A Sandhill Crane pauses from foraging in a corn field during an early Spring snow. Two adults and a juvenile were leisurely poking around in the dirt while a gentle snow fell around them. They were surely looking forward to sunnier and warmer days ahead, as we were.

A red-tailed hawk flies away with its recently captured mouse to enjoy lunch in a little more private setting in southern Kane County, Illinois.

Two trumpeter swans pass each other while leisurely paddling around a lake earlier this year. For those familiar with Dr. Dolittle, the pushmi-pullyu is a gazelle/unicorn cross with two heads at opposite ends of its body. Using your imagination, you could see these two swans as a type of pushmi-pullyu swan due to the angle of the capture. But, just in our imagination . . .

Monarch butterflies are the only butterflies known to make a back-and-forth migration similar to what birds do. They can't survive the winters, so monarchs from our region of the country (upper Midwest) head south to Mexico (the Sierra Madre Mountains) around the October timeframe. This Monarch was captured in flight last September as it flitted from flower to flower drinking up as much nectar as it could before its big journey.

A bumblebee lifts off from a flower filled with a little more pollen after stopping and poking around for a bit. Fun fact: Bumblebees can collect pollen twice as fast as a honey bees.

A male Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterfly is captured in flight on his way to the next flower last August for some nectar. This butterfly has a few battle scars from its adventures as it has some scratches and tears, and is missing both of its tails. Nonetheless, still a beauty!

Every now and then an eagle's nest needs a little refresh and upkeep, so while Papa was on the nest with the eaglets, Mama decided to bring back a branch to do her part for the task at hand.

Papa eagle delivers a fish while its mate eagerly awaits so she can feed dinner to the young eaglets. It won't be long before they are poking their little gray, fuzzy heads over the edge of the nest. And they'll be fledging before you know it, within 10 to 12 weeks, as bald eagles are the fastest growing bird in North America.

A bald eagle gives "the stare" shortly after it takes off from its nest. Its mate was incubating the eggs, so it was probably off to the Fox River to grab the last meal for the evening. It won't be long now before the eggs hatch and there will be a new clutch of eaglets to take care of.

A Horned Grebe paddles in a lake at West Branch Forest Preserve in DuPage County, Illinois. It had been diving and popping back up in various spots along the shore on this early Spring day.