It started off that I wanted to work at home today…but the network wasn’t cooperating, and my husband, who usually serves as my ‘help desk’ was trying to get some other things accomplished and so his first priority was NOT getting me hooked up to the network. Being that I’ve had my new work laptop for over 4 days and have been unable to connect from home thus far, I was just a tad perturbed, so I zoomed off in the pocket rocket.

Very soon after passing the mosque under construction on Bartlett Road, I came across a very unusual sight; someone in the basket of a REMAX Hot Air balloon.

Immediately the stress of not getting onto the network began to melt away as I started to wonder how much someone would get paid for going up in one of those things…or if the thrill of the moment was enough for the person inside; and if they might have even donated their time.

I know it would have been a-okay with me, LOL…although heights and me don’t always get along that well.

I’ve always marvelled at construction workers who could scale buildings under construction, or bridges, or people who wash windows, swinging off scaffolds.

I stopped briefly at the usual stomping ground to see if there were any herons or egrets, and managed to shoot a few more shots. Nothing that unusual.

Most of what I saw this morning were silhouettes of herons against the marshy background, the pictures didn’t turn out that well…although it’s always thrilling to try to get some pictures of them.

Then there was the work day, and then the trip home. Right away I noticed the dark colored birds had come in, which appeared to be cormorants, although they could have been grebes or even loons. I understand we have both grebes and loons in the area, but I wouldn’t know one if it bit me in the leg.

By the afternoon, though, things had livened up a little bit. There was a big bird on the rocks that sit in the sun…

The cormorants were lively, fishing, and moving about…

Fairly recently - I’m not sure why - I went over to youtube to see if I could find some Cedar Waxwing videos, because I was wondering if there are any in the area. I’ve never seen any, and I was wondering just where I should be looking, or what I should be looking for. The video showed a flock of Cedar Waxwings in a frenzy eating fruit; and I got the impression that they’re very quick little birds, probably smaller than a robin, and that they travel in flocks.

Being that the flocks of birds that I usually see around here seem to be dark-colored birds (like grackles or starlings), I thought - well, I don’t think we have any fruit trees around here, and I know damned well there aren’t any mulberry trees, so I guess I’m out of luck on that one.

I stopped at the area on Palatine Road where there are wetlands on either side, and thought I’d squeeze off a few more photographs before I came home. The nature in the area lured me in to stay longer than I had planned.

There was a great blue heron hunting, stalking along on his spindly long legs…and there were what appeared to be very large fish of some sort, which were very close to the surface among the duckweed.

There were some small birds darting in and out, which seemed to be yellow, but bigger than a goldfinch, and my focus began to turn to them, although there was an interesting animal near the large fish, which I was trying to identify.

That animal turned out to be a muskrat. He was a snarky little chap, too, splashing around, and swimming like he was an olympic swimmer. He seemed to take pleasure in splashing; he was a real clown and at first scared the crap out of me.

And the birds, to my surprise, turned out to be Cedar Waxwings.

I’m going to have to study up on them, because from what I was able to tell, they aren’t in there element hanging around a marsh area with other water-type foul.

They seemed to be rather curious about me; I wasn’t making much noise at all, and they seemed to forget I was there. And when they realized it was when they came flying rather close; but they’d quickly change their minds and fly up into a dead tree.

There are no shortage of dead trees sticking out of the muck there. These little birds are quick, but they’re also very striking and pretty, and they have a little mask over there eyes almost like a raccoon does; and a silhouette that looks somewhat like a cardinal’s.

And they were darting in and out, swooping along the surface of the water, apparently searching for some kind of insects to eat. As I walked along the brush, a lot of grasshoppers were getting out of my way, so it seemed to me that there are plenty of bugs of all different types and I started to get the creepy crawlies.

But that feelings passed, as I was taken in by the birds again.

I finally got a shot of the terns today, too, alongside a big dark looking heron-like bird.

We have no shortage of those around here.

