Park Report Number 401

I was so excited about all the stuff I saw yesterday that I forgot to check if that was my 400th park report before I published it. Well, it was, so we’re going to celebrate my 401st today instead. Ha!

As exciting as it was to see a beaver in the river again yesterday, can you even imagine seeing two?!?

The blue heron that was fishing on the rapids below the falls followed me up the river and stopped to check out the falls themselves as I approached.

Wood duck drakes in all their finery are showing up everywhere now, and here’s one on the river in some nice colors reflecting off the far shore.

There were at least three killdeer, and two of them passed by each other close enough for this fun shot.

Besides the killdeer, waterthrush, and robins, all out foraging on the rocks exposed by the low river water, it appears there was also a male brown-headed cowbird female rusty blackbird (Euphagus carolinus) in the mix. Special thanks to diosaalx6 for pointing out my error.

Her yellow iris, light streak over the eye, and dark patch below the eye show up well in the bright morning sun, especially when I zoom in.

She’s on her way from Canada to wintering grounds that start right around here and continue all the way to the Gulf of Mexico.

Meanwhile, that same blue heron from the rapids and the falls continued north with me, and it finally caught something between the two islands.

Looks like a lot of grass…

but don’t worry. There’s a tasty little fish in there, too.

The white-throated sparrows are pretty close to their winter range, if not in it already, so they seem to be taking their time and are willing to strike a nice pose for us.

That bold waterthrush also caught something to eat.

And further south, another one even ventured right out onto the lily pads.

Finally, right on the other side of the path, a brown creeper was creeping up a tree trunk. They are also in or near their wintering grounds, so we might expect to see them for a while, if we can spot them. Did you manage to find the one I included in Sunday’s report?

Lastly, I had hoped to show you one last butterfly picture, and I even went out again yesterday afternoon to look for one on an aster in the warmth of the day, but I could only find cabbage whites and sulphurs, both of whom I’ve already featured lately. Darn. I guess we’ll have to wait till spring now.

See you in October!