A Few Feathered Friends!

Pockets of migrating warblers can be found if you're in the right place at the right time! A Black-throated Green Warbler was eyeing up his next snack as it walked along the twig.

Gray Catbirds live in dense shrubs, vine tangles and thickets of young trees both in the summer and on their wintering grounds. One of their calls is a mewing sound, similar to a house cat.

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Gray_Catbird/lifehistory#behavior

Common Yellowthroat female

White-throated Sparrow

A White-throated Sparrow concentrated on grabbing seeds from a flower. He had to pluck the seed off of each fluffy parachute before consuming it.

Video: White-throated Sparrow grabbing seeds.

Cooper’s Hawks are common woodland hawks that fly through cluttered tree canopies in high speed pursuit of other birds. When this individual made an appearance, all other bird activity ceased.

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Coopers_Hawk/overview

A Great Blue Heron and Great Egret "marched" past each other as they exchanged fishing locations.  Egrets are members of the Heron family and the two species compete for the same types of food. Fish are the mainstay of their diets followed by crayfish and other freshwater crustaceans but they will also eat small mammals, frogs and other amphibians.

https://birdfact.com/articles/what-do-egrets-ea

Great Blue Heron with landing gear deployed.

The Great Blue Heron appears to be conducting an orchestra as it recovers from the watery landing. 

Canada Goose Beach Patrol!

Downy Woodpecker looking for insects!

The Downy Woodpecker was able to fit half its body into the tree cavity!

I unknowingly disturbed a hunt while walking down a trail. The Cooper's Hawk was close to zeroing in on some prey, possibly a chipmunk, when it popped up from the understory and stood on the side of the tree trunk. It continued to look towards the forest floor but the prey managed to escape. The Cooper's Hawk nest in Canatara Park this summer successfully reared 4 youngsters, so there are a few hawks using the park as their "grocery store."

And sometimes, something is just "out of place." Someone with good climbing skills placed this wooden bird high in a tree above a lookout tower at Henderson Conservation Area.