What do you want? Marshland is what we live in..Chicago, in fact, was BUILT on a swamp. That haze that they complain about as being air pollution? It’s what you’d see over a swamp. No kidding.

Just call me “swamp thing”, LOL…

The pictures I’ve been taking are from the road, but the marshland is located in and around one of the most exclusive *and might I add expensive* suburban communities in the area…Inverness.

I took some video footage yesterday and I’m trying to upload it to youtube…and…I keep getting a “communication error”. Could it be because I have the words “illegal immigration” in the narrative?

Okay, maybe the internet is busy and people are uploading to youtube…I’ll just have to wait.

In the meantime, I tried out my new telephoto lens for my Panasonic Lumix camera. Boy, was I surprised when I showed up at my Dad’s and he had virtually the same camera! The telephoto lens that I’ve been waiting for showed up, –and I just couldn’t wait to even read the instructions…I gently unwrapped the parts, slowly screwed them onto the camera, and started shooting away when I got to the destination I was waiting to shoot photos of. I figured that this place would be the best place to test it out because there are always birds - very interesting birds - that are way out of reach of my camera lenses.

When I came home to upload what I shot, I was very pleasantly surprised. I had no idea if they would even be in focus, I was so excited, and the sun was so bright –and my hair was whipping into my eyes from the wind. But now I know I’ll be able to take some terrific pictures of the birds I’ve been gawking at my whole life, LOL…this - I think - is a big greyGreat Blue Heron. I don’t see the crest on his head; but I took a number of pictures one right after another. I think the green stuff in the background is duckweed…and I’m seeing it in a lot of places around here.

And maybe the crest that I’ve seen in pictures of herons that stands up like a mohawk is in fact laying flat in this picture…he has a little patch of black or very dark-colored feathers on his head, so…maybe he’s just laying his mohawk flat. Who knows.

I missed the part where he found something to eat, but I think this pose is after they’ve caught something and they’re digesting their catch. They are very fast, because it all happened when my back was turned and I was trying to take some shots of the cormorants and the terns.

In this little stretch of road, I can pull off to the side - and on one side is wetlands, and on the other side of the road is wetlands, so I find myself going from one side to another trying to locate some birds, or frogs, or–something else of interest.

I had thought that the big sliver of mud that the big white birds were hanging around on - had seagulls on it; but I discovered today that they’re in fact white terns…and are quite a bit larger than seagulls.

I hope I’m able to catch some of them in flight at some point…they are daredevils in the sky, and like to swoop and dive; and they have a lot of moves up their sleeves that I’ve never seen before. They do aerial acrobatics…and have a lot of power in their wings, because it doesn’t take much for them to cover a lot of ground…er…uh…as the crow flies, that is.

There were a number of very small birds flying overhead; but it will take some time before I can place what they are; I couldn’t tell if they were swallows, or some other kind of aquatic-type bird.

but all in all, this has been an exciting day where the camera is concerned!!!

And not so exciting where youtube is concerned. But I’ll try publishing the little flick later …or maybe in the wee hours of the morning.

I have seen more goldfinches so far this year - than I’ve ever seen before in my life. Seriously. They are very quick - high strung and fast moving, and it’s very difficult to capture a picture of one.

When they notice you nearby, it’s all over; they’re gone.

I’m now shopping for some telephoto lenses, which should improve the experience quite a bit.

In the early morning yesterday, when I was driving into work, I passed the usual wetlands scene with the birds. I got out of my car to take some pictures, hoping to get some good shots - and I witnessed a tern swooping and diving in the air, fishing on the water. At one point, it just skimmed the surface of the water, without leaving the air. It was dramatic. What was more dramatic was as I was standing there, a cloud front quickly closed in; a storm was coming.

The storms came last night, too, and knocked out our electricity for most of the night.

