A Walk in the Woods
I don’t live that far from the woods and try to get over there whenever possible. If I don’t plan on making photos I ride my bike, and if I do, I walk. On and off the trails. It is a nice place to visit and there is all kinds of wildlife to be seen in any season. Birds, insects, snakes, a fox or two, many deer, turtles, bullfrogs, and the beavers, just to name a few.
I never remember the official name of this forest preserve. A few years back we just started calling it “The Beaver Pond”. There is a shallow pond, surrounded by dead or dying trees, that is home to a few beavers. It is teaming with wildlife and is a lot of fun to see all the migratory birds stop by for a few days to visit. I had to buy a bird identification book just to keep up with them!
It has been a really lousy spring in northern Illiniois this year. A lot of rain and cool temperatures. This weather has not only messed with the farmers, it seems to have thrown the wildlife off a little too. While the geese seemed to stay on schedule with their young ones, everyone else seems to be a little late this year. The pond is teaming with all kinds of nesting birds. The blue birds are trying their best to keep down the bug population. They are always in continuous motion. The woodpeckers are busy going back and forth with food for the kids. It would seem that every tree has few families living in it. Sort of like a bird apartment complex in each tree. A pretty busy place!
And this year, I discovered a new resident. The Cedar Waxwing. That bird book sure comes in handy! I was trying to make a few photos of the red headed woodpeckers when I noticed these yellowish birds zooming all over. They fly all over and then set on a branch for a bit and start over again. It looks like they are just out having fun! I didn’t notice until I looked at my photos on the ‘puter that the wing tips on some of them looked like they had been dipped in red wax. Very cool.
As dusk nears, the deer really start coming out. Sometimes I make a few deer photos and pack up the gear. Then I walk around the trail, just taking it all in.
It always amazes me how much is going on in the woods near me. It amazes me even more that most of the people that travel through these woods only notice the deer….
