Was zoomed in on this dragonfly, watching it while waiting for some birds to come around, and it was looking straight ahead for the longest time. And then it tilted its head and looked at me. What?! Then it looked up at the sky . . .

The woods are alive around here in northern Illinois with autumn splendor, especially the hard maples. Soon the fruits of the maple trees (which are called samaras  - the helicopters or spinners) will be falling to the ground just before the leaves give way. A magical time of the year!

Now for something a little different. One day a couple of months ago while out shooting, a grasshopper flew (yes, one of those flying grasshoppers) in from the east and landed a few feet away. It was blustery, wind from the south. It proceeded to jump up . . .

Back in the spring I was watching and capturing this recently fledged great horned owlet branch up into the nook of a tree, and a bird flew through the frame. When vetting the images, it was cute to see how the owlet watched the bird as it flew by, albeit just a little slow on the take.

Found this beauty in the forest with a bead on an evening snack. This juvenile red-tailed hawk was active among the oaks and some of the fallen logs until it eventually bagged its prey and took it to a safe spot up in the tall oaks.

While going through images after a session, there were a couple with a bumblebee's middle leg raised up while another bumblebee was doing a flyby of the same flower (well, what's left of the flower after a goldfinch had plucked all of the petals off!). Intrigued, a little research led me to bumblebee.org . . .

Mama keeps a watchful eye on her lone eaglet as it struts with purpose from one end of the nest to the other. The eaglet would fledge about 5 days later.

A Great Egret strikes a pose before lunging for a snack on a warm evening a couple of weeks ago before the cold moved in. The Great Egret is a symbol of the National Audobon Society which was founded to protect birds from being killed for their feathers . . .

How can you not like bullfrogs, I mean, just look at that face! Found this bullfrog nestled against the rocks, perhaps exploring the area as a potential hibernation spot. American bullfrogs usually hibernate underwater . . .

Two tree swallows get in a heated argument on top of a bird house. Can only wonder what they were arguing about.