What happened to yesterday’s Summer-like temps?  I walked out of the door this morning and hurried back for more layers.  And, now I hear maybe a frost forecast tonight for the northern ‘burbs!

This morning, I decided since it was sunny and bright, I’d take another trip down to the marina to see if there were any photo opportunities.  There were only a few pleasure boats in their slips – so were the others all shrink-wrapped and stored for the Winter, or, were their owners doing a little early morning fishing?

I had the camera ready in case my unique-looking bird appeared again.  He wasn’t around, but the gulls were swooping and diving in that perfect blue sky.  I would have taken their picture, but they were a little close for comfort and I didn’t want any splatters on the camera lens.

I stayed about 15 minutes gazing all around while looking for a photo op, then I headed for home as I had a few errands to do in the car.

I can now update you about that unusual-looking bird that I first saw and wrote about in my September 12^th post: https://lindaschaubblog.net/2016/09/12/sunrise-and-scarecrows-on-a-late-summer-morn/

In that post, you might recall me wondering what kind of bird he was.  As you see in the collage above, in the picture on the deck, his neck is outstretched, like a crane or a heron, yet in the other photos he resembles a seagull.

Well, curiosity got the better of me, and, after perusing several North American bird identification sites, including searching for images of herons, cranes, gulls and terns, I finally contacted Michigan Audubon Society and sent along my four photos and asked if they identify the bird I saw at a marina in Ecorse.  Lyn Scrimger, the Operations Manager, e-mailed me right back and identified my unusual bird as a green heron.  Lyn said that they are common in Michigan, but not seen that much.  “Good spotting!”, he said.  So, I was pretty pleased with myself.  The above pictures are not as clear as the original, but you can see how it was hard to identify – heron or crane features with the long neck and tall legs, but gull-like in the body shape.

So, maybe he was passing through town, but I sure was lucky to have gotten a look at him.

As I was walking home, I noticed that the sidewalk was littered with a lot of acorns and leaves.  With the holiday décor and a faint tinge of red, orange or yellow to those leaves, plus a chill in the air, finally there is a real feel to Fall.