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I've done it. 1,000 observations!!!

My grandmother's the one who got me interested in nature in the first place. One of her favorite things to see was the Monarch, so it's only fitting that this is my 1,000th observation.

Behold the battle of the century!

It began when the bird on the left, we'll name it Larmulus, was minding its own business and eating a fry. All of a sudden, the bird on the right, we'll name it Lemus, swooped down and stuck its bill down the throat of Larmulus, going after the fry that it had already swallowed.

An intense battle lasting nearly a minute ensued, creating a substantial crowd of people who wished to witness the event.

In the end, Larmulus won, but not without a physical toll, and most likely a psychological one too.

For some reason every time I look at the first photo, all I see is a crab staring at me.

Note on the naming of the birds: Since they were in Rome, I named them Larmulus and Lemus, the genus Larus forms of Romulus and Remus. There were some honorable mentions suggested by members of the iNat discord group, such as Ptoughneigh and Tony, Geoff and Jeff, and Sea and Gull.

A Dothideomycete capable of infecting humans:
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Krishna_Karthik9/publication/328829523_A_rare_case_of_subcutaneous_Phaeohyphomycosis_caused_by_Rhytidhysteron_rufulum/links/5be55b524585150b2ba90e8a/A-rare-case-of-subcutaneous-Phaeohyphomycosis-caused-by-Rhytidhysteron-rufulum.pdf?origin=publication_detail

This forested area was my first stop in the morning during a greenbelt-based excursion to observe the urban parks in the area. The plant diversity in these woods left a lot to be desired, but that was made up for several times over in the rewarding fungal diversity.

MONTY AND ROSE! Seen with Simon Tolzman and his family, as well as a few other birders whose names I did not catch. Unfortunately, there were a few off-leash dog incidents which caused the two birds to be temporarily split apart, but they rejoined a minute later in a location not too far from where they got scared. I really hope that people start reading the “no dogs” signs that are everywhere. Unfortunately, I was not able to see their nest. Besides that, though, my father and I had a great time.

MY PARENTS BOUGHT ME A CAMERA!!! Nikon D3500 with a 18-55 mm lens (set lens) and a 70-300 mm lens, which I will usually use for the birds. They said they were going to surprise me with it for my birthday, which isn’t until July, but they decided to give it to me yesterday after seeing how frustrating it is to take bird pictures with an iPhone. My mother used to be a professional photographer (with film), and she wanted me to take up photography with a DSLR camera. Clearly, I still have a lot to learn from her, but my hope is that this camera will help make me a better birder and a better photographer. The above is my first bird picture with the camera.

Photo 1:
New Bird!
I was taking shots of the Carolina Chickadee when suddenly this Ruby-crowned Kinglet came out of nowhere and into my frame heading for the suet. I've never had a kinglet at my house before.
Photo 2:
New Bird Gots Skillz!
The ruby-crowned kinglet hovered at the bottom of the suet and ate, almost like a hummingbird. These birds are hard to capture because they are in constant motion usually. I'm just thrilled to have my first one show up at my home.

Coyotes (#3, #2 & #1) (Canis latrans) Graceland Cemetery Chicago Cook County IL January 2018 Week #3 Jeff Skrentny IMG_4104

Coyote (#1) (Canis latrans) Graceland Cemetery Chicago Cook County IL January 2018 Week #3 Jeff Skrentny IMG_4093

Coyotes (#2 & #1) (Canis latrans) Graceland Cemetery Chicago Cook County IL January 2018 Week #3 Jeff Skrentny IMG_4101

This indigo bunting was found by my mother in front of Toast restaurant where they kindly gave her a to-go tray to keep it in. We will be giving it to the Chicago bird collision monitors today. It must have recently died because it’s body is in great shape. Being my first bird specimen, I was allowed to look at it which was very exciting. As you can tell by the size of the gloves on my hands, I am only a child and was afraid to open the wings thinking that I would break them. Hopefully, this bird will provide valuable information to the ornithologists even though it was not banded. I am intrigued as to how the bird died. Also, if anyone has any knowledge about how to spread the wings of the bird, I would love to know.