Not much to say except that this is one of my favorite birds. He kept trying to land on my camera lens so I was able to get some close up shots. 

Red-breasted Nuthatch

​The Pileated Woodpeckers continue to roost in a Beech Tree less than 75 ft from my back door. Here are some pics of the female answering the "doorbell".

Pileated Woodpecker

Check the front door...

Pileated Woodpecker

Check the back door...

​Last Sunday morning I was up and out early to walk some of the local parks before I had to start the annual ritual of raking the leaves. Hartwick Park had large numbers of Dark-eyed Juncos, Tree Sparrows, Robins and Red-winged Blackbirds migrating through. This first year Red-winged Blackbird was kind enough to pose for me with some bright orange/yellow Maple trees in the background. It appears that he is enjoying his first fall. Soon he will be enjoying the warm southern weather.

Red-wing Blackbird

I was visiting Maple River SGA last Sunday and caught this deer family taking a shortcut. It was really hot so even though the fawns were a little reluctant to follow mom I think the cool water probably felt pretty good.

Deer Family

Every morning around 6 o'clock, this Eagle perches in the top of a pine tree just outside my bedroom window and calls for about 30 seconds. It is quite often joined by its mate and together they raise quite a raucous. It's a very nice way to wake. 

Bald Eagle

Contrary to popular belief, mosquitoes are not the only critters out and about in the area parks. On Sunday I put on my mosquito warfare outfit and spent a few hours walking about in some of  the area parks. Did I see any mosquitoes, you bet I did. But there are a host of other critters out there also. Here is a sampling of what I found.

Common Yellowthroat Pileated Woodpecker

Aphrodite Fritillary Clay-colored Sparrow

Brown Thrasher Eastern Towhee

It was a lovely day to be at the beach. This is the lighthouse that is at the mouth of the St. Joe River.

Here are the rest of the pics from the weekend.

St. Joseph Lighthouse

This insect has the wings of a lacewing, looks like a wasp and has grasping forelegs like a Praying Mantis. It is a neuropteran called a Mantispid. I have only seen a handful of these in my many walks over hills and dales. It is hard to find because it likes to hide on the underside of leaves and is only a half inch long. Some of them are green or brown so they are well camouflaged and even harder to spot. I found this one on the underside of a Milkweed in the Williamstown Township Community Park. I like to think of the Matispid as the Platypus of the Insect world.

Mantispid

Over the weekend a Magnificent Frigatebird showed up on Lake Michigan at the mouth of the St. Joe River. Not sure how or why she is all the way up here from the tropics but the thought is that she got caught up in tropical storm Bill and deposited at the southern tip of Lake Michigan. The first reports of a Frigatebird were from the Chicago area. The Magnificent Frigatebird has a wingspan of 7 to 8 feet, built for gliding above the ocean waves.. We watched it soar in the sky above us for 15 plus minutes without a wing beat. It was great to see this beautiful bird, I hope it finds it's way back home. More pics of the bird are here.

Magnificent Frigatebird

I could hear the tune playing in my head as I watched this Bumble Bee dancing from flower to flower in search of nectar. 

Spiderwort & Bumble Bee

I drove over to Allegan County today to look for some birds that I had never seen before. I didn't find the birds but was very lucky to stumble on this Eastern Box Turtle. It has been a very long time since I have seen one of these. When I was young I would see them every once in a while. But since then they have become quite scarce. I have heard that their decline is in part due to people taking them home because they want another pet..... sad isn't it?
I also saw my first ever Hognose Snake and a beautiful three foot long Blue Racer. 
Click here to see all of the pics from the day.

Eastern Box Turtle

I would love to be able to get up every morning, brew a cup of coffee and sit on my back porch looking at a this. I am very fond of  marshes, swamps and bogs. Which of the two photos do you prefer, #1 (soft) or #2 (more detail)?
More pics from the weekend can be seen here.

Great Egret

#1

Great Egret

#2

​This was my first really good look at a Yellow-headed Blackbird. Last year I took a day trip to Nayanguing Point SWA and had a fleeting look at an immature Yellow-headed Blackbird. So yesterday, even though it was raining nonstop in Mid Michigan I decided to take a chance and drive with a friend to Nayanquing Point and see if my luck might change. Well lucky for me there was no rain and the Yellow-headed Blackbirds were out and about, I presume feeding young chicks, and we saw a total of eight. Other neat birds for the day were an American Bittern, Least Bittern, Black-crowned Night Heron, two Piping Plovers and a rare Tricolored Heron. The last two birds were seen at east Tawas Point State Park. It was a very good day.

Yellow-headed Blackbird