WALKIN', WRITIN', WIT & WHIMSY

The third time was the charm.

Posted on August 17, 2025 by Linda Schaub

Finally, after a myriad of funky weather events in June and July, Monday, July 21^st was the perfect day for a woodsy walk and I hoped to fill my photo card with a few Osprey offspring pics before they fledged. The moon and stars were aligned in my favor with a gentle breeze, no rain and a blue sky with zero wildfire smoke.

My plan was to revisit the Osprey platform nest near Lake Erie Metropark’s Marina and photograph the pair’s offspring. I didn’t have to guess whether the chicks had arrived because a local photographer in the Huron-Clinton Metropark Photography Group I follow on Facebook had already captured several images of the parents and their three chicks, so I decided I’d best get there before the trio fledged.

As I passed the Brownstown Township satellite fire station near the park’s entrance, I stole a glance to see if any Osprey parents and/or offspring were in that nest that they build every year in the fire station’s siren. Since the nest was unoccupied, I just rolled on.

Just a mile or so down the road was the turn for the Metropark Marina. The Osprey platform is on the corner of Lee and Milleville Roads, but I always park at the Marina. As I drove past, the nest was empty, so I mumbled “wait, are you telling me I just drove 15 miles to see an empty nest?! Surely they couldn’t have fledged already!”

Admittedly, it’s not like they left a sign “letting the kids try out their wings with flying lessons – back in a bit!”

So, I asked myself “should I stay or should I go?”

Patience is a virtue.

Well, I was content to wait – how long could they be gone anyway? I mean, did the entire family have to go at one time? Well, evidently so, as I waited 10-15 minutes with no sign of any Osprey. As I walked back to the car, however, a lone Osprey was winging its way back to the nest, circling overhead, but flew away again.

Birds of a feather flock together …

… (whether huddled together in a nest or carved into wood).

Having failed at Osprey sightings twice, my next ace in the hole was a few miles away, the Pointe Mouillee DNR Headquarters.

This place is out in the sticks and I arrived after turning left, then enduring a two-mile ride down a bumpy road. I parked, then glanced over at the Osprey platform. Whew! There WAS activity in the nest, so I retrieved the camera and set out on my mission.

But first I chatted it up with a few landscapers who were busy mulching and planting around this beautiful wood carving of birds, so I complimented them on their work thus far. I learned that a wood carver took an existing tree at the DNR Headquarters and carved it as you see below. I’ve included close-ups of the detail.

You can see the base of the tree trunk in this photo.

Here’s a look from afar. This wooden frame will display a sign for all the members of the Ducks Unlimited Group who have passed away.

I was told the carved tree and plaque will formally be revealed at the 77th annual Pointe Mouillee Waterfowl Festival held September 13th and 14^th.

I searched for info on the wood carver or the finished work, but could find no info currently on the DNR Headquarters site or anywhere else – perhaps we’ll find out after the big reveal at the Waterfowl Festival.

The awesome Osprey family.

As I neared the nesting platform, an Osprey flew overhead and plopped into the nest. I chastised myself for being so chatty as I might have gotten a shot of the Osprey diving for a fish and/or carrying it in its talons.

Well, here we go again with a missed shot … “the one that got away!”

But the landscapers were so friendly and I enjoyed speaking to them and learning about the carving. At least I got to watch the family chowing down, most likely on a fish. In a lot of my shots, their heads were bent down or there were too many bodies at one place. It wasn’t always a feeding frenzy however, but I got a few shots of the offspring being fed.

Ruffled feathers – two kinds!

For weeks on end, it was windy here in the Mitten State. It seemed every trip to a shoreline park meant planting my feet wide apart, to get a firm stance in an effort to keep the camera steady. But shortly after I arrived here, the wind picked up – grrr! The breeze tickled the feathers of these raptors, but my feathers were similarly ruffled as I called up to the nest “why can’t everyone separate for a few minutes so I can get a nice group shot?”

