Still plenty of youngsters around…

We had one more beautiful, if surprisingly cool, morning out here in the “Land of Steady Habits”, so I took one more walk along the Farmington Canal Heritage Trail. I wasn’t getting much for pictures until I almost reached my exit, when I spotted a young-looking great blue heron in the water just off the trail.

I hadn’t seen one there yet this trip, so I really wanted a picture, and I backed up right away in hopes of finding a gap in the foliage, but I somehow spooked it anyway. Instead of fleeing to the other side of the little pond, or even farther, however, it merely hopped up onto the railing of a short viewing pier. Even more amazing, it then proceeded to ignore me as I carefully stepped into the open and made this portrait.

Well, the day has gotten away from me, and now it is late, so here are just a few more pictures. First up is a young cedar waxwing gobbling down a berry.

Here’s a killdeer oddly hunkering down in the middle of a huge lawn.

Here’s an eastern phoebe striking a cute pose.

Here’s a young eastern bluebird starting to get his colors in.

Finally, here’s a silver-spotted skipper sipping nectar from what is probably invasive purple loosestrife, but you really can’t blame it for getting calories where it can, right?