This Cedar Waxwing had been posing nicely, and after a few frames it turned its head as if to say, "Here you go, this is my best side and it really shows off my crest!"

Couldn't figure out how so many of the beautiful flowers had a full bloom of petals one day, and then the next day all of the petals would be gone with just the stem and the core of the flower left. Then one day an American Goldfinch . . .

Okay, so black terns may not be the most colorful of birds, but they are striking in their own way; this particular black tern is a molting adult (black and white pattern). They are quite agile as they quickly veer in different directions . . .

A little Sandhill Crane colt is on the move trying to catch up with its sibling and parents. Look at those tiny dinosaur feet!

An Osprey mama with two of her three chicks (you can see the beak of the third one in the lower left). These chicks had not yet fledged back in July and were hanging out with mama waiting for daddy to bring back some more fish. Ospreys eyes are a dark blue when they hatch, but after a few days the turn to the beautiful orange/red you see in this image. At the age of maturity which is around two years, the eyes will then turn yellow.

The Yellow-headed Blackbird is on the endangered list in Illinois, so it was quite a treat to observe and capture this beauty (male) in the reeds and cattails of Goose Lake in northern Illinois this past June . . .

It's easy to tell this was taken during the breeding season (this past spring) as American White Pelicans develop what are called nuptial tubercles on the tops of their bills. Both males and females develop these tubercles and they fall off when mating season is over; these are unique to the American White Pelican.

The first Saturday in September (Sep 5th in 2020) is National Hummingbird Day, so happy day to all of our little feathered friends and to those who celebrate them! They are quite busy here in northern Illinois getting ready for their big trip south . . .

Hello my old friend! Sandhill Cranes have one of the longest fossil histories of any currently existing bird. The oldest unequivocal sandhill crane fossil is 2.5 million years old, older by half than the earliest remains of most living species of birds, primarily found from after the Pliocene/Pleistocene boundary some 1.8 million years ago. (source: Wikipedia?"

Mama Eagle has been raising eaglets in this nest for many years, and this is the first time in several years that she has raised just one. No doubt this little one will be spoiled, not just from Mama but from her new mate as well.