But that question posed was met with a stony glare.

… or they simply looked the other way.

Nope, they did me no favors, continuing to hunch down with their brunch.

Perhaps these few steely gazes …

… would have translated to “do you like your meal interrupted Linda?”

There was a bit of vocalizing as well …

… yep, if Mama ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy! 🙂

I’ve come to the conclusion that there is a lot of staring and glaring going on with these Osprey types.

I saw a few Dragonflies, but they were way too quick for me to photograph. A Killdeer was running around the parking lot at breakneck speed and a Seagull and an Osprey were shooting daggers at one other from their respective poles. You’ve met these critters in my recent Wordless Wednesday posts.

Admittedly, there is not much to see at this venue. I wandered over to the water’s edge to look at the American Lotus plants. In 2024, at every venue visited in July and August, I brought back lots of photos of these beautiful blooms. It was a good thing I took these photos since the Lotus beds at Lake Erie Metropark are problematic this year and have not produced at all according to a park ranger.

I’ll have more photos of the DNR Headquarter’s blooms in this week’s Wordless Wednesday.

I left and headed back to Lake Erie Metropark in search of Barn Swallows chattering on the old dead tree, but they were MIA. I’ll write about that walk separately.

P.S. – Later that day, one photographer at the Huron-Clinton Metropark Photography site proudly posted a “family photo” of the parents and three offspring he had captured at Lee Road near the Lake Erie Metropark Marina earlier that day.

So they WERE winging their way around the Park for flying and/or hunting lessons.

Sigh … you win some, you lose some.

I am joining Terri’s Sunday Stills Challenge: “Wings and Feathers”.

Posted in #Sunday Stills Challenge, birds, nature, walk, walking | Tagged #Sunday Stills Challenge, birds, nature, Osprey, walk, walking | 77 Comments

“Hey Buddy, let’s swap poles!” # Wordless Wednesday # “I guess that’s a ‘no’?”

Posted on August 13, 2025 by Linda Schaub

Wordless Wednesday – allow your photo(s) to tell the story.

Posted in #WildlifeWednesday, #Wordless Wednesday, birds, nature | Tagged #WildlifeWednesday, #Wordless Wednesday, birds, nature, Osprey, Ring-billed Seagull | 31 Comments

“The Earth is what we all have in common.” – Wendell Berry

Posted on August 10, 2025 by Linda Schaub

I chose the above quote by environmentalist Wendell Berry as the title for today’s post because, in an ever-changing world chock-full of disparagement and dissension, perhaps this is a statement we can all agree on.

This walk happened on Earth Day, April 22, 2025. The entire week was picture-perfect weather-wise and by week’s end I had visited all my favorite venues.

I decided Earth Day merited a meander at Humbug Marsh at the Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge (“DRIWR”). You may recall I’ve told you how the entire area was remediated from former industrial brownfields and polluted areas, transforming it into restored habitats. The Humbug Unit of the DRIWR is the last undeveloped coastal wetland along the U.S. portion of the Detroit River.

But the primary reason I was visiting that day was to see the Killdeer nests scattered in a grassy area away from the hubbub of Humbug Marsh, the Korneffel Fishing Pier and the Visitor Center. Since I follow the DRIWR on social media, a post alerted us to the multiple Killdeer nests, (a/k/a “scrapes”), each with a tall orange flag near them, to hopefully avoid accidental crushing of the eggs. Killdeer are ground nesters and both parents incubate the clutch of four, tan-colored eggs. I wanted to see the nests and photograph them.

You couldn’t miss the flagged areas, eight in all, near the overflow parking lot.

I stopped here first, content to grab a few photos of a nest. I was surprised that the contents of each nest were identical, i.e. four, tan speckled eggs, all tipped upright. Here are two of the eight nests; see how they blend in with the brown twigs and small rocks?

Having secured these shots, I planned to step back from the nesting area. But, would my very presence trigger a Killdeer adult to dissuade me from getting close to a nest by feigning a broken wing?