Today I spent more precious time tromping in the woods at the Palatine Nature Center. There is something inspiring and rejuvenating about doing that, although I keep seeing the signs that warn you to get out of there by 5:00 PM…that they’ll shut the place up at 5:00 sharp. That makes me think I should get there darned early the next time around. But on the way, I noticed plenty of other places where I can take in similar sights and take some great pictures, so …it was also a good trip just for the sake of looking for other good photo ops.

This is one of the few farms that are left on Barrington Road on the way to the Nature Center. I’ve been saying that I’m going to stop and take a picture of it from a different vantage point, and I finally did that today.

There was a time when you could drive down Barrington Road, and there was one farm after another. Now, there are subdivisions and strip malls most of the way.

Right before the entrance to the Nature Center, there are wetlands on both sides of the street where egrets and herons like to hang out. Today they had a party going on.

There were so many egrets today, I was in heaven - except I couldn’t get close enough to get the kind of shots I wanted to.

Taking pictures is fun; I had both cameras with me today - testing out the capabilities of the new/old camera, and still tending toward taking pictures of small things with the Canon Elph. Its macro capability is easy to find - and I’m still more comfortable with that one than the Panasonic. But the Panasonic is growing on me.

There were many flying things in there; not only mosquitos. Lots of butterflies and beautiful large moths.

I’ve been trying to figure out what the difference is between a butterfly and a moth. There are some telltale signs that can tip you off. A moth will remain open like this, and can have a fat body. Whereas a butterfly has a sleek thin body, and will remain closed like the previous picture. Interestingly enough, though, this winged creature was much larger than the light-colored winged creature…and I always thought moths were small and fly around lights when it gets dark out.

As I was pulling in, Jerry Goldner, the wildlife/bird photographer, was loading up his photography equipment in order to leave. He was a very, very nice guy. After I got back, I went on the internet to check out his work–because when I was pulling in, he was loading an enormous lens into his trunk…so I KNEW that he was taking closeups of birds. When I checked out his site, it just verified what I surmised when I saw that huge telephoto lens.

He offered to spray me with bug spray - because I was wearing my signature black dego-tee shirt and capris with walking sandals on (prepared for the heat). He complained that it was very buggy, the mosquitos are heavy and thick, and I wouldn’t last very long if I didn’t have bug spray or long sleeves and pant legs. He said the secret is - take your pictures very early in the morning, or late in the day, when the lighting is soft. And I guess the bugs aren’t so bad then, but he had long sleeves and long pants on.

So after all of the friendly advice and a healthy dose of insect repellant, I thanked him. He said he might have left his water in the bird blind - but when I got there, I didn’t see it. I will be even better prepared the next time, because I didn’t bring anything to drink and it was hot out there. Hot, buggy, and after a while of walking, I could have used some water. I think I should set myself up like I’m going on a stakeout-with a cooler full of ice, sandwiches, fruit salad and greens of assorted types, and some type of cold drinks. Then I can refresh myself throughout the day and stay out longer.

The bird blind was rather disappointing from the picture-taking point of view. You could sit in there and look through the big magnifying binoculars to see things closer, but in terms of taking pictures, the view was crap.

And when I saw the bird blind from across the way, it appears as though it’s crooked and is sinking!

Along the way I saw a few families with their kids, and a few couples walking along - with shorts on and short-sleeved shirts. I kept thinking to myself - I hope you have bug stuff on! This is brutal - but I’m protected!

Then came along a guy named “Mike” who was very nice and cute and gave me a couple sips of what he was carrying with him to keep him hydrated. He pointed me to some interesting things along the way - that I wouldn’t have noticed by myself. He pointed to a goldfinch, a bluejay, a big flying heron, (all were too fast for my camera abilities thus far)…

a beautiful and perfect spider web,

a big frog under the water that was covered in algae, and this guy really impressed me with his bird knowledge. He asked me if I’ve ever seen a bobolink; I said only in books! We were identifying the birds back and forth as we heard them - and I have to say - nobody I know up until this point has identified birds that I can’t.

I thought to myself, “this guy is pretty good!”

