The White Red-tail Hawk

I am always in awe when I drive to a certain park and along the way, I look for this hawk perched in a tree in the distance. I can find him most of the time, given his stark white coloring, sticking out like a sore thumb. On this day, he was pretty close to the road, so I got lucky!




He is not albino in the truest sense because of his patch of coloring on the crown of his head. He also has a just few tail feathers (not visible at this angle) that are the typical rust coloring of a red-tail hawk.



Leucism (or Leukism)
Leucism is a very unusual condition whereby the pigmentation cells in an animal or bird fail to develop properly. This can result in unusual white patches appearing on the animal, or, more rarely, completely white creatures.

Albinism is a different condition. The easiest way to tell the difference between the two is that in albinism the eyes are usually pink or red, and albinism affects the entire animal, not just patches.

To see details, click on picture to enlarge.

Great Egrets

This place is one of those areas where you get to drive by, pull over, and shoot from your car. It is a backwater lake that hosts plenty of egrets, herons, geese and sometimes ducks.




On a good day, there will be no fishermen who scare them off by fishing from the shore.




This is my first hoodie of the fall migration! I can't get enough of them, and can never seem to catch them by the shore for a close up. These two were in among the dead lily pads that invade the river's shallows every year.

Studmuffin!

Making my rounds thru my favorite buck stop, and then on to the pileated site, I found this buck. He was in between me and the sun. The shots were not worth much, so I left regretfully.



After an hour or so, I decided to give the pileated spot one more drive thru and spotted the same buck again in the same area. I pulled into the opposite drive and took some shots.




There was also a doe bedded down which was his reason for staying here in the open.





There was a row of corn hiding him from the traffic just a few hundred feet away.




His whole "basket" was a work of art.



What a majestic creature!

Nice Racks!

Here are a few more bucks found in my favorite buck territory.



I got him last night. He was in good light, found at about 1 in the afternoon, wandering around looking for a date.








8 points and a low rise to the rack. I think it means he's "gangsta".




Another 8 pointer. He's got a lot of height which makes him king in his territory.





Another 8 pointer. He's got a nice and square shape to his crown.






Now for an observation. I barely spotted a buck in this tree line. He is waaay...out there but I did take a few reference shots.



Can you see him?





How about now? Do you see what I see?





Are you kidding me? Holy hatrack Batman...that rack is HUGE!




Here's another angle...




another angle...




and another angle...


I have been cruizing this particular area for years and years, and I can tell you that I have seen many a buck in my experience. I have also seen the same bucks year after year after year. I have never seen this one, or have ever seen one with a rack this size anywhere, and we grow them pretty big here in Illinois. There is a reason he is as big as he is, and thats because he is smarter than your average deer, and keeps away from the roads and humans. He stays out of sight! If the hunters know about this bad boy, his days would be numbered if they had anything to do with it. I'm glad I saw him, and of course I want to see him close up, but I won't hold my breathe because he isn't your average deer. Good luck buddy!

Ha-Ha-Haha-Ha.....Ha-a-a-a-a-a!

Guess what? Something extremely exciting happened to me yesterday! I was minding my own business, driving along a country road looking for bucks in a particular old growth forest I don't routinely drive down, when all of a sudden, I heard some loud woodpecker drilling. My first thought was Pileated...Who doesn't automatically wish for a Pileated Woodpecker when you hear drilling? Wouldn't it be cool if I finally found my nemesis bird? ( I have yet to see one, let alone photograph one. These woodpeckers are not common in Illinois, and even more scarce in the northern parts.) Anyhoo...I listened for awhile, and heard a call...then a drill...then a call again. It wasn't exactly like a flicker, but similar. It was deeper, and slower, and just...well...different. I had an eerie feeling... Then..all of a sudden I saw some movement in a distant tree. I looked thru my lens and saw THE red crest. Oh. My. God! The rush of endorphins raced thru me...I had to get a shot! I focused in...waited for the head to appear...[click]...waited for the body to move out of cover...[click]...He flew off...He flew closer! [click][click] He flew off and out of view with a call...to his...(wait for it)... mate! ...She calls back!...They both call to eachother and land on nearby trees! Where are they? Oooh... I see one [click]. It flies to a tree behind me. I twist and contort to shoot out the back side window, but he hides on the other side of the tree. I wait with my strain, but its absolutely worth it... I wait some more...He pops to the front of the tree [click]. I shoot some more, hear a call, then in a flash he is gone. The forest goes quiet except for the lil woodpeckers which seem to be everywhere. I spend my next hour or so shooting every kind of woody I can think of. Mr & Mrs. Woody Woodpecker never did come back, but you can bet that I will spend lots of quality time in this Woodpecker Wonderland!



(I found out later upon further inspection that this guy I keep referring to is a gal. Sorry Mrs. W.)

Interesting Facts: Nearly as large as a crow, the Pileated Woodpecker is the largest woodpecker in most of North America. Its loud ringing calls and huge, rectangular excavations in dead trees announce its presence in forests across the continent.










The Pileated Woodpecker digs characteristically rectangular holes in trees to find ants. These excavations can be so broad and deep that they can cause small trees to break in half.










A Pileated Woodpecker pair stays together on its territory all year round. It will defend the territory in all seasons, but will tolerate floaters during the winter.










Sexes similar, male has red crown and forehead and red in black mustache stripe. Female has gray to yellow-brown forehead and no red in mustache stripe.










Pileated Woodpecker populations declined greatly with the clearing of the eastern forests. The species rebounded in the middle 20th century, and has been increasing slowly but steadily in most of its range. Only in Arkansas do numbers seem to be going down.

Source: All About Birds

The Flying Flicker Circus

While out and about looking for fall colors in McKinley Woods, I heard the distinctive call of the Flicker and spotted him as he chose a new tree to land in. I focused in on him and took a shot.



It was kinda distant, so I knew it was a throwaway shot...










...but as I was processing this thought, he hopped down to a twig and began his acrobatic display.








He found a berry to eat, so his selection of trees was obvious...








He reached down to get another berry when all control was lost!









He swung back and forth and just couldn't regain his balance...











Seeing the bright yellow underparts were a highlight of this chaos...










His wings and tail feathers displayed the gorgeous yellow we almost never see.











He never gave up trying to balance himself on the scrawny lil twig!











I had no idea of what settings I was using, but prayed for the best...










...and although these are not the best quality work I've ever done, I am so glad I got to see this acrobatic display!

The Big Rut!

It's one of my favorite times of the year! Ooohh...I just love it! I took this photo on Sunday, and was thrilled to learn by this fine example of a buck, that the rut has officially begun! Look at that swollen neck!

Interesting Facts: As the light decreases in the fall, glands are stimulated (by the amount of daylight which comes in through the eyes) and these glands will release hormones. In the does, this will begin the oestrous cycle. In the bucks, there antler growth will stop, the velvet will dry up, their necks will swell, and their testicles will fill up with semen. The bucks will be less and less social with their summer time companions. They will soon begin to seek out the does and form their harems. Only the largest and stongest of the bucks will become herd bucks and be able to take and hold a herd of does. This is natures way of insuring that only the best bucks do the breeding. Their genes can now be passed on for future generations.