A Tree Swallow hunts for insects over a small pond.

A rare sight, a Virginia Rail gathering nesting material. She would run off into the cattails, grab a leaf or two, and come back to the nesting spot to place them properly.

You'll have to look closely, but you can see this Ruby-throated Hummingbird's head through her wings as she sips nectar.

Incoming Green Heron, on a mission for tiny fish and tadpoles.

An Eastern Meadow Vole munches on a water lily pad.

A male Eastern Bluebird watches Cedar Waxwings flying around in the tree canopy.

This Ruby-throated Hummingbird pose makes me think of a teeny tiny penguin.

A juvenile Red-tailed Hawk keeps an eye on a Red-winged Blackbird that is in hot pursuit. The Red-winged Blackbird stopped the chase once the hawk left the blackbird's territory.

An Eastern Tiger Butterfly arrives at a Mexican Sunflower.

A Red-headed Woodpecker perched along the nature trail. They are chatty birds and I often hear their chattering in the tree tops.

A juvenile Virginia Rail popping out into the open. Rails have long toes to help them stay on top of the mud, which is coming in handy here; even with the long toes spreading out the weight this bird is sinking in a bit.

A female Ruby-throated Hummingbird hovering while deciding what flower to zip over to.

It's the fun time of year when the hummingbird moths appear! This one is a Hummingbird Clearwing. They are moths that hover while sipping nectar, with Bee Balm being one of their favorite flowers.

A juvenile Baltimore Oriole checking out a Baltimore Oriole nest. This could be the same nest the bird fledged from a few weeks ago.

A juvenile Red-tailed Hawk enjoying a meal close to the path. The parents are still bringing in food while the young ones learn to hunt.

This might be the youngest Sandhill Crane at the park right now. The other colts are about two to three times the size of this one. This young one still has plenty of time before migration (and some of the local cranes won't migrate and will overwinter.)

A juvenile Green Heron strolling along the boardwalk railing. The juveniles have a rough brown edging to their wing feathers, while adults have a lighter, crisper outline to the feathers.

A juvenile Blue Jay flutters his/her wings to get the attention of nearby parents in hopes of getting some food delivered.

This juvenile Virginia Rail has a small friend on the foot - a tiny snail (second shot is cropped to focus on the snail.) The snail traveled over the toes without the Rail reacting. Possibly the snail is on a revenge tour as the Rail ate a similar snail earlier.

A big Red-winged Blackbird juvenile (left) showing mom (right) that his/her beak is empty and that food needs to be put in it.

A juvenile Red-tailed Hawk showing off the feathery pantaloons with their pattern of small brown hearts.

A Sandhill Crane offers their young one some sort of plant material chunk. I believe it's a water lily root.

A sweet Downy Woodpecker. The red on top of the noggin shows this to be a young male; the adult males have the red feathers on the back of head.

A Great Egret about to have a little fishy snack with a side salad.

A Virginia Rail parent brings in some sort of invertebrate for the chicks. The chicks stared at the food for a few seconds before one tried to eat it, but it was too big to swallow. The parent ended up eating the offering and went off to find more suitably sized food.

A Spicebush Swallowtail butterfly flitting from rock to rock while looking for good puddling spots. Patches of the gravel trail were wet; the butterfly would find these spots and land to sip mineral-rich water from the gravel.

An Osprey gives me a look while carrying a stick back to the nest. I saw an Osprey carrying a much bigger stick yesterday. Osprey will continually bring in sticks to the nest to fortify any weak spots, and to build a high rim to prevent nestlings from falling out of the nest.

A juvenile Green Heron checks out a Great Blue Heron nest. I wonder if he/she was impressed with the nest size and skyline view?

Virginia Rail floofs! These chicks look to be newly hatched, 2-3 days old. They are about the size of a ping-pong ball.

Love the color of this juvenile Virginia Rail's eyes. Once this bird is an adult, his/her eyes will be ruby red.