A Red-tailed Hawk plies the skies at a local State Park.

Tags:   Buteo jamaicensis Illinois M.Zuiko 100-400mm f/5-6.3 + MC-14 McHenry County McHenry Dam State Park Red-tailed hawk Wings birds birds in flight clouds sky wildlife COTH Coth5+ Sunrays+5

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This guy was very curious about me and my camera one day last summer at the Lake Country Fair, In Grayslake, Illinois.

HFF

Tags:   Fence Friday Grayslake HFF Illinois Lake County Lake County Fair OM 12-40mm f/2.8 II animal eye contact farm animals fence goat mammal square Sunrays+5

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This pair of Sandhill Cranes had just taken off from from a marshy field where they had been feeding by probing deep into the mud with their bills. I don't know what they were eating, but they were among a group of about 50 Sandhills in the field that were all doing the same thing. You can see the mud stuck to the bills of this pair on the zoomed-in view.

HWW

Tags:   Antigone canadensis HWW Illinois M.Zuiko 100-400mm f/5-6.3 + MC-14 McHenry County McHenry Dam State Park Sandhill Cranes birds birds in flight mud nature wildlife wing Sunrays+5 coth5

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A competitor lands a jump in this panning shot taken at a ski jumping competition this weekend at the Norge Ski Club, in Fox River Grove, Illinois. That's not snow that she's landing on, but rather a slick plastic covering that the club uses during the warmer months.

The Norge Ski Club is a year-round training facility and competition venue for world-class athletes that includes a 150-foot tall ski jump tower. The annual fall competition, known as Jumptoberfest, draws athletes from across the United States.

Tags:   Fox River Grove Illinois Jumptoberfest M.Zuiko 100-400mm f/5-6.3 + MC-14 Norge Ski Club action panning people plastic shadow ski jumping skier skis square women intentional camera movement

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...to make out with the naked eye.

I could see that there was something in the center of the web, but I was only able to see the detail on this spider when viewed through my macro lens at 2X magnification. I did a small amount of research and I think that it may be a Long-Jawed Orbweaver.

Tags:   Illinois Long-Jawed Orbweaver Macro McHenry County Moraine Hills State Park OM 90mm F3.5 Macro Tetragnatha arachnid handheld spider square tiny web Sunrays+5

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