March 1, 2014 / Leslie

Weekend Birding: Lazy Birding at the Wildlife Center

American Robin, Barred Owl, Birds, Great-horned Owl, Photography, Photos, Red-tailed Hawk, Willowbrook Wildlife

More snow, more cold, more ice. The trails are nasty and I haven’t been out much so I looked back into my archives and found some photos from a walk along the trails at the wildlife center near my home. An effortless, lazy birdwalk, where I didn’t have to work very hard to see birds up close.

Willowbrook Wildlife Center

Willowbrook Wildlife Center is the facility where I take injured and rescued wild animals. It is a 50 acre nature preserve, refuge and wildlife rehabilitation facility that provides care and medical treatment for injured and orphaned animals that are native to northeastern Illinois. The trails are open to the public and many permanently disabled animals – eagles, songbirds, owls, raccoons, foxes, to name a few – have a permanent home here.

Here are a few of the permanent residents that live in enclosures along the trails:

Barred Owls

Barred Owls have huge eyes which gives them impressive sight at night. They have three eyelids and a neck that can turn at 270-degrees. These two owls will remain at the center due to vision impairment and wing injuries, possibly from hitting a car. They look deceptively cuddly here, but in the wild are territorial, agressive birds and sharp hunters that swallow their prey whole.

Great Horned Owl

The Great Horned Owl is one of the most commons owls in North America. It is also the largest and most powerful. They can take down large prey including raptors, falcons and even skunks, although they often dine on smaller fare such as rodents and frogs. This bird had permanent wing damage from being entangled in a fence.

Red-tailed Hawk

Loss of habitat due to human development are a problem for the Red-tailed Hawk. Collisions with vehicles, poison from pesticides and electrocution from power lines are just a few of the threats they face. This bird had a broken wing which did not heal well enough for him to be returned to life in the wild.

A Visitor

A robin watched warily from a tree while gobbling down berries.

Don’t get lost

The back 40 acres is a nature preserve and walking trail where many wild birds can been seen. This sign is at the entrance to the trails. I’m wondering how many times people got locked in that it was necessary to post a sign!

Saturday Snapshot was originated by Alyce at At Home With Books. It is now hosted by Melinda of West Metro Mommy. Visit her blog to see more great photos or add your own.