little Red School House Nature Center
An American Tree Sparrow on a branch, Little Red Schoolhouse Nature Center, Illinois, 27 March 2026A juvenile Bald Eagle flies overhead, Little Red Schoolhouse Nature Center, Illinois, 27 March 2026A Double-Crested Cormorant flies overhead, Little Red Schoolhouse Nature Center, Illinois, 27 March 2026An Eastern Phoebe perches on a small branch, Little Red Schoolhouse Nature Center, Illinois, 27 March 2026A Great Blue Heron flies by, Little Red Schoolhouse Nature Center, Illinois, 27 March 2026Five Buffleheads swim on a lake, Little Red Schoolhouse Nature Center, Illinois, 27 March 2026Two Common Mergansers, 27 March 2026A Lesser Scaup and two other water fowl swim on a lake, Little Red Schoolhouse Nature Center, Illinois, 27 March 2026Two Wood Ducks swim on a lake, Little Red Schoolhouse Nature Center, Illinois, 27 March 2026A Red-Headed Woodpecker perched on a deciduous tree, Little Red Schoolhouse Nature Center, Illinois, 27 March 2026Fourteen Sandhill Cranes soar overhead, Little Red Schoolhouse Nature Center, Illinois, 27 March 2026A Song Sparrow glares at the camera from within dried grasses, Little Red Schoolhouse Nature Center, Illinois, 27 March 2026A Yellow-Rumped Warbler perches on a small branch, Little Red Schoolhouse Nature Center, Illinois, 27 March 2026A Yellow-Rumped Warbler perches on a small branch, Little Red Schoolhouse Nature Center, Illinois, 27 March 2026A Yellow-Rumped Warbler flies away, Little Red Schoolhouse Nature Center, Illinois, 27 March 2026Yellow-Rumped Warbler, 27 March 2026
Dean Nature Sanctuary felt a bit desolate — they’d done a controlled burn and a lot of the grasses were denuded. The Robins and the Red-winged Blackbirds were out in force. No new lifers, but an enjoyable time nonetheless.
Two Brown-headed Cowbirds chat in a tree; Dean Nature Sanctuary; 13 April 2025Canada Geese enjoy the lake; Dean Nature Sanctuary; 13 April 2025A Great Blue Heron cruises on by; Dean Nature Sanctuary; 13 April 2025A House Sparrow surveys things from atop its box; Dean Nature Sanctuary; 13 April 2025Mourning Dove enjoys the sun; Dean Nature Sanctuary; 13 April 2025A Northern Flicker waits in a tree; Dean Nature Sanctuary; 13 April 2025A Song Sparrow sings from a tree; Dean Nature Sanctuary; 13 April 2025A Tree Sparrow waits in a tree; Dean Nature Sanctuary; 13 April 2025