He appears to have many years of experience just doing what I like to do - tromping through the woods, looking through his binoculars at the wildlife and birds, and trying to catch a glimpse of a red-tailed hawk or a deer. He knew his vegetation, pointed out wild carrots, and other things that can be eaten in a pinch. I would have never known that if he hadn’t pointed it out.

He seemed particularly interested in finding deer, but we didn’t see any. He said he hasn’t seen any deer in this particular preserve for the past 20 years, but I guess he thinks he hasn’t been looking hard enough.

I, on the other hand, was interested in taking pictures - and was getting frustrated with everything moving around so fast. While walking along, a lot of little frogs came jumping across, but very few of them would sit still.

Find the frog! When I took the photo and looked in the viewfinder, I thought to myself…well…I hope he’s in that shot! Luckily he was when I uploaded the pictures, LOL

Still, I managed to find a few things that sat still long enough for me to pull off a couple of shots.

I KNOW there are turtles out there, so the next time I’m going to try harder to find some sitting on a log or a rock or something.

A few rejuvenating hours, over 100 pictures, what a great start to a great day. And thanks to Mike, wherever he is, he really helped me find some good subjects.

So while I’m playing around with it and trying to capture better pictures of the birds in my area, take a look at this guy’s photographs. He uses a Canon Rebel.

Before I go to the fest and possibly take some footage of the local mosque that appears to be going up, I wanted to put up some photos from the nature centers I’ve been visiting in the area. I just love walking around these places…unfortunately, the two nature centers that are close by - both are using the summer to undergo so revamping and reconstruction of their main buildings with exhibits.

Still, though, the weather has been beautiful, and it’s been great to take my new little camera out to experiment with its limited zoom.

The Palatine Nature Center’s exhibits are constructed in such a way that you can take a picture of the few birds they have on display - without the bars to obstruct your view. But the Trialside Nature Center in Northbrook has the path situated further away from the displays, which hinders the ability to take photos of the animals without bars in the way; which makes them look like they’re in prison if you dare to take a photo of them. (That’s one of the reasons I am looking forward to the Brookfield Zoo trip.) I’m not sure how they can change that, but I would really like to see these exhibits updated in a way that makes it seem less as though they’re in jail.

This little nervous guy was at the Nature Center in Palatine. As I approached their enclosures, I noticed that he was very nervous and had an unusual method of getting around in there. He would fling himself against the bars and kind of bounce off; and it seems as though it was completely intentional. I couldn’t figure out why that was, but my understanding of the few birds that are on display there is that they wouldn’t be able to survive in the wild. This particular bird, if I remember the story, had been hit by a car and had some severe wing injuries.
I don’t remember the story about the turkey vulture, except one day one of the keepers was physically in the cage with him and they were playing. The keeper grabbed the vulture by the beak, and the vulture kind of jumped up in the air. This is a tremendously large bird, but what I found most amusing about watching the keeper with the bird while I was standing there - was the bird seemed somewhat embarassed and wouldn’t perform like he would have had I not been standing there. On the day when I took this photograph, I heard someone yell at one of the birds and said ‘don’t do that!’ And the bird howled and I felt really sorry for him. I think it was this bird that was being yelled at, because the other two birds were the red tailed hawk and the great horned owl, neither of which would have made that tremendous sad noise. I thought to myself that the noise sounded very human and very sad. I also thought –I wonder who thinks they can treat an animal like that just because they think nobody is watching or listening.

This guy was just staring at me. The fun thing about owls is how they sit there and seem motionless, except for their heads - which turn and follow you. This fellow seemed a little sleepy, but his eyes were open a little bit which made him appear as though he was scrutinizing me very closely. Not a peep out of him, though, as compared to the nervous red-tailed hawk, which screeched a few times while I was there, as though he was calling to some friends.

These were all taken with my Canon Elph…which is great for taking quick-and-dirty pictures. Those are the birds on display at the Palatine Nature Center.

