I returned to McGinnis Slough on 8/11, 8/17 and 8/21. The Snowy Egret and/or Little Blue Heron were still being seen around the earlier dates by others, but I was never able to locate either one. I went back on the 21st in large part because it was on my way to the pool in Orland Park where I swam for a week while my pool was being cleaned.
On the 11th, only large birds caught my attention. The first was an Osprey.
There were far fewer Great Egrets, and therefore fewer to try and make into Snowys.
One Great Blue Heron offered a view in flight.
On August 17, I noticed two Blue-winged Teal swimming with a Wood Duck. The Blue Dasher dragonfly at the top of the post was also present on that day.
Instead of the Sandhill Cranes seen on the 9th, there were several Trumpeter Swans.
A Red-tailed Hawk flew over and put on a show.
On the 21st, all my subjects were smaller.
There were more ducks inhabiting the spot usually taken up by Wood Ducks.
There were Blue-winged Teal among the Mallards and Wood Ducks
There were more Wood Ducks than previous visits. One was hiding in the second photo below.
There were small, but cooperative butterflies. I’ve seen several of these two species this summer. Enough so that I recognize them now, but by next summer I’ll no doubt have to look them up again.
There haven’t been as many dragonflies this year. That probably has something to do with the weather and climate change.
The Rose Mallow is always in bloom here. I found this white one to be easier to photograph than the pink ones.
And as a little footnote, as I stepped out the front door of my house on the 17th, I noticed this American Goldfinch male chowing down on purple coneflower seeds. The seed bonanza season has begun for goldfinches. I will leave everything to them for the fall and winter and not clean up until spring.
As I am sitting here writing this post I just noticed the Snowy Egret was seen again yesterday at McGinnis Slough. I am not driving back out there in this heat to see if I can find it. There are some things one has to just let go. That said, I may visit McGinnis Slough again later in the week in cooler weather, because even if I don’t see the Snowy, something else could be interesting.
Excellent photos of the big birds, and you can never go wrong with ducks.
Perhaps you’ll still get lucky, maybe not the snowy but a spoonbill wouldn’t hurt!
Stay cool out there
Thanks! I don’t know if we’ve had a Spoonbill yet, but there’s been a Limpkin for weeks at the Botanical Gardens. Spoonbill would be way cool. I am still glad I got to see all these vagrants where they belong first. Although with climate change it seems more species will be moving northward. 🙂
The birds don’t seem to fancy our flower seeds very much. Although they eat sunflower seeds from the feeder, they leave the sunflower heads in the garden alone.
When the occasional sunflower has grown from spilled seed the birds and squirrels tend to eat them, but mainly it’s the goldfinches eating seeds from native plants. That’s their entire diet.