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 . . .

After the Sandhill Crane pair I'd followed in May lost their colts, it was great to find another pair of cranes raising two colts, and they were in the awkward teenage phase. Their feathers were just starting to emerge . . .

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.

Profile of a ruby-throated hummingbird. As it gets colder here and they continue their migration south, there are fewer hummers coming around. We will miss them and wish them a safe journey.

An American Goldfinch (male) perches on the stem of a flower that already has all of its petals plucked off. Guess this goldfinch just wants to make sure that nothing was missed!

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 . . .

The average distance from the earth to the sun is ~ 93 million miles, but it sure doesn't seem that far when it sets big and orange and red through the smoke and the haze. For the last month or so, the smoke from the western fires . . .