October Birds:

Warblers continue to migrate through the area on their journey south. We found a Yellow-rumped Warbler hunting for flying insects on this beautiful sunny, October day!

A Black-throated Blue Warbler popped up for a quick picture during a cold day recently. Unlike other warblers that molt into "confusing fall plumage", male Black-throated Blue Warblers keep their distinctive black and blue plumage year-round!

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Black-throated_Blue_Warbler/overview

A Tennessee Warbler found some insects in the trees. They breed in coniferous or mixed deciduous-coniferous forests across Canada. During migration, they can be found in most types of forests and woodlands.

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Tennessee_Warbler/id

Black-capped Chickadees were abundant today as we walked along a stretch of the Grand River.

After extracting a seed from its seed pod, the chickadee cached the food in the crevice of some nearby tree bark for consumption during the winter months.

Along the Grand River, a pair of Trumpeter Swans swam gracefully past us. By the late 1800's, feather collectors and market hunters had decimated Trumpeter Swan populations. Swan feathers adorned fashionable hats, women used swan skins as powder puffs, and the birds' long flight feathers were coveted for writing quills. Aggressive conservation helped the species recover by the early 2,000's.

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Trumpeter_Swan/id