Red-Tailed Hawk

Late Fall Forest Fungi

Forest Fungi

Late Summer Wildflowers

Cedar Waxwings

Emergence

Juvenile Green Heron

I had a fun time stalking this juvenile Green Heron (Butorides virescens) in my kayak along the Looking Glass River.  It did not seem too frightened of my presence, which I chalk up to its immaturity.  I had to navigate though some dense aquatic brush to get good photos of it, but once I got to the right point I had ample opportunities to capture images.  Something in the distance piqued its interest and it ruffled up the feathered crest on the crown of its head for a few moments.

Future Royalty

A Monarch Butterfly caterpillar munching on a milkweed plant.

Thistles

The thistles have begun to bloom this summer.  I have always liked these interesting plant that are both dangerous looking and beautiful at the same time.  I had to run to Home Depot on Waverly Road the other night and I stopped at Woldumar Nature Center for a few minutes.  A thunderstorm was brewing on the horizon and it had started to get dark pretty quickly, even thought it was only 5:30pm.  I snapped the few photos that I could as the heavy drops of rain that precede a downpour started to fall.  I fortuitously captured the photo below with the profile of the thistles against the darkening stormy skies, though I typically would not have taken a photo like this.  I made it safely back to the car right before the clouds opened up and the deluge began.

Of Down And Ducklings

While kayaking the other day on the Red Cedar River, I encountered a number of ducklings paddling along separate from any other ducks.  I do not know at what age they venture out on their own, but I thought they seemed sort of small still to be experiencing the grown-up world alone.

Plucky Little Fawn

I felt so bad for this little fawn the other night when I encountered it at Fenner.  Its face was all scraped up and he had a big bloody gash on his neck that I airbrushed away.  I assume it had a tussle with a dog from the looks of the injuries.  It seemed to scamper along with its mom fairly easily, so it probably will be okay in the long run.

Skipper Butterflies

Sneaky Tree Frog

This little grey tree frog blended in very well with the tree bark on which it hung.  I almost missed seeing it, but thankfully something else nearby caught my eye and I realized it was there. 

Miscellaneous Fenner Forest Photos

Mosquito Beach

The Mosquito River empties into Lake Superior at Mosquito Beach.  The sand beach was littered by kayaks the afternoon we were there, as we had arrived at lunchtime and all the tours had stopped to eat.  The beach itself is not all that spectacular, but the rock outcroppings nearby are more interesting. 

Flora & Fauna Along The Way To Mosquito Beach

Valerie and I took a day hike to Mosquito Beach at the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore.  It was kind of an overcast, dark day for photograph, but I snagged a few keepers.