Ruby-throated Hummingbird

Ruby-throated Hummingbird A huge wave of Hummingbirds came through during migration, with a dozen and more busy around the prairie at Owen Park, Madison.

Ruby-throated Hummingbird Depending on their angle, a few looked rather plumped up for their journey of thousands of miles ahead.

Ruby-throated Hummingbird Feeding with great precision and delicacy as it hovered before one of countless blossoms.

Ruby-throated Hummingbird Even a thistle had to be checked out.

Ruby-throated Hummingbird Perched and watching as others flew around and around. Though not in their terrritories, they could still be contentious with one another.

Ruby-throated Hummingbird Sometimes the aggression seemed half-hearted, with only a buzzing fly-by.

Ruby-throated Hummingbird If another came too close, a squat posture turned elongated with the possibility of a lift-off and chase.

Ruby-throated Hummingbird A close-up showing the fine detail of the very tiny bird.

Ruby-throated Hummingbird That portly look achieved partly by posture and partly by actuality.

Red-eyed Vireo With its bright red eye gleaming in the sunlight, the Red-eyed Vireo is on the hunt for insects active in the warm morning sun.

Red-eyed Vireo A Ruby-throated Hummingbird pauses to look back at the staring Vireo.

Brown Thrasher Another bird with a very bright eye, though this one is brilliant yellow, attached to a very long tail on the other end.

Brown Thrasher And here's the tail shown off.

Gray Catbird Looking a bit scruffy from being both wet and going through a molt.

Rose-breasted Grosbeak Colorful, with no shortage of patterns, and a very large bill excellent for cracking open difficult seeds.

Hairy Woodpecker When side-by-side with a Downy, the Hairy looms much larger, both in body and bill. It's always surprising.

Foggy Stricker`s Pond After yet another stormy and wet day, the morning began with waves of fog rolling over the pond, perfectly clear one minute, then socked in the next.

Northern Flicker Usually raucous, once they have all attention on them, they like to fall silent as if to claim it wasn't them.

White-throated Sparrow As September eases from summer into autumn, more and more White-throated Sparrows appear in the low brush, and often agitated.

Common Yellowthroat A female flitting about and tossing out characteristic grunts and chatter in the sheltering cattails.

Wild Turkey A beautiful feather left behind by a roving wild Turkey. A combination of night dew and rain beads up on its surface.

© Michael Bailey All Rights Reserved; Not for reproduction.
No photograph from this blog may be reproduced or used
in any form or by any means whatsover.

Nest Thief

American Goldfinch The thief.

Cedar Waxwing The original nest builder with a piece on the way. The female does most, if not all, of the work.

American Goldfinch and Cedar Waxwing American Goldfinch on lower left pulling pieces out of the nest as the Cedar Waxwing, upper right, builds.

American Goldfinch and Cedar Waxwing One of many visits the American Goldfinch makes as it steals from the bottom of the nest and flies off to make its own.

Cedar Waxwing On the alert about the activity, yet doing nothing about it yet.

Cedar Waxwing Standing by, not taking part either way it would seem.

Whitetail Deer Owen Park in Madison has a resident population, mostly bold and also active in the daytime.

Whitetail Deer This female appears to have a full udder, so must be nursing a fawn nearby.

Indigo Bunting One of the brilliant inhabitants of Owen Park singing from a vantage point overlooking the prairie.

Indigo Bunting Time for a bit of preening.

Cooper's Hawk Perched on a rotting log, sort of hunting, this juvenile begins to get irritated at insects beneath.

Cooper's Hawk Trying to figure out just what's going on, it flew up and back, searching underfoot.

Cooper's Hawk Serious talons, one sunlit.

Cooper's Hawk Farther away an adult perched as another flew in from the prairie with a small rabbit.

Common Yellowthroat A female keeping an eye on intruders.

Common Yellowthroat She complained a great deal as she moved through the brush and plants.

Common Yellowthroat A brief look down and then off farther away, maybe trying to draw attention away from a nest.

Swallowtail Butterfly A few intermittently drifted here and there as they fed on the nectar of flowers.

House Wren Everywhere and sure to let you know they are present.

House Wren Two at once, probably siblings from a nest in the past few weeks.

Gray Catbird Another abundant resident with an amazing variety of songs and calls, though mostly meows late in the summer.

Eastern Phoebe Early in the season they can be heard continuously calling at dawn, but fall mostly silent as the summer wears on.

Lily A domestic escapee at the edge of the trail at Ho-Nee-Um in the University of Wisconsin Arboretum, Madison.

© Michael Bailey All Rights Reserved; Not for reproduction.
No photograph from this blog may be reproduced or used
in any form or by any means whatsover.

Cooper's Hawk

Cooper's Hawk One of two juveniles continually calling for food from their parents nearby.

Cooper's Hawk A bird overhead caught this juvenile's attention. However, not the two large rabbits ambling about on the trail below.

Cooper's Hawk The other juvenile landed in the tangled branches of a tree and looked at home worrying through them.

Cooper's Hawk It even found a tunnel to fly through.

House Wren Trying to decide whether or not to complain about an intruder.

Swallowtail Butterfly Brilliant scales in the sunlight as it fed on the flowers.

Swallowtail Butterfly Probing into the center of the flower.

Swallowtail Butterfly A delicate balance as it worked from flower to flower with short flutters.

Eastern Kingbird In the open at Governor Nelson State Park and on the lookout for all intruders into its space.

Northern Cardinal Crest straight up in excitement, a female with her bill stained from eating berries.

Common Yellowthroat A male on the way to a nest with freshly caught food for its young.

Sedge Wren Usually well-hidden, this Sedge Wren popped up and down a few times while chatting away.

Sedge Wren A quick look before disappearing again.

Crane Crossing An enjoyable not-so-standard sign with art work.

Sandhill Crane No need to worry about flyovers.

Red-winged Blackbird A fledgling squawking for food from a male parent, but the parent looks like it is done feeding. Get over it.

Double-crested Commorant Passing through and working with the sun at Stricker's Pond on an early morning.

Double-crested Commorant The two companions, both immature birds.

Green Heron A short wooden bridge makes for a good fishing spot.

Green Heron Look up at the sound of a bird flying over and talking. Danger or not?

© Michael Bailey All Rights Reserved; Not for reproduction.
No photograph from this blog may be reproduced or used
in any form or by any means whatsover.