This leopard frog, surrounded by water, was a bit easier to spot.

Painted turtles must eat underwater as their tongues cannot manipulate food on land -- or on logs.

This little guy had a parent who would not stay still. At one day old, he was a bit clumsy at running, but scored high on the cuteness scale. (Herring gull)

This moose looks tall because, well, he is. When measured from hoof to the top of the head, they generally range from 6.5 to 7.5 feet (2 to 2.3 meters). Plus the antlers.

A merganser pair synchronizes their take-off.

We were thrilled when this big guy swam to within about 60 feet from our boat to exit the water.My camera was zoomed at as far as possible.

For a loon, there's nothing quite like a good shake.

Moose are massive with eastern bulls weighing 1,100 - 1,400 pounds (500 - 635 kilos).

Part of this beaver's routine to draw us away from its lodge was to slap its tail on the water and go into a fast dive.

Some of the feathers on this herring gull looked semi-transparent.

I'll never get close enough to touch, but I think a moose's nose looks velvety soft.

I was fascinated by the variations of heads on loons. An adult loon loses the little white dots on its head, and during breeding season, the head is solid black with an iridescent greenish or purplish sheen.

I love when red-wing blackbirds fly, showing off their colors.

When this big guy moved, he exuded power.

Nesting double-crested cormorants.

This cow moose was cautiously keeping an eye on us.

Perhaps glad that the stationary nesting stage was over, the parent gulls kept moving away, and the chicks kept running to get underneath them.

For the majority of their lives, most dragonflies are aquatic.

Grackles are highly intelligent like crows, but they're in a different family. The blackbird family.

A typical walking speed for a moose is 5 to 10 miles per hour (8 to 16 km/h). Better than my running speed.

A bald eagle parent was off to find food for the hungry eaglets.

This painted turtle was doing quite a balancing act.

As the light changed, the color of the water traveled through a wide spectrum.

A moose's time is divided between eating and watching for predators.

A double-crested cormorant on a mission.

We suspected there were kits in this beaver's lodge because he kept swimming around us, trying to entice us away from the lodge.

The herring gull chicks were little balls of fluff.

We were excited to see a moose swim across a river, which was much deeper than I thought.

This side shot shows more of why they are called leopard frogs.

t was too early for loons to be nesting, but they were scouting and trying out potential nesting spots. This spot didn't make the cut.