Nature Notes: September Begins

I assumed that all the cardinals would be full grown by now until I started watching the following two males chasing each other around my deck.

The one above looks a lot like an adult male cardinal but his feathers are pretty muted and others I've photographed in the trees have the brighter red I associate with them. The one below is a mystery to me. He and the one above are the same size but he doesn't look mature at all. His beak isn't red and he doesn't have the dark black markings. Update - Nicole kindly found a link which cleared up the mystery. These are juveniles and you can click here for the Bird Forum to see the variations.

The female cardinal below was staying out of the two rowdy males way as she watched them chase each other.

The squirrels have decided it's time to harvest the pecans. I think they are a little cheeky to crack them, eat their fill on my porch swing, and leave a mess for me to clean up. I must admit that they are cute as can be.

I was walking on a trail at the NC Art Museum Park when I heard what sounded like a heron screech. I didn't expect a heron to be there but I looked up and snapped a quick shot. I'm pretty sure it is a great blue heron although I didn't have time to zoom in.

It seems like every time I look at the trees there is a little bit more color cropping up here and there.

I was walking on a greenway trail recently and thinking about how there weren't too many signs of autumn coming on that particular trail.

No sooner had I thought there weren't any signs of autumn than I looked up and saw some trees losing leaves.

On a recent walk at Shelley Lake I was looking at the water birds to see if there were any new ones. In the fall, there are usually some different geese and ducks that are only there briefly.

Sure enough I noticed the pair below with their white chests and dark outer feathers and the black and orange feet. That was the first time I'd seen them this year.

Whenever I pass the rock formation below, on one of the greenway trails I like to walk on, I am tempted to stick my fingers in the hole but I'm afraid something will bite me if I do.

Those are a few of the nature photos I've taken so far this September. For other participants, please visit the home of Nature Notes (Thursday is the official post day).