A female Pileated Woodpecker looking for a good spot to start hammering. This is a younger female as her eyes are dark and not the bright yellow of adults.

Female and male Red-winged Blackbirds visit the Hand of Snacks. I did get hit with the peanut but not to worry, I came through the experience unscathed.

If you look to the right of this Canada Goose you will see one of the smallest shorebirds in the world. This is a Least—aka Fun-Sized—Sandpiper. They are long-distance migrants, traveling from breeding grounds in the far north tundra to their wintering grounds in South America.

Chestnut-sided Warblers have quite a different look in the Fall. They swap their Spring look of a yellow cap, black cheeks, and chestnut sides for feathers of lime green, grey, and white.

I feel like the Painted Turtle on the top stump is at a podium about to give a speech and the other turtles are attentively listening.

An impressive synchronized launch by two Red-winged Blackbirds. Some are missing head feathers due to molting. The calling in the background is from a young Red-winged Blackbird asking for food.

A Great Egret landing at a new fishing spot.

A Belted Kingfisher with a tiny white heart next to his eye. 🤍

This may be the first time I have taken a photo of a Great Blue Heron in flight and filled up the frame without cropping off a toe or a wing. Action shots are my favorite; the other day I took 7667 photos and kept 15. That's a 0.2% keeper rate. I am thankful for digital cameras!

A female Northern Cardinal enjoying some breakfast at the Hand of Snacks.

A male Wood Duck flying low over the lily pads

A Sandhill Crane that was preening in the pond (with a feather stuck to his/her beak.)

A Pileated Woodpecker spreads her wings in the morning sunshine as she takes off for another tree.

A male Northern Cardinal making a quick peanut stop.

A young Red-tailed Hawk looking for a good perch. These hawks do most of their hunting from elevated perches.

A busy Green Heron. He/she flew in, set the neck to maximum length for a minute, and then flew off.

A female Downy Woodpecker visits the Hand of Snacks for a suet nugget. For some reason the Downys like to buzz past my head at times, it seems like a fun thing for them to do.

A cutie Cape May Warbler in a spruce tree. They love spruces.

Bay-breasted Warblers are one of the warblers that undergo a drastic change in plumage between Spring and Fall. In the Spring these birds have rich red-brown coloring. This one is fueling up to help continue his/her migration to South America.

A male American Goldfinch dining on coneflower seeds.