How about a little Saturday cootness, because they're just so coot. Just look at those coot red eyes and that coot white beak. On a rare, still day here in northern Illinois, an American Coot relaxes between dives foraging for some grub.

After vacationing in the southwest US or Mexico for the winter, Yellow-headed Blackbirds have returned to their breeding grounds in northern Illinois. It's great to once again see these wonderful birds that have so much character, one of my favorites. Welcome back!

These aqua-eyed Double-crested Cormorants grew tired of this lake, so they headed off together to fish in another.

A Red-tailed Hawk in flight with the breezy spring winds over the Illinois prairie.

Two Short-eared Owls battle it out while the sun sinks into the Illinois prairie . . .

We had some unusually warm weather (80+ F) for early April here in northern Illinois this week for a couple of days, so just in case it triggered a few early bloomers, headed out to a local forest preserve to check it out . . .

Both Mama and Papa have been taking turns incubating the eggs, but Papa still seems to be a little reluctant to stay too long on the eggs. He is a new Papa as of last year, so he's still getting the hang of how things work. On this recent evening . . .

A shortie puts the brakes on to take a closer look, and the poor voles don't stand a chance . . .

Anyone else looking forward to the return of our little feathered friends?

As soon as I saw it when I chimped this image, I notified the local owl police that there appears to be a short-eared owl flying while impaired. Sure hope they were able to do something . . .