Sure enough, moments later one Killdeer parent began feigning the broken wing scenario in earnest, even though I really was not close to its nest and I have no clue which nest belonged to this bird.

You may recall my earlier post from Mother’s Day about the Killdeer and its actions, with more photos and a video. Here is that post in case you missed it.

I didn’t want to create disharmony here, especially on Earth Day, so I moved along, much to the delight of the Killdeer parent which “miraculously” flew away, but still monitored my movements from afar.

It had been a while since my last visit.

When I arrived, I couldn’t help but notice the huge flag at half-staff due to the passing of Pope Francis the day before. Pope Francis championed multiple causes and broke ranks in many instances and, if you didn’t know, he stood for climate justice.

Korneffel Fishing Pier.

I walked the 700-foot (213 meters) Korneffel Fishing Pier to see if there were any Cormorants. These seabirds like roosting in the dead trees across from the fishing pier – nope, zero Cormorants, nor were they out on the water perched on a log.

Anglers lined the fishing pier, which is not unusual in the Spring when the Walleye and Silver Bass are running.

Look at all the boats in the water – I had to take two shots to get all the boats in!

The water here is very clear, so the shorebirds would have no problem spotting fish as they cruised overhead, but there were no seagulls swooping down here – perhaps they thought the fisherman would share their fish with them?

The Monguagon Delta.

Next, I headed to the long Monguagon  Boardwalk over the Monguagon Delta.

Pausing midway, I was disappointed because no Herons or Egrets were fishing.

The Refuge was still wearing its blah, Winter-weary look, brownish-colored grass and weather-beaten cattails, with little green to be found. Dried Phragmites reeds rustled in the breeze …

… rising up from the Delta area which had a surprisingly low water level. We’d had a lot of ice and snow – where did it all go?

There was nothing to see here, so I retraced my steps and headed to the woods.

A walk through the forest.

The Old Growth Forest is a wooded area consisting of 32 acres of very old trees, some over 300 centuries old. These are some of the Shagbark Hickories.

There were no frogs bobbing around in the Vernal Pool as that area was totally dried up.

Hmm – so far, but for the Killdeer experience, I was definitely striking out critter-wise, but I was happy for no Eastern Fox Snake encounters – whew!

Luckily, the good weather meant no muddy feet once I stepped off the walkway. At the end of the trail, there is another overlook at the marsh; often the Herons and Egrets are fishing there, but perhaps the shallow water deterred them. Usually, this water laps right up to the overlook.

I walked both the Orange and Green Trails, 2.7 miles (4.3 kms.) altogether.

I vowed to return when the leaves unfurled and the entire area greened up a little more and …

… the dull browns of early Spring had vanished.

There were a few spots of color, however. The mosaics at the back of the Visitor Center, are comprised of beach glass that has been embedded into the cement and is designed to capture the sun’s rays onto the glass, creating a wavy, ripple effect that mimics the sparkling colors of the Detroit River on a sunny day.

Postscript: I returned here a month later (as well as visiting the other two venues where I had taken photos of the three “Mamas-to-be” and their nests). I found young families of geese at those respective venues and, as to these eight Killdeer nests, I’m not sure where all the floofy-looking babies went, but I did see this inquisitive cutie-pie with a raggedy-looking tail, which may have been a Juvenile.

I am joining Terri’s August Color Challenge: Tan, Beige, and/or peachy shades.

Posted in #Monthly Color Challenge, birds, nature, Spring, walk, walking | Tagged #Sunday Stills Monthly Color Challenge, birds, Killdeer, nature, walk, walking | 70 Comments

“When do I say cheese?” #Wordless Wednesday #This Cabbage White enjoys posing.

Posted on August 6, 2025 by Linda Schaub

Wordless Wednesday – allow your photo(s) to tell the story.

