I signed up for an Illinois Audubon field trip to see Prairie Chickens at the Prairie Ridge Natural Area in Newton, Illinois. Every spring the males do a bit of a dance to attract the ladies. Normally they would have us all gather in a blind to get closer but due to Covid this wasn’t doable so we had to watch from afar. Without a good scope or zoom lens it was hard to get good photos. But I did manage to catch a heck of a photo of a variant of a Red Tailed hawk and had a lovely time exploring the area. A side trip to Indiana had me spotting a flock of American White Pelicans.

Stayed at a very cute, and unexpectedly modern, airbnb in the tiny town of Newton, hometown of crooner, Burl Ives. And of course, paid a visit to the local dive bar.