A Great Blue Heron, Beautiful Scenery, Pleasant Weather!

It was a beautiful day – blue skies, comfortable temperatures – so I decided to head out to one of our local parks to catch some of the beautiful scenery and enjoy the weather. The light was just right and made for some interesting, abstract-looking photos of the lily pads on one of the ponds.

There was also a Great Blue Heron that dropped in to do some fishing, and despite the fact that a large group of kids from the nearby school descended on the area, the heron seemed indifferent to all the noise. In fact, it let me get close enough for some nice photos. (While the heron looks large an imposing when viewed from the side, it looks rather spindly and delicate when viewed face on.)















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Another Cooper’s Hawk Visits

Last week, we had two immature Cooper’s Hawks visit our back yard. Today, we had an adult Cooper's Hawk stop by, and I think he was snacking on another bird. Here’s a photo!


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A Cooper’s Hawk Visits

We had a pair of immature Cooper’s Hawks stop by in our back yard yesterday. One of the pair flew off before I could get outside with the camera, but the other hung around and posed for a few photos – with a watchful eye.



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The Chagrin Falls

The weather has been hot and sunny, so we made a trip to Chagrin Falls to see the falls, and of course get some ice cream at the ice cream shop right next to, and above, the falls. Here is a short and very calming video of the falls.




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Migrating Monarchs, a Fiery Skipper, and Vervain

The Monarch butterflies are on the move south, and their numbers are increasing on the areas near the shores of Lake Erie. Monarchs were all over the place when we visited the Mentor Headlands Dunes and the Mentor Marsh Wake Robin Trail this past week.

While at the Wake Robin Trail, we saw two people who were taking notes about what they were observing. We asked what they were tracking, and one woman responded that they were tracking the Fiery Skipper, a small yellow butterfly. Since there is work being done to restore the area by the Wake Robin Trail back to its fresh water habitat, they were watching how it will affect the Fiery Skipper population. Earlier on the trail, one had landed in front of me and I had taken its photo. The woman also identified a pretty purple flowering plant as Vervain.

Here are a few photos of the Monarchs, the Fiery Skipper, and Vervain, plus other wildlife and plants.















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Fairport Harbor Lighthouse

The Fairport Marine Museum (Fairport Harbor, OH) sits at the base of the Fairport Harbor Lighthouse and can be easily seen from the eastern side of Mentor Headlands Beach. Walking the Headlands Dunes to get to the Mentor Headlands Lighthouse (which is on Lake Erie at the eastern end of Headlands beach and the western end of the mouth of the Grand River), the Fairport Lighthouse can be spotted just a short way inland on the eastern side of the Grand River.

Last Sunday my husband and I headed to the Fairport lighthouse, both of us planning to make the trip to the top. Unfortunately, I only got a third of the way up before the open steps of the spiral staircase gave me a slight case of queasiness. I think I was more worried that I would be able to make the trip down without being frozen in fear. My husband braved it all the way up to snap a photo of the view from the top. I took all my pictures safely on the ground.

Panorama photo © John J. Zimmer

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Squirrel + Car = Vulture Food

My neighbor called to alert me that a turkey vulture had found a squirrel (which apparently lost a game of chicken with a car) and had dragged the squirrel across the street to begin to dine. Not wanting to miss a nice close up photo of such a big – and ugly - bird, I grabbed the camera and raced to get a few photos before the “buzzard” took off. Surprisingly, it let me get fairly close, although it did give me a look that said, "Leave me alone, I'm trying to eat!" Here are the photos.







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