Posted in #WildlifeWednesday, #Wordless Wednesday, Butterflies, nature | Tagged #WildlifeWednesday, #Wordless Wednesday, Butterflies, nature | 56 Comments

Dishin’ about fishin’.

Posted on August 3, 2025 by Linda Schaub

See this pair of fine-looking feathered friends that are posing so nicely for me?

Mere moments before I snapped this photo, these two were hugging the seawall while intently studying the water for fish. You see Coan Lake may be manmade, disgustingly algae-laden at times, but fishing at this venue is a popular pastime.

But here’s the catch, if you’ll please pardon the pun – every angler must toss each fish they hook back into the water.

Well, that’s a bummer since Heritage Park stocks Coan Lake with lots of fish and who doesn’t like a fish fry, the perfect taste of Summer, although Michigan anglers fish year-around.

However, not everyone has to abide by the rules about fresh fish – yes, there is some wiggle room because the waterfowl and seabirds that lurk about this three-acre pond routinely partake in the all-you-can-eat fish buffet.

The backstory ‘bout these birds.

On July 4th, under a searing sun, I returned to Heritage Park. You may recall I was hopeful for updated shots of MY ducklings and I was curious if there were any Barn Swallow babies in the rafters of the covered bridge. It was high noon and the walk had become more of a trudge since it was the second stop of the day. The resident Double-crested Cormorant and resident Great Blue Heron caught my eye as both were poised at the shoreline, eyes respectively trained on the water.

I sensed a catch was imminent. I knew they weren’t really fishing buddies and probably would NOT share whatever fish was caught.

So, there I stood, camera in hand, trigger finger, er … index finger at the ready to capture a shot of which bird would prevail and enjoy a fish lunch.

Do you remember a while back when I missed a shot of a Cedar Waxwing because two photographers kept pointing and telling me “there it is, right in that snag!” Getting that coveted shot was complicated because the word “snag” was not in Linda’s lexicon. Afterward I mused that perhaps I should have an ongoing feature called “The One That Got Away” – I certainly don’t mind poking fun at myself.

The one that got away!

Back to the Cormorant and Heron … as WE all waited expectantly for the catch of the day, the joke would not only be on me for missing the shot, but on my fine-feathered friends as well because suddenly, a Ring-billed Seagull, no stranger to the swoop-and-grab technique, skimmed the water, poked its bill down and came up with a fish, most likely THEIR fish. This escapade happened just a few feet from all of us and so quickly that I missed the shot of that Seagull’s fishing prowess, so for me, the hapless photographer, it was indeed the one that got away.

But for the Heron and Cormorant, it was to be their lunch.

In a heartbeat, the pair whirled around and faced me as if to say “what just happened here Linda? Our fishing skills were usurped by a lesser bird, a Seagull that swiped our lunch!” (Their indignation at the Seagull is the photo you see in the featured image.)

“I get it” I told them – “I mean … I missed the shot!”

This encounter was reminiscent of the many times my Park squirrels were left dumbfounded after a brazen Blue Jay swooped down to swipe a peanut right in front of them. Yes, déjà vu indeed! The squirrels would look at me, as if I, a mere mortal, controlled that bully bird’s behavior. And yes, of course, I doled out more peanuts or sunflower seeds to make them feel better.

Regrets … well, yes there were a few.

So, back to that bully Seagull. If a thought bubble floated over each of our heads, it might read “how did I not see this coming?” Or perhaps “if only I had been a wee bit quicker!” As for me, I chocked up that missed shot to the heat – my wagon was draggin’ by then.

Yes we collectively bemoaned the one that got away!

Moments later my feathered friends both departed in a huff, miffed that their lack of fish-nabbing skills had clearly been on display.

The Cormorant did a quick flyover, then plopped into Coan Lake – maybe it could nab a fish underwater?

I saw it pop up on the other side of the pond where it flew over to the grassy shoreline, distancing itself from both of us, but eventually it went back near the covered bridge – evidently the fishin’ is good there and I was able to get these shots of the still-pouting Cormorant with those mesmerizing turquoise eyes. It looks like its foot, as well as its pride, was injured.

