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National Audubon Society &  Illinois Audubon Society

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Illinois Audubon Society: 2009 Spring Gathering

Southern Illinois: May 1-3, 2009

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One of the Spring Gathering field trips was to Lusk Creek, a recent critical habitat acquisition by Illinois Audubon Society.  At this time, this property is not open to the public 

Lusk Creek - Recent IAS Acquisition

One of the benefits of the Lusk Creek property is the biological diversity of the area.  The area contains a large number of threatened plants.  And the diversity of the flora supports a diverse amount of wildlife. 

Lusk Creek - Water Falling onto Poison Ivy

Maury Brucker at Luck Creek Tract

The image does not show it, but there is a very lush growth of lichens and mosses on the rock near Maury

Maury Brucker at Luck Creek Tract

The toad in the above image is taking refuge in the lushness of the vegetation. 

Cliffs at Lusk Creek

Maury & Emiko in the Dry Shelter of the Cliff at Lusk Creek

Hiking to Lusk Creek - Greater than Normal Rainfall

It was gently raining during the hike to Lusk Creek.  And, this comes after about 2 1/2 inches of rain in the previous 36 hours.  Needless to say, the going was wet with a need for rubber boots. 

Northern Slimy Salamander:  Photographed at Faulkner Tract

After a morning trip to Lusk Creek, some of the people took a brief jaunt to another IAS acquisition known as the Faulkner Tract.  A couple of the hikers looked under a number of pieces of timber for salamanders and found the above specimen of a Northern Slimy Salamander. 

Audubon Group: Posing at Rim Rock

What trip to southern Illinois wouldn't be complete without a trip to visit many of the rock formations.  During one of the brief jaunts, the potential for rain cleared up long enough to bring out a camera. 

Oddly enough, a few iof the "non-audubon" visitors to the Rim Rock trail started following our group because we were interesting in that a couple of prairie restoration botanists in the group pointed out the identity of the wildflowers that were in bloom.  This included the shooting stars below.  One of these "other" visitors took our group photo, while we held her dog.  Lots of friendly people in southern Illinois!

Shooting Star Wildflowers at Rim Rock

Cliffs at Rim Rock

According to the brochures, the cliffs at Rim Rock formed a natural shelter that was well known to many of the early settlers in the area.  The place above was a well known gathering place. 

Peoria Audubon Society wishes to thank the Illinois Audubon Society for its continued action at protecting and preserving critical wildlife habitat throughout Illinois. 

We also wish to provide special thanks to the members of the Shawnee Audubon Society for organizing and coordinating the approximately 12 field trips from the Spring Gathering.

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