(Scroll down for more pictures.)

(10/8/2010)  We thought we had seen a new type of swan on today's pontoon boat ride, but this turned out to be a juvenile Mute Swan whose bill hadn't turned orange yet.  As is common, it was swimming with one of its legs out of the water, which you can see in the back on the other side.  Click here for an analysis of why Mute Swans are bad and Trumpeter Swans are good.

(9/30/2010)  The Pileated Woodpecker doesn't normally show up at bird feeders, but I was able to catch this one with the camera that I always keep on my desk.  It's the largest woodpecker in North America.

(8/20/2010)  This Great Blue Heron was standing in the river just south of Hanley Lake next to the bloated carcass of some water mammal, which I cropped out of the picture.

(7/1/2010)  Hummingbirds typically sleep with their necks pulled in, bills pointed high, and feathers ruffled for heat.  They go into torpors where their metabolisms are reduced to 1/15 normal.  This one spent the night at my kitchen window feeder.

(7/1/2010)  They sometimes hang upside down when sleeping, as this one did after dark.  I think they normally sleep in more sheltered spots, but this one may not have learned all the survival tricks yet.

(7/21/10)   We saw two of the three Intermediate Lake loon families on our pontoon boat ride to the islands yesterday.  The chicks are growing rapidly and are starting to develop their adult coloring.

(6/24/2010)  Chick riding on parent's back.

(6/24/2010)  Mom with two chicks.

(5/31/2010)  The platform and nest at the north end of the islands.

(5/31/2010)  The second nest, located at the south end of the islands.

(5/31/2010)  I think this is the dad from the south nest.