A Stop at the Shiawassee National Wildlife Preserve

I had to go take some drawings up to Bay City for my mom today.  After we dropped those off, we came back by way of M-13 and that meant a stop at Shiawassee.  They were doing some work on the main entrance, so we had to go another way.  It was a way that we haven't been and I kind of liked it better than the normal entrance because it went through woods.  Unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures of it.

It was kind of warm day and we were up there in the middle of the afternoon, so that meant many of the birds were hunkering down somewhere.  But that didn't mean we didn't see any.  This barn swallow was modeling for me.

Another shot of him.

As I came around to another spot, I saw this egret standing in the tree.  I think he was trying to stay in the shade.

He was close enough that I was able to get a face shot.

I love the looks of these birds, they are so regal.

the white really sets off well.

He was also modeling for me.

Hey, what are you looking at.

Another cool shot.

Just love these birds.

One more shot of him.

A water lily.

There were quite a few of them.

I kind of like this one.

I'm not sure what kind of flower this.

A group of cormorants.

I was going to make this one look like he was singing back to the chorus.

A puddle duck.

A closeup on a dragon fly.

Some more water lilies.

I kind of like this shot.

and one more.

I'm not sure how long the main entrance is going to be closed but I hope the change the pattern for a while.

 

Heading Up to Shiawassee

 As I was about ready to not do anything today, I looked up a Shiawassee group on Facebook today and I saw that today was the last day it would be open this season.  So I decided to head up there as it was a pretty nice day to do so.

First thing I saw was an egret.  But I usually see those around.

He's looking around.

I reached a spot where people were bunched up.  I was wondering why and then I saw this guy.

Apparently he is one of two fox kits they have at Shiawassee.  And I'll have to admit, he was pretty cute.

I was able to get a few pictures of him because I stayed far enough away and he was eating something.

He almost looks like he is laughing.

One more shot.

A heron.

A turtle and a turtle reflection.  I think it was a painted turtle but the lines seem too intricate.

Another heron.

A Trip to Shiawassee

 I was thinking about heading up to Mio today but I got a late start because I was kind of waffling because of the rain.  Also, when I got to US-23, it was backed up, so I took the back roads.  By the time I got to Saginaw, it was late, so I decided to head to Shiawassee instead.  It was a nice enough day for it.

First up is a song sparrow.

Kind of a cool looking bird.

Next up is a bird I've wanted to get a decent picture of for a while.  They are very elusive though.

I think I was able to do that though.

This is a belted kingfisher.

I like the top of it.

Next up is an egret.

One taking off.

I kind of like this one just sitting on a stump.

A heron.

A puddle duck.

I like the red eyes.

Another eagle.

A thistle.  These look cool when they are blooming.

A swallow.

That is looking at me.

But this made my day.

He was just sitting there.

The tree wasn't particularly tall, so he wasn't towering over everything.

Letting other birds know.

the light was just about perfect.

One more shot.

Another heron.

Queen Anne's lace.

Different angles of it.

I kind of like this angle.

Even though I didn't end up where I wanted to go, I still had a pretty nice day.