Wild turkeys tend to break off into female flocks and male flocks, and I found a beautiful group of female turkeys foraging in a field near the woods. There were 20 to 30, moving leaves aside and scratching around for snacks . . .

Check out this bumblebee from last August as it was flying in for a sunflower. The pollen is sticking to the bumblebee everywhere, perhaps at capacity since you can see some of it falling off behind it. Fascinating little creatures they are.

The wind was quite blustery out of the north, and I was fascinated by the sandhill cranes that would ride the wind to the south with speed and then bank back to the north to land in the field. As they glided back to the north . . .

This Red-winged Blackbird was none too happy with this Osprey flying over his territory, so the chase was on. After a couple of maneuvers, it was Osprey 1, RWB 0.

Pretty sure this Red-tailed Hawk looks like how many of us feel after this last election cycle . . .

With the summer colors gone and most of the autumn colors, been looking back to late summer images and found a clearwing hummingbird moth in flight that makes me smile. Didn't have many visit this year, and this was the only one I was able to capture in flight. Love these little flying beasts.

A Red-tailed Hawk enjoys its evening snack in the quiet of an old oak tree. The 3rd image shows this beautiful juvenile using its talon to pull the tough, final remnants apart.

A couple of mute swans pass each other during a leisurely afternoon paddle on a lake. These swans were migrating and had decided to rest and feed for a spell before heading south. Although not native to North America, they are still easy on the eye.

Just in case you've ever wondered what this bird would look like if it were up above you on a tree limb and decided to look down at you, here you go! A cormorant looks down as if to say, "Do I know you?"

How about a bluebird to brighten up the day! There's just something about bluebirds that put a smile on my face, especially after multiple days of gray skies and rain. This male Eastern Bluebird will do the trick, from early October at Skokie Lagoons.