Water Birds, Song Birds and a Grumpy Owl !

A lone male Hooded Merganser has been hanging out with the Mallards in Lake Chipican. The “hood” or "crest" on this small duck can be raised and lowered, changing the shape of the head and the white patch.

Hooded Merganser having a stretch.

Mallard Drakes admiring their reflections while being ignored by the female hen!

Some noisy Blue Jays drew my attention to this Wood Duck box. The Jays were making so much noise, I was certain that the box was occupied!

Blue Jays were relentless in their goal of alerting the other forest creatures to the predator's location!

It wasn't long before a crowd of Tufted Titmice and Black-capped Chickadees made an appearance!

A highly overexposed photo shows a grumpy Screech Owl in the cavity! I'm sure it’s thinking, "Leave me alone. I just want to sleep!"

A Northern Cardinal stopped for a drink in some calm water.

A Black-capped Chickadee enjoyed the nutmeat from a nearby walnut that had been broken open by a squirrel.

The song birds flew away when an American Mink swam through the channel.

A juvenile Cooper's Hawk blended in with the tree bark. I almost walked right past it!

It's always a treat to find a Red-shouldered Hawk, especially flying over Canatara Park! They are smaller than Red-tailed Hawks. Adults have extensively reddish brown underparts. The tail and flight feathers are black and white striped.

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Red-shouldered_Hawk/id