Now come a few from the Trailside Nature Center in Northbrook.

I managed to take this picture in between the bars. It was dark, so I had to enhance it a little bit. The bird is completely missing its left eye. This would make it very difficult to fend for itself in the wild. The employees that take care of these animals tell me that most of the animals on display were injured, nursed back to health, and would not be able to take care of themselves in the wild. We have a rather large wild red-tailed hawk population here, you can see them throughout the year on the light poles on the expressway, and when they sit on the branches of dead trees. They like to find places where they have an unhindered few. I’ve even seen them out the window at work, and what is constantly surprising to me is how birds are their prey, in addition to small rodents, etc. They’re magnificent and a rather large bird. I know we have other similar birds of prey in the area, and again, hopefully when I get my other camera, I’ll be able to find them and get some shots of them. They include falcons and what used to be called sparrowhawks. One day I saw what I thought was some type of falcon - chasing after a mourning dove and the falcon was really closing in fast on that dove. It was a race in the air; a race that the dove probably lost.

The bald eagle seemed to be in pretty good shape. At the time that I was viewing these animals, they seemed to be somewhat agitated, although there weren’t many people around. The reason for that, as time went on, was because there is apparently a demonstration that occurs periodically throughout the day. The fox in particular seemed to be - not paying attention to me - but pacing about its enclosure, waiting for someone or something else to happen. In time, that’s exactly what ended up happening, while I was off doing other things. I walked around and took some pictures of the buildings, and the bee houses, and the other animals, and then a few SUVs pulled up and unloaded some kids and adults and suddenly a man appeared who seemed to work for the Nature Center, who pulled the captive skunk out of its cage, and held it while he was talking about how skunks are useful, and what the skunk eats.

An assistant came out of nowhere with a bowl of what they feed the skunk. In captivity, they give the skunk vegetables in addition to bugs, but I guess in the wild, their diet is comprised mostly of bugs. All i know is the thing stunk and I couldn’t figure out how the guy could hold the thing without getting that awful scent all over him.

This Barred Owl’s head is completely turned around on its body, which is facing the other direction. Something seems cockeyed about the bird’s eyes for some reason; although I didn’t get a chance to ask the attendants because they were occupied with the group of parents and kids.

I should have gotten a video of the way this fox moved. It was very specific with its little feet, and when it sat down, it reminded me more of a cat than a canine. He also seemed a little moth eaten - the tail wasn’t as full as I recall seeing on foxes that I’ve seen in the past. This wouldn’t be a very good specimen for a coat.

Overall, it’s been fun going around taking pictures, LOL…it’s gotten me off the blog, out of the house, and doing other things. And all this while my arm is improving…life is full of small blessings.

I still think that the local places ought to get a cougar in an exhibit.

There always seems to be some type of a bird or animal sitting on top of this birdhouse in the middle of the marsh. I finally was able to focus in on what appears to be a big brown heron. All of the white birds seem to have flown the coop over the last few days, and what I’m left with are the very large birds, like this one, and some blue herons. Well…at least I know what the brown moving thing IS, now I have to wait for the other camera to get some detail on shots like this one in the future.

So while I’m on the subject of taking pictures, I’ve been searching the web for easy ways to get my photographs out there, and there is a steep learning curve for someone like me, who has an interest, but not many resources or much experience. But that’s never been something to stand in my way when I want to do something, LOL.

Interestingly enough, digital photography has opened up a whole new opportunity for the regular guy.

There are numerous places where you can attempt to sell your pictures. How successful people have been at it, though, remains to be seen. They do a lot of selling the photographer, but there don’t seem to be a lot of testimonials out there - other than the fantastic system that Express Digital has for event photography. That’s something I’m thinking about doing, but in the meantime I’m going to have to become very good at taking pictures. Just the idea of event photography - whether it’s seniors, grade schoolers, reunions, cruises, cheerleading events, sports events, weddings, or whatever - that Express Digital system looks like a fantastic way to compete with the big guys and deliver fantastic products and service to build a good client base. Not to mention the fact that Express Digital also offers a website to photographers using their Darkroom Software, which enables them to continue making sales long after the event has ended.

