On a day where I wasn't seeing much, I decided to head to a spot where I'd seen Brown Creepers in the past in hopes of seeing one. And I did! As they travel up trees, these birds use their tail feathers as a prop, similar to Woodpeckers.

A Sandhill Crane couple strolling through the shallow waters.

American Wigeons are cute ducks with pale blue beaks, an iridescent green patch on the wings, and the males have a fancy iridescent green noggin stripe and a white cap. These birds are grazers with their stubby beak being ideal for pulling up and eating vegetation.

A Ruby-crowned Kinglet scouting the next spot in the bush to bounce over to. These birds tend to forage lower than the Golden-crowned Kinglets.

A female Pileated Woodpecker working on a fallen log with a pop of Fall color in the background.

I was surprised to see a Sora still around. Most of these marsh birds have migrated, and I imagine this one will very soon with the temps going below freezing at night in the next few days.

A Red-tailed Hawk bringing a new stick to the nest.

A Sandhill Crane fishing in the shallow waters for the roots of aquatic plants to eat. This one found a fishing float and I was concerned the bird would eat it, but luckily the bird discarded it.

A male Pileated Woodpecker checking out an Oak tree to see if there is anything tasty to eat.

A game of leapfrog at the Great Blue Heron rookery with the local Bald Eagle couple.

A cutie patootie in my backyard, a young opossum. I don't know if this is the young one that was hunting frogs in the marsh; my trail cam has picked up two young opossums that like to hang around.

A young Trumpeter Swan passing by on the lake. Young Trumpeter Swans have pink on their bill, and gray feathers mixed in with the white.

A Wilson's Snipe poking about for invertebrates in the mud. The tip of that long beak has sensory pits to help the bird detect unseen prey.

A female/young American Goldfinch pauses for a moment before heading out to join the rest of the flock.

A Turkey Vulture drying off the wings after a rainy morning.

Lots of ducks were taking off from the lake, so I scanned the skies for a raptor. A Bald Eagle shortly appeared, but was not interested in hunting and continued heading towards the local nest.

Clinging to the side and under the boardwalk ledge, a Praying Mantis (Chinese Mantis species) was hiding from Red-winged Blackbirds. One of the birds discovered the mantis, leading to the insect going into this threat display, attempting to scare off the bird by flaring the forelegs.

A cute bouncy ball of a bird, a Golden-crowned Kinglet. They are closely related to the Goldcrest, which looks quite similar but is a different species found in Eurasia.

A male Wood Duck flying past overhead after taking off from the lake.

A cute Tufted Titmouse waits along the nature trail for a peanut to be offered.

A Red-tailed Hawk perched along the nature trail.

Golden-crowned Kinglets frequently call to stay in contact with each other. This wee one is giving the high pitched "see see see" contact call.

There have been lots of Ruby-crowned Kinglets bopping around the bushes, but I have yet to get a good look at the red crown (which only the males have) this migration. This crown is hidden most of the time unless the bird is excited (by defending territory or a potential mate.) 1/2

Sometimes I have to walk for miles before finding a particular bird (if I find them at all), other times I don't have to walk far at all. This female Pileated Woodpecker was looking for foodstuffs in the parking lot.

A Trumpeter Swan's breath from a honk is visible in the brisk Fall air.

A Great Blue Heron coming in to land at one of the mudflats on the lake.

The quality of this photo isn't great due to poor lighting but it made for an interesting scene. A gray squirrel was climbing up a tree when he/she realized there was a hawk in a nearby tree. The squirrel flicked his/her trail a few times and stared at the hawk for a minute before 1/2

Virginia Rails are secretive marsh birds that like to stay hidden in the cattails, but on rare occasions they come out into the open. Almost all of these birds around here in Michigan have left the marsh for warmer locations.

A few Common Grackles are still around and hanging out with the Red-winged Blackbirds.

Male Rusty Blackbirds are completely black in their breeding plumage, but in the fall/winter they have rusty colored edges to their feathers. The females have the rusty palette with a pale eyebrow. Their name could come from their colors, but they also have a call that sounds like a rusty hinge.

A Sandhill Crane couple walking along a small pond's edge. Many of the Sandhill Cranes at the park now have all gray feathers or have only a few rusty feathers, like this couple. Sandhill Cranes get their rusty coloring from painting iron-rich mud onto their feathers in the Spring. 1/2

A young Cooper's Hawk perched an Oak tree, watching the Blue Jays that were yelling at him/her to leave.

A cute Tufted Titmouse perches along the nature trail in the Fall foliage.

A raccoon tucking into some acorns. He/she was cracking the shells with his/her teeth to get at the nuts.

A female Red-bellied Woodpecker watches the trail from a mossy log.

A male Pileated Woodpecker working his way up a tree.

It's fancy duck time here in Michigan with ducks migrating through. These are Gadwalls, with one of the males in front. One of the male calls is a short, deep call referred to as a "burp."

A Tufted Titmouse performing the splits on a cattail reed while waiting for peanuts (the Tuftie got a peanut after this photo.)

This Great Egret tried for a fish but came up empty.

A Sora looking for tasty things to eat in the shallow waters of the marsh. "Tasty" to a Sora would be insects and tiny snails.

There were not many out on the nature trails on a rainy morning. This White-tailed doe and myself were one of the few.

A closeup of a Red-tailed Hawk that was perched a few feet from the nature trail.

Saw my first Dark-eyed Junco today! A sure sign of cold weather arriving soon.

An Eastern Chipmunk enjoying an acorn. 🐿️

I was shooting straight up while a female Pileated Woodpecker headed to another tree.

A female Pileated Woodpecker perched against golden Fall colors.

This Great Egret had an unique style of fishing. Instead of standing still, this bird was flying and then diving head first into the lake, flying up a few feet and then diving again. I watched this bird do this several times in a row until he/she was successful with a panfish.

A wee Ruby-crowned Kinglet hovers while plucking a small fly from a spiderweb.

A young Great Blue Heron circling the lake. Adults have the sides and back of the neck a solid grey-blue, while young ones have some brown feathers mixed in. This one was chased off a perch by an adult.

A Bald Eagle takes off from the Great Blue Heron rookery. Lots of ducks show up around the rookery this time of year, which encourages the Bald Eagles to hang out in the area.