We met two birders at Big Marsh earlier on 4.15 and they gave us a tip about pelicans in Frankfort, IL. At the park, a Frankfort resident informed us that a larger group of pelicans left the day before our visit. Many thanks to these kind strangers! The weather was unseasonably warm when we arrived but while we were there rain clouds rolled in. There was intermittent sprinkles and the temp dropped and it was very windy. We saw what we think was a common snapping turtle poking its nose out of the water. My brother spotted a garter snake in the grass. On the way home, my mom saw a muskrat in a ditch on the side of the road at 195th and Harlem Ave.
--written by Ima and her family
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| Pelican wants the gull's catch of the day (the gull wouldn't have been able to eat it anyway) |
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| Pelicans are very good at stealing. They steal food from Cormarants, each other, and apparently, this gull. The pelican pursued the gull until the catch was lost. |
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| Two cormorants and a pelican |
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| An American White Pelican chick must eat about 150 pounds of food from it's parents before it can forage for itself. |
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| American White Pelicans |
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| American White Pelicans. Note breeding season ridge on top of the beak. |
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| American White Pelicans |
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| Cormorants, Mallards, American White Pelicans, Caspian terns and gulls |
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| Cormorants, Mallards, and Caspian terns |
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| Cormorant with a fish. |
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| One dry mallard |
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| Red-winged Blackbird display |
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| Red-winged blackbird |
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| House sparrow |
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| Common Grackle |
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| Grackle and a pinecone (no relation). |
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| European Starling |
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| Red-tailed Hawk Adult (borealis) |
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Red-tailed Hawk
These three photos were taken immediately after we witnessed its mid-air fight with a Caspian tern. |
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| Red-tailed Hawk |
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| We saw this turtle surface several times. Its head was larger than a golf ball. We saw its shell to be about a foot wide, so it was likely a common snapping turtle. |
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| Muskrat |
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