One thing that I found reassuring was…no matter how much equipment you have with you, you’re going to miss some shots.

So in essence, you have to figure out what the equipment helps you take fantastic images, and settle on a small collection of cameras and lenses so you’re not left with a bad back from carrying a big sack of stuff that you can’t organize or select from when you’re ready.

Online companies such as istock have opened up a new world to the advanced amateur photographer, enabling you to upload your digital images and sell them right away. istock has some surprising successes. Their photographers have catapulted that website to one of the formost stock photograph sellers of all the online outfits.

Here is a short list of some others I’ve been looking at.

Shutterstock - here is where to find out about signing up as a photographer.

Shutterpoint

Photostockplus

bigstockphoto.com

Citizen Image even takes images from your mobile phone.

How successful are any of these websites at helping the photographers do something with their images? That is the bigger question, which I can’t seem to find an answer for.

smugmug is a huge site with no advertising that caters to the amateur and professional alike. For a small annual fee, the professional photographer can sell photographs from their website as a member of smug mug.

And another one that I was looking at is Picture Stock. Although there are some strange things about picture stock - like - you have to send in a CD with your pictures on it, and pay for a press pass; at least you’re able to get one and gain access to events as someone other than a local yokel.

Now there are some things I’m relatively confused about; such as the size of an image. I don’t have software that will enable me to photoshop stuff out of my images, or make them look prettier, or change the size to meet size requirements. And from what I gather at smug mug, those images need to be a certain size in order for people to order products like mugs, t-shirts, etc.-or even photographs 4×6 and larger. Still, it would be interesting to put some of the better stuff up and see what happens.

I’m still starting out and have a lot to learn; and a new/old camera is on its way that has more zoom capability; so even though it’s not the best of the best of SLRs, I’ll still be able to focus in closer on birds and other subjects which up to this point have flown away while I’m searching for them in my viewfinder.

LOL

My main reason for not including people in my photographs thus far - is the fact that you must have a model’s release with any photo submission. Some websites encourage you to use friends and family and have them sign releases for you, but I’m not inclined to do that. I’m still in the experimenting stage and simply trying to improve my pictures. Better tools, of course, will help immensely.

Stock photography looks to be an interesting area, but with stock photography, understanding how to use photoshop would be a great thing, and I don’t have that at the moment.

In essence, I’m still scoping all of this out, while dreaming of the possibilities and snapping a lot of photos.

This weekend will give me an opportunity to take more candid photos of people as Streamwood is having a fest for the next few days at Hoosier Grove. So I’ll see what I end up with on that score.

Any way you look at it, summer fests are always fun to go to.

The trip to the zoo is going to be postponed for a bit. Hopefully the new/old camera will be in my possession by the time I make the trek to Brookfield zoo. It’s been quite a long time since I’ve been there, but what I’m particularly interested in is the butterfly exhibit.

I’ve never seen such a broad array of colors in lilies. These are kind of a red or rust color. Red seems to be a difficult color to record correctly.

I thought I might get a little closer to these cormorant guys to get a closer shot, being that my little camera doesn’t have much of a zoom capability. Lately I’ve been getting more and more frustrated with the fact that I have limited ZOOM…because all my favorite subjects are too fast, and I’d like to get them close up. I can’t sneak up on them, that’s for sure…because by the time I got down to where I would have gotten a better shot all of these guys had flown away.

And it didn’t happen just today, either.

Man this shot would have been awesome if I’d had more ZOOM.

I pass this little place where there are numerous herons and egrets, every day - sometimes TWICE a day. What I’ve been able to tell from far away and the pictures that I’ve taken so far, is that there are great blue herons, there are white or snowy egrets, and then there is some big brown bird that appears to be some kind of a brown egret. It showed up really well the other day when I tried to sneak up and it started to fly away.

