Better late than never, I hope…

Sorry I’m late. There was rain and then school and then blah, blah, blah. The good news is that the sun came out for a bit this afternoon, I was able to make a swing through the park, and the first critter I saw was this common yellowthroat (Geothlypis trichas), one of the many warblers passing through these days.

Just north of him, I found two new blossoms open in the park. This pretty, pale wild geranium (Geranium maculatum)

Right beside it was this pretty blue Jacob’s Ladder, possibly (Polemonium reptans)

Continuing north, the Baltimore oriole was back in the same spot as yesterday, and I took one more crack at a decent portrait of him. The best one was when he was just about to take off to evade a red-winged blackbird who thought the territory was his.

North of him, I came across a huge gaggle of goslings. It was hard to count, but I’d bet easily a dozen, with just two adults. Maybe a bunch of them just got in the wrong van at the rest stop, and now this one is all wore out.

I did see two adults with just two goslings a bit later, and they were headed in the right direction if some of these belong to them.

Finally, I reached the robin’s nest, and as luck would have it, it was feeding time again.

Tell me this look doesn’t say it’s always feeding time these days.

By then the sun was really out, and this blue-winged teal drake looks just gorgeous in it, doesn’t he? It is so great to have some green grass to reflect off the water instead of just brown mud and sticks.

I came across this solitary sandpiper who I thought was napping, so I carefully crept real close, and when I finally zoomed in, look who was probably keeping an eye on me the whole time, despite my best efforts.

Next, I swung by the pond, and there were a few wood ducks, a pair of teals, and a couple of guys with long lenses, so I pretty much kept moving. Not so fast though that I couldn’t spare a 1/4000th of a second for this sight.

On my way home, I spotted this critter making the most of the warm afternoon sun.

Lastly, just north of the southern exit, I finally captured a decent portrait of a European starling (Sturnus vulgaris) so you can see the striking white tips to its dark feathers.

Okay, now I gotta write and exam for tomorrow.