Unexpected visitor

Beautiful ‘classic’ red fox!
We see them around sometimes but usually during the evenings after dusk.

How cool!

It’s the camera, not the photographer that takes great pics. 😉 The female ducks were friendlier than the males & loved posing for pics. They came by every day at daybreak, and waited for me to fill up the feeders & water. Didn’t even fly away when I’d come outside. They’d come up to the patio window to taunt my cats who flipped out.

The eagles were American bald eagles. We have a couple spots about 50 miles west of here where people have gone to watch the eagles along Illinois & Mississippi Rivers, but until about 5 years ago, they’d never been seen nearby. I live near a forest preserve lake which attracted a pair of eagles to nest. It drew a big crowd & our papers covered it with photos of the nest & birds with webcam watch to see if the eggs hatched.

Audubon has a great app that allows you to post pics of any sightings and allows you to see what species of birds have been spotted nearby. When I saw the eagles & went to the app, it showed hundreds of sightings in my area. Ditto for the mallards, which is how I figured out where they were nesting in nearby ponds in other sub divisons.

Ela, Do your ducks eat out of the feeder? Mine hang out under the feeder and wait for the birds or squirrels to knock the food onto the ground. I was wondering if the ducks (or their offspring) would return in Spring and remember where they found food. Originally, I thought it was just one pair, but noticed the colors on the female varied and learned later that I had two pairs when they both arrived at the same time to feed, and the males got into a fight with each other. Nobody got hurt, but they sure made lots of noise. I’m going to watch for them. I think last year they first migrated here in March.

Awesome! Maybe I should put in a pond. What is a merganser? I’ve seen herons over by the lake although never a blue heron.

The eagle isn’t the only predator that comes here for meals. Caught this Coopers Hawk looking for my pet chipmuunks to feed upon.

Interesting story….I hear a big thud on my patio door window & go to check it out not knowing if it was a bird or golf ball from my neighbor’s practice range. I see feathers lying on the ground along with the hawk & thought he was dead but when I went to get the camera, he awoke from his stunned state & flew off.

I leave obstacles for my chipmunks to use for hiding from him and my guess is that the chipmunk ran to my firepit to hide under it, and he chased it and hit the window. Pretty smart chipmunk.

My pair of mallard ducks returned this year! They remembered my bird feeder, but forgot me. This year they flew off when I went out to put more seeds out. Last year they got used to me outside & din’t fly off. Despite the cold weather & snow every couple days, they’re still nesting. If this weather keeps up, they might change their mind & migrate back down south.

I wish I could catch beautiful wildlife like this where I live!

All I see lately are great big brown rats and an occasional squirrel.

If I drive a away away from the city center we have coyotes, wild turkeys, and skunks… drive further into the boonies maybe you’ll see raccoon and deer in the less populated areas, but definitely not in my neighborhood. LOL!