Eventually you’ll see shots that have a lot more detail; when I get the new camera.

There are quite a few other picture adventures I’ve been on lately; one of them was to go and see the tiny little castle in nearby Elgin, Illinois, called “Pratt’s” castle. I tripped out there one day when it was raining because my curiosity had gotten the better of me. I wanted to know if it was difficult to get to, as someone had written that it was hidden very well. It is on the fox river, but I was surprised at how nearby it is.

I wanted to get a look at it from the river side, but I guess the only way I’m going to be able to do that, is to go out on a boat.

I didn’t want to disturb the guy who owns the place, I was just very intrigued that such a building could go for so long without someone trying to upgrade it or live in it. It apparently had no running water or electricity, and at one point had a moat and a drawbridge.

The tower is 50 feet tall, and it’s nestled between some unassuming houses.

Years and years ago, apparently, somewhere in the 30’s, a fellow named “Pratt” here in Elgin, brought it over from Scotland or some such place. I found an article on the web about it, which said it is a Dutch “Hold”. But the neighbor that I spoke with said it was brought here by Pratt from Scotland. Regardless, it is a fascinating and romantic looking structure.

It really was beautiful through the mist that day.

I couldn’t help but wonder what it’s like on the inside. To the left and slightly behind the tower, almost completely covered by shrubbery, is another door. This little place is a part of the history of the area, but the structure is difficult to find and not very well-known.

I am not here today. So don’t demand that I answer you; or complain that the ‘cat has my tongue’.

I have a life outside this blog and the internet!

If your comments don’t immediately publish, they are held in moderation until I get back so I can approve them. That’s the way comment moderation USUALLY works.

I’ve been driving myself crazy in terms of taking pictures, and although my little handy elph is great for some things, I want more functionality and the ability to take wildlife photographs - and take great detailed pictures from a distance. Theoretically, this would bring me into the realm I’ve always dreamed of: taking pictures, and turning the subjects into paintings.

With technology and digital cameras advancing so quickly, it is now possible to get the kind of magnification you would get with a $5,000 telephoto lens - with a digital camera.

I’m looking forward to entering that universe.

White egrets and a heron, fishing.

I can only imagine what kind of shots I could have taken of these birds, given the opportunity to take closer shots without physically having to move.

Which reminds me…I will also get the opportunity of getting some close ups of my favorite red-tailed hawks, and numerous others.

Around here, because of the large populations of geese and how they leave droppings in parking lots and in grass, and basically interfere with your walking down the sidewalk, some places that have fountains and water have elected to rent nesting swans.

Swans are natural enemies of geese, and that is why when you see swans with their little ones, you won’t see geese around; the swans chase the geese off. Plus, I don’t think the geese want to be around swans because they’re bigger and nastier.

During the nesting season, when they’re raising their young, they are extremely defensive and territorial.

Just like geese, that will go after small children and animals, swans will do the same thing if you venture too close to them when the little families are doing their thing.

There is a man in the area, and I will have to find out if he has a website, who has a border collie. They work all day long chasing geese from businesses. I have even seen this dog jump in the water to get the geese out of the water.

My dog likes to ‘herd them’, and seems very satisfied when he rushes flocks of geese when they’re grazing, and they fly away. We haven’t let him loose on the gawky adolescents or the parents while they’re raising their young; because it would probably turn into a fight, being that the young ones are too young to fly yet.

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Swans and their young. Beautiful from a distance.

The majority of what I write about here on the blog is my politics. But recently I’ve been blessed with some new toys; a macbook, which has introduced me to imovie and a number of other fun tools, and a new Canon elph camera, which has propelled me back into taking pictures –something I started doing with an older digital camera about 5 years ago. The elph, though, has brought me into the modern world with digital imaging, and reintroduced me to my love of nature; and in particular, birds.

(I tried uploading them and they’re too large, so allow me some time to figure out here on the mac - how to make them smaller.)

