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April 16th. Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodius) atop the wood duck house that was being scouted for a possible nesting site by a pair of tree swallows yesterday.
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Time for some serious grooming.
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Quite the beard on this bird.
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The Tree Swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) are back at the other wood duck box.
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Another female Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus).
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An early flowering spring grass.
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Afternoon. Momma Canada Goose (Branta canadensis) on her bed of cattail fluff at Cranberry Bog, as usual.
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A Painted Turtle (Chrysemys picta) not far away...
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...along with three more.
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s and
American Toads (Bufo americanus) in chorus and mating at the little pond west of Smith Street.
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That's Duck Weed (Lemna minor) they're swimming through. One of the smallest flowering plants with just two tiny leaves and a root.
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April 17th.
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A fancy male Wood Duck (Aix sponsa).
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A Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia) in the spot where he sings every morning.
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The Brownstone Bridge over River Road.
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Maybe... a Broad-winged Hawk (Buteo platypterus). UPDATE: It is! Thanks, Russ, for the confirmation.
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Trailing Arbutus (Epigaea repens) is mostly past blooming prime...
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...but a few flowers were still in good shape.
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Trailside falls.
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Teeny ferns in a rock cut.
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At the pond just east of River Road, believe it or not, there's an Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) in this photo.
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This Osprey.
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No change at the Cranberry Bog Canada Goose nest near Smith Street.
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West of Smith Street, the Purple Trillium (Trillium erectum) flowers have opened.
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Horses at the mini farmyard west of Smith Street.
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And a cow not hiding very well behind a tree.
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April 18th. American Robin (Turdus migratorius).
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