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Posted by: Ken @ 9:29 am
Weather has turned cooler, and I am getting my walking legs back. We visited Hawks Bluff Park in Batavia, Illinois, only a few doors away from our daughter’s family home. The only singing birds were a couple of Indigo Buntings, some Song and Field Sparrows, a Northern Cardinal, and an Eastern Wood Pewee. The Cooper’s Hawk family was much in evidence, helping to keep avian photo opportunities to a minimum during these Dog Days of summer. Our granddaughters are part of the “No Child Left Inside” movement, and the new park is a wonderful addition to their neighborhood.
New interpretive signs, including this map, now enhance Hawks Bluff Park, in Batavia, Illinois:
After playing on the swings, the girls set out with Grandma and Agramonte, their Tibetan Mastiff (now 8 months old and weighing 98 pounds):
The girls are on a mission of discovery:
A fresh cicada shell catches their eye:
…as does this beautiful female Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly:
Yucky! A butterfly (probably a Question Mark, Polygonia interrogationis) rests on fresh scat (probably raccoon):
Both male and female Common White-tail dragonflies were present. Male:
Members of the skimmer group, the female Common White-tail lacks the namesake abdominal color:
Collecting sticks, stones, and bugs is fun, too:
A stop at the water fountain before heading home: