Vireos and Seamonsters

I was over by the river looking up at an oriole, which are everywhere now, and this little guy caught my eye with his bright white belly when he landed on a nearby branch. He proceeded to groom himself and air out in the sun as I proceeded to take picture after picture. Unfortunately, his head was obscured by a twig, and try as I might, I just couldn’t move enough to fix that. Suddenly, he looked down, spotted me, and took off, but by sheer blind luck, I just happened to press the shutter release in the nick of time.

That, my friends, is a Red-eyed Vireo, as far as I can tell. Some of the other pictures I took better show his light olive-colored wings and back.

After that, I headed back by the pond to see if there was anybody I had missed. Suddenly, there was a ruckus at the north end, and I wondered if it was our old buddy, the muskrat from earlier in the week. I didn’t want to scare it off, so I don’t dare get any closer and just took as many pictures as I could from where I stood. It was only when I got home that I could make out the giant claws of the snapping turtle long rumored to lurk in these waters. I don’t know what it was wrasslin‘ with, but it soon resubmerged and the pond got very quiet again.