Tag: cook county forest preserve

  • Pileated Woodpecker of Spears Woods

    Pileated Woodpecker of Spears Woods

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    Over the course of two weeks in late spring, we watched a mother and father pileated woodpecker feed and care for their two young chicks in a nest hole. Initially, the adults would enter the tree to feed the hatchlings. Eventually, the two chicks would peek out of the opening in anticipation of the parents…

  • White Trout Lily, a Magical Wildflower for Spring

    White Trout Lily, a Magical Wildflower for Spring

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    A wonderful surprise to wake up to this morning. One of my photographs of white trout lily flowers is in the recent issue of Horticulture Magazine.The growth of this colony of trout lily flowers, taken near Tomahawk Slough in Cook County, Illinois, had been aided by recent forest preserve clearing and maintenance.

  • Pelican Pond

    Pelican Pond

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    For approximately one week in early April, Maple Lake in the Cook County Forest Preserve turned into Pelican Pond. Each day there were well over seventy American White Pelicans swimming, flying and foraging at the lake. For this brief week in April these white feathered birds were like angels floating on a small blue heaven…

  • Snow Blanket

    Snow Blanket

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    Covered in a blanket of snow, the sugar maple trees and dark spring-fed waters of Black Partridge Woods create a magical winter wonderland. The snow-kissed sugar maples stand guard over the spring-fed stream at Black Partridge Woods. The tranquil waters meander around snow covered logs and boulders on their way into the snowy paradise.

  • Country Lane Cranes

    Country Lane Cranes

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    Its meadows filled with gone to seed ironweed, goldenrod and aster, Country Lane Woods was recently graced with the elegance of two Sandhill Cranes. Crimson-capped, slate gray-bodied with stained rusty-orange feathers and long black legs, these birds stood out from the fading colors of the autumn prairie. Gangly in stature, the birds danced across the…

  • Once Lost Now Found

    Once Lost Now Found

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    Previously overlooked, ignored, forgotten or lost? Regardless the reasons, rediscovery of these odds and ends has been a treat. From autumn’s hues to spring’s delights, what was once lost has again been found. Creamy water glistens down the waterfall at Lake Falls in Matthiessen State Park in Illinois. The cascading spray provides a conducive environment…

  • Focal Length and Socrates

    Focal Length and Socrates

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    Image Impact to Changes of Focal Length Several months ago the forest preserve trails were in full bloom. The green leafed out trees provided cover for any bird that did not want to be seen. As I walked through the dense foliage, I noticed two eastern bluebirds that wanted to be seen. These two birds…