What's that Bird?

I happen to look out my window last winter and I noticed an odd looking bird at my feeders.  It was eating on the ground near the Mourning Doves, but it was so much larger, as you can see in the first picture.  I thought it was a pigeon at first, but the markings looked more like a dove.

After taking a few pictures, I got my bird book out to help identify it.  It turned out to be an Eurasian Collared-Dove.  Not a common guy around the midwest at all.

The birds were brought to the Bahamas from Eurasia back in the 1970's.  The population has adapted and numbers are increasing.  They are found further and further north in the United States every year.  They prefer living in smaller towns and suburbs.

It is unknown at this time what type of impact they will have on the Mouring Doves, but so far, no changes have been detected. 

I checked a national birding report and a few others have been seen in the Rockford area and at Starved Rock.  Keep your eyes open, you may spot one of these too.

The collared-dove perched in a tree.

Foraging on the ground.  It might not show well, but they have red eyes.

Poison Frogs

Poison Dart frogs are mainly found in humid, tropical climates, like rainforests, in Central and South America.  Each have unique markings and come in many bright colors.  The bright colors warn predators to stay away.

The poison is stored in skin glands along their bodies.  They provide a chemical defense against predators, although, one type of ground snake is unfazed by it.  Their poison is not made by their own body, but gotten through their diet of ants, centipedes and mites.

A blue dart frog. 

Another blue poison frog.  You can see his markings are slightly different.

A green one.  His little suction cup feet allow him to climb the wall.

Orange and black frogs.

These frogs were fascinating to watch.  They were a bit tough to photograph as the cage has a mist pumped in to it frequently to keep their environment humid.

Winter Beauty

We are into the second month of winter. Are you getting tired of the cold and snow yet?

During the snows that pass through, there is nothing more beautiful than seeing a bright red, male cardinal in a snow covered branch. I captured this guy in my yard as he headed to the feeders for food. He is one of my favorite birds. Tough bird to catch in the open and sitting still to get a picture. You can always tell when they are near as they are always making noise. I look forward to spring to hear him singing "what cheer" to everyone.

Fall Birds

A Hermit thrush foraging in the underbrush for food.

A Bald Eagle sitting high in a Cottonwood tree.

A male Red-bellied Woodpecker seaching for grubs on the sun-warmed side of a tree.

A pair of Sandhill Cranes seaching for food along the edge of a field.

Silly Lion!

While at Brookfield Zoo, I came upon this lion laying over in the corner of his den (the female is laying in front of him looking out a side window).  I took a few photos of him and then stopped to watch him.  He looked so majestic lying there.

I guess he wanted me to keep taking his picture as he started making all these funny faces for me.  I just kept shooting away.  Below are some of my favorites.  He was just hilarious!  I can't help but think he probably just ate a side of beef and his belly was full and that's why he was in such a good mood!  He mades faces for a good 5 minutes, it was not just him yawning.

My Christmas Vacation

I wish I could say I went to some exotic locale and took all these photos of wild animals, but sorry, I did not.   I spent a day at Brookfield Zoo instead.  Not many people there so it was perfect.  Did run into a few lake effect snow squalls but overall, it was just a cold day. 

Hope you enjoy the sample of animals I seen.  Visit there sometime if you can.  It's a great place to see some animals you will never see or photograph otherwise.

A Gambel's Quail.  They are found in the desert southwest.

An Artic Penguin.

A pair of wolves.

An Artic Tern.  He's watching for fish to be thrown into the water so he can get them before the penguins.

Another shot of the Gambel's Quail.

A pair of Kookaburras.

Close-up of one of the Kookaburras.

A haunting shot of a Snow Leopard.

Snow Leopard profile.

This pair of Meercats were posing so cute, I had to take their photo!

This snake caught my eye when I seen him so eloquently draped over this branch.  He was gorgeous.