This is a relatively large contingent of cormorants, and I can’t figure out if it’s a number of bachelors hanging together, as one might often see with adolescent mallard ducks, or if this is an extended family. The only other place I’ve observed cormorants is at the Palatine Nature Center - but when I’ve seen them there, it’s only been a solitary bird; not a group of cormorants, like this. In this particular area (which you can see off the Elgin O’hare), there is marshland, so one is prone to see white egrets, or herons there, too.

Notice the white egret in the upper left hand portion of this photo, taken from my side (or what I like to term the condo side) across from the peninsula. We have a number of redwinged blackbirds around who don’t like the presence of egrets or herons and harrass the hell out of them until they go away. I’ve never quite been able to understand quite why redwinged blackbirds are so irritated by egrets or herons, since it seems obvious both egrets and herons are interested in underwater prey; but perhaps egrets or herons would be interested in blackbird eggs or nestlings if they weren’t bombarded by heckling from those annoying little redwinged blackbirds.

Egrets and herons like to hunt close to the edges of our peninsula across the way from my condo; and we see a lot of nesting geese swimming in the water here, also, as in these photos. (Redwinged blackbirds seem misplaced here, since there are no reeds, rushes or cattails.) Right now, the goslings are still showing a slight bit of their short-lived yellow down. I don’t see any geese over where the cormorants are. I wonder if the water moves too much for them, or just exactly why the area isn’t conducive to nesting geese. Where the cormorants were standing appeared to be a shallow area where they could simply stand instead of tread water.

When I was on the shore there, they jumped in the water and made a beeline straight for me. They must have been under the mistaken impression that I was there for the purpose of feeding them.

When they realized I had no bread to give them, they turned and swam away.

These birds grow so rapidly that it won’t belong before they are ugly light grey gawky looking creatures with short wing buds that look like deformed mutant replicas of their parents.

Eventually, they grow out of that awkward stage, but much beyond this stage, the young birds remain ugly until their adult plumage starts to grow in.

I didn’t even know we had birds like this here in Illinois until I moved out to Streamwood, which was largely farmland at that time–20 years or so ago, now. I grew up in Park Ridge, and when I was counting birds there in my little notebook, I would count sparrows, starlings, robins, and assorted songbirds, an occasional bluebird or goldfinch (on rare occasions during the summertime, hummingbirds), grosbeaks and cardinals, an occasional indigo bunting and pigeons down by the railroad tracks, which built nests under the viaduct. Pigeons seemed to not appreciate our backyards, which was lucky for us.

We did have a neighbor once, who raised pigeons. Why someone would do that is beyond me. I’d rather raise any number of other types of birds if I were to take it up as a hobby; something like fancy cockatiels or English parakeets; most definitely with an indoor aviary.

But when I was young, Park Ridge was a city suburb of Chicago, and there was no farmland. By contrast, when my dad grew up there, it was primarily farmland and he was able to observe chickens being slaughtered for dinner as a kid. He still tells some of those stories as though they happened yesterday. From my point of view, it’s relatively hard to imagine how much a town can change within a mere generation. Still, I managed to still see an occasional red tailed hawk, sparrowhawk, or falcon. Birds like those used to take advantage of the many trees we had in the neighborhood, and the rodent and rabbit populations.

For a while, I was noticing beavers around Streamwood wreaking havoc and decimating some of the wooded areas. We are surrounded by woodlands here, which consists mostly of forest preserves. People who own land here are beginning to sell it off because of how property values have jumped in the last 25 years.

Now although for the past 20 years, Streamwood has been rapidly building up and ridding itself and the neighboring areas of farmland, we still have some dairy farms in Elgin, and some stables in Elgin along with other relatively close cities.

I’ll probably be taking pictures of some of those when I get the opportunity, too.

These photos are unretouched, but I’ve been playing around with retouching and will probably put some enhanced photos up as time goes on. What fun this is!