Spring Migration

Spring has sprung, like or not. Watched a few hundred Sand Hill Cranes fly over Ranger's Marsh yesterday. Heading north by northwest. Lots of migratory Canada geese and ducks using the marsh, also.

Sand Hill Cranes

The Sand Hill Cranes are migrating north to their breeding grounds in Canada and the northern US.

Sand Hill Cranes over Gary, Indiana, flying north by northwest.

After watching the spring migration, I went home. While walking from the car to the house, I saw a brown comet streak through the air just outside of my fence and I hear the leaves rustling in the lot north of me.  It was a Cooper's Hawk on a dinner dive. I had heard one calling a couple days, this is the first one I've seen.

Cooper's Hawk, first this year

I put down my coffee cup and unlock and load my camera. The hawk flies up and into a tree with its lunch in its talons. Whatever it's caught has a wide tail, what could it be? No squeals, so not a rodent. I've seen them catch lots of snakes but the temperature is just above freezing, too cold for snakes.  

Cooper's Hawk and unknown prey

After another short flight deeper into the canopy of the oaks. The hawk kills its prey. I'm still waiting to see what the hawk has taken.

Would not believe it if I did not see it myself 

 The Cooper Hawk had caught a Garter Snake. In the middle of the pic above, below the large tree limb that the hawk is perched on, you can see the blueish-gray belly of the snake hanging down and curling to the left.  I am wrong again, it's not too cold for the Garter Snakes to be out and about.  Spring Has Sprung!  

Snap Shots, January-February 2012

Stepping a couple months back for this post, here are a few of the snapshot made during the months of January and February 2012. Northwest Indiana had a mild winter, below average snow fall and above average temps. All in all a most pleasant winter.


Last summer I found an area with a large growth of Illinois Bundle weed (here is a photo of this plant in flower). I revisited the area and found the Bundle weed seed pods. The seed pods twist themselves about the flowerhead in a tight bundle. In the photo below you can see how the pods split open to release the seeds. I collected a few seeds and will try to grow them in my flower garden this spring.

Illinois Bundle Weed Seed Pods

The only birds seen in the field during this hike were a small flock of Chipping Sparrows. Flying from bush to bush, and close to the ground, looking for seeds and insects in the leaf litter.

Chipping Sparrow

The neighborhood in which I live is shared with a family of Cooper Hawks. They hunt and nest in Oaks and Maple trees. Skilled hunters, they fly through the trees taking any small animal that lets its guard down. 

Cooper Hawk

Many a time I have a Forest Gump moment, while standing in the yard, I'll see a feather drifting in the still air.  Sure enough a Cooper Hawk will be perched in a tree above, plucking it's lunch. 

Cooper Hawk with lunch

This is a photo of a Red-Tailed Hawk, high in a dead Cottonwood tree, overlooking Ranger's Marsh.

Red-Tailed Hawk

How mild was the winter of 2011-12.  I left the collard greens and cabbage in the ground last fall. We would go out and pick a hand full of greens when needed. Well, they grew all winter, these photos were taken February 27, 2012. I'll let them go to seed and maybe they'll be our greens for Easter dinner. 

Collard Greens in February 

Well, the winter was mild enough for this Blue Bot Fly to pay us a visit in February.

And the Maple trees are flowering in February.

(Left Click any Photo See the Slide Show)

This was a Hot Summer

Thunder Bumper
Storm clouds to the south, low sun in the west. Somebodies getting rained on.

My future is behind me.
Self portrait, the mirror image from the rear window of my Explore.

Illinois Bundleweed
A native of the Midwestern tall grass prairie. A member of the Mimosa family of plants, commonly called the sensitivity plant.

Canada Geese
Geese loafing on a river mud flat. On the right is a tree felled (gnawed down) by a beaver.

Dog Bane Bush
A native tall grass prairie plant. Bane can mean "stay away", this plant is poisonous to dogs. It is also called Indian Hemp. Dog Bane fibers were used by Native Americans for rope, bowstrings and clothing.  

Unknown Plant
Haven't been able to ID this plant. If you know, leave a comment.

Portrait of a Soft-shell Turtle
I met this turtle on the trail. A big turtle, her shell was 2 feet long.  They have a soft leather like shell.

She was laying her eggs in the gravel. They are also called Pancake Turtle because of their low profile shell.

Over-Dressed for Heat-Stress
The start of another 2 mile hike in the blazin' summer sun.

Sawfly
Don't see many of these, a primitive wasp that looks menacing but are fairly shy.

Cooper Hawk
A young hawk use the yard as his training grounds.

Hottie aka Luckie dog

Crows and Cooper's Hawk.

July 6, 2001 

This morning there is a group of crows(Corvus brachyrhynchos) sitting in an Oak tree out back.  Most times when the crows see me they split. Looks like they're gonna hang this time. I grab the camera, a black bird in deep shadows with high contrast highlights should be interesting.

Juvenile Crow.

This Crow is not black, it's a  juvie, was hatched this summer. Just learning to fly,  its color is a chocolate brown,  the older he gets, the darker he will become.

Adult Crow

This is one of the two adult crows. Parents of the juvie, teaching it to find its own food and to build up those flight feathers. Sound of a repeating bird scream gets my Attention. I look up and at the top of another tall Oak is perched a Cooper's Hawk (Accipiter cooperii) and the reason the crows are laying low! 





A Cooper's Hawk is a good reason to lay low.  This hawk will fly thru the forest canopy at full speed in hot pursuit of its bird prey.

Cooper's Hawk making his presence known.

I see you!