December, 2011 Edition
Indiana has enjoyed one of the most beautiful, and prolonged, fall seasons in many years. The trees began turning early and a few held their colorful leaves to the end of November. This Firebush is one example. A few others may be seen at Final Fall Foliage.
The Fall bird migration has been disappointing; we haven't seen very many migrants coming through. Perhaps, with the warm fall, they didn't need to stop to "refuel" on their way south. However, we have been blessed with Wood Ducks gathering along Killbuck Creek until they have enough to form a flock for migration. You can see these and others at Fall Waterfowl.
We turn now from Indiana birds to Florida Birds and other critters, including this one. Paynes Prairie is a broad, flat valley running east and west just south of Gainesville, Florida. It is two or three miles wide where Interstate 75 crosses it. Much of it is a state park and this is where we found this Armadillo and other wildlife which may be seen at Paynes Prairie.
This is the most brilliant male Cardinal we have ever seen. We found it along a creek in Pear Park, near Leesburg. See Florida Birds to see others.
A Black Vulture scans the marsh from the top of a dead palm trunk. These birds are similar to Turkey Vultures, but their heads are all black. See Woodruff NWR for more Vultures and others we found there.
An immature Bald Eagle climbs above an open field at Emeralda Marsh. See Emeralda Marsh for more pictures of this eagle and other birds.
Screen Savers
This month, Birds of Madison County brings you four high resolution pictures. Clicking on one of the images below will cause the corresponding high resolution image to be downloaded to your browser. You may save this image by dragging it to your desktop or using the "SAVE" command on the File menu. These images are large and may require a little time to download, depending on the speed of your Internet connection. The size of the picture in pixels and of the file in bytes is given for each picture.AOL Users should use Internet Explorer instead of AOL's browser to download these images.
These images are suitable for use as a screen saver or desktop. They may also be printed in large sizes for personal use only.
Canada Geese in Fall
Canada Geese have a life of leisure in the Killbuck Wetlands, instead of braving the rigors of migration.
2400 X 1600 pixels; 507K Bytes.
Glossy Ibis
A Glossy Ibis paddles through Emeralda Marsh in central Florida.
2400 X 1600 pixels; 583K Bytes.
Woodruff Birds
A pair of Blue-winged Teal, Pied-billed Grebes, and a Coot float among the grasses of the Woodruff NWR.
2700 X 1800 pixels; 911K Bytes.
Moorhen
A Moorhen searches for food in Emeralda Marsh in central Florida.
2400 X 1600 pixels; 719K Bytes.
We hope you enjoy the pictures. Your comments are welcome and may be sent to us at this address:
Tom and Jean Harbron
Birds of Madison County thanks the Midwest Antique Fruit Jar & Bottle Club for providing the hosting web site.
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