We have a large number of retention ponds in this area. Every subdivision has one, and so do the industrial complexes. Where there’s been a lot of growth, there are a lot of these ponds, and the birds love them.
I’ve noticed that the geese snooze on the north slopes of the bigger ponds in late morning. Some of the geese stand on one foot and some nestle into the grass, but they all bend their necks to put their heads under their wings while they sleep. We don’t see this type of behavior much at all during the summer, but we see it a lot in the fall.
Herons and egrets are still with us. We’ve been having incredible fall weather here the past few weeks. Mostly, it’s been in the upper sixties and lower seventies, with a lot of sun and no rain. The past few days it’s been in the upper seventies into the eighties, quite warm for October in the Chicago area. The weather forecast for this week has very little rain in it. We could use the precipitation to be getting ready for winter. I worry about our trees not having enough water.