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.

Two sandhill cranes pause for a moment from foraging to enjoy a beautiful sunset.

Spotted touch-me-nots, aka orange jewelweed (impatiens capensis), are a native wildflower of Illinois and were in bloom a couple of weeks ago at Moraine Hills State Park. They are popular with pollinators, and I observed this first hand . . .

How apropos that we should be visited by a black swan in 2020. Black swans are native to Australia, and it's anyone's guess as to how this one wound up in a forest preserve lake here in northern Illinois, but there it was with a family of mute swans . . .

How about having an endangered (in Illinois) yellow-headed blackbird staring right at you? Okay, that will do. Hello Yellow!

This Hummingbird Clearwing moth takes its turn at hovering and poking around the flowers. These moths are excellent pollinators, and need a good amount of energy to keep their wings beating . . .

A bumblebee with a face full of pollen buzzes among the flowers. Thank God for our pollinators!

Osprey stretches out its beautiful talons to land on the branch of a dead tree. She perched on this branch for quite a while and called out from time-to-time to encourage her two remaining chicks to fledge. Swipe right to see a closer/cropped view of the landing.