A pair of American Coots feeding on aquatic plants, as seen from the nature trail at Krabill Lodge / Chippewa Lake. American Coots are one of the most widespread aquatic birds in North America.
Chippewa Coots
Song Sparrow
A song sparrow sings from the rusty remains of some old dredging equipment at Chippewa Inlet Trail.
Migratory Ducks
A large group of Ruddy Duck, Ring-necked Duck, and Bufflehead fly from Lake Medina after a fishing boat got too close.
Two-Striped Grasshopper
Cleveland Metroparks – West Creek was exploding with this grasshopper species on Saturday. Thousands were hopping on the trails, meadows, and parking areas.
Tickseed Sunflower
It seems like I see more of this wildflower every year. Can’t say I mind, it’s very cheering.
Hungry Hawk
“I’m a hawk and I can eat a snake. If I want to. I guess.”
Feather-legged Fly
I get excited when I realize that I’m looking at something new. With the help of duckduckgo and the right search terms, I was able to identify it as a Feather-legged Fly, probably Trichopoda pennipes. It was flitting around on the grassy field at Bath Nature Preserve this morning.
Chickweed Geometer
If your yard has clover growing in it, it might have these too: Chickweed Geometer, a relatively small but colorful moth about 3/4″ to 1″ in width, resting in the grass with its wings spread. My records show that my last observation was also in September– its their time of year.
Wild Indigo Duskywing
I’ve noticed an unfortunate trend on my blog, where I post a photograph of something I’ve seen and I add a comment like “I’m not 100% sure what this is, there’s a bunch that look just like this, I’m gonna guess this is XYZ, etc.” Well, here I am again, although this time I’m pretty sure I’ve got the correct ID for this butterfly. The Duskywings do have an unfortunate tendency to look alike, but the arrangement of the white dots on the forewing and the time of the year suggest that it should be Wild Indigo Duskywing.
Beaver Marsh Flycatcher
Flycatchers can be hard to identify; I believe this is an Eastern Phoebe but it was not displaying the characteristic tail flick that is common with the species.