As for the Heron, it stood there gobsmacked for a few seconds …

… then flew off in a huff, squawking as Herons are wont to do.

It likewise traversed Coan Lake, then landed across from the Water Wheelhouse …

… where it might have considered jumping into a fountain to cool off, but did not do so.

Taking very long strides, it returned to exactly where it was before, still fairly close to me, but not near the Cormorant. I was able to get some shots of its stealthy moves as it began its laborious fishing routine anew. I did not stick around to see if it was successful this time.

And that my friends is OUR tale of the one that got away!

I’m joining Terri’s Challenge this week: “A Taste of Summer”.

Posted in #Sunday Stills Challenge, birds, nature, walk, walking | Tagged birds, Fishing, nature, walk, walking | 65 Comments

Hmm – when the Killdeer gets in more steps/miles than you do. #Wordless Wednesday #Don’t ask! #Dog Days of Summer – Ugh!

Posted on July 30, 2025 by Linda Schaub

Wordless Wednesday – allow your photo(s) to tell the story.

Posted in #WildlifeWednesday, #Wordless Wednesday, birds, nature, Uncategorized, walk | Tagged #WildlifeWednesday, #Wordless Wednesday, birds, nature, walk, walking | 67 Comments

Color my world.

Posted on July 27, 2025 by Linda Schaub

Nearly every Summer morning since I began my walking regimen in 2011 and, especially after discovering Council Point Park in 2013, you’d find me on the move, camera in one hand, peanuts in the other, while capturing all the images that Summer has to offer. Those nature walks and photos were what I longed for during the cold and snowy Winter months.

The Summer of 2024 was hot and humid, but, newly retired with all the time in the world, I went out as much as possible, walking on many trails, making memories and packing images galore onto the photo card.

But this year is different … and not in a good way at all.

First, I’ve not been to Council Point Park since Memorial Day, May 26^th, when I visited with one squirrel, zero birds and a few fellow walkers who asked me “where are the squirrels?” Well I didn’t have an answer for them, though it did and still does weigh heavy on my mind. We decided that not only was the ambiance lacking at this nature nook, but our furry friends were as well. Huge concrete sewer pipes were deposited around the walking loop, heavy machinery filled the parking lot and it was noisy. I occasionally do a drive-by to see if the project is finished … it is not as of this writing.

So, I made the difficult decision to distance myself from Council Point Park until the work was completed. I will resume walking there in the Fall, when hopefully, more than one squirrel will be clamoring for peanuts. Meanwhile, a 10-pound bag of sunflower seeds and a dozen bags of peanuts sit gathering dust here at the house.

Pounding the pavement in the ‘hood hearkens back to my roots, when my walking regimen took me on the same routes daily. There was no joy in that journey, but yes, I got the steps/miles in. Long excursions have been few this Spring and Summer of 2025. Yes, I scurried to my favorite local parks in search of “babies” which was fun. Up until then, my most memorable walk in 2025 had been photographing waterfowl on the ice floes down at the Detroit River on March 13th. I shucked off most of my clothing when it got very warm, but happily I returned home with a treasure trove of photos; unhappily my face and bare arms got sunburned.

“It’s not the heat, it’s the humidity!” (Or so they say.)

I have been collecting memes to share sometime about how Michiganders are melting away in this Summer of 2025, with dew points often off the charts. We are, of course, not the only humans whining about the heat. I “get” it. In fact, I’m sorry I whined for months about the wickedly windy days because now the ever-present searing heat, sultry humidity and constant predictions of severe weather are my present whine. We’ve had a few bad storms come to fruition, but yes, I worry equally about the PREDICTED storms as I do the actual storms. Then there was the wildfire smoke and particulate matter in the air which could damage the camera lens and/or my lungs.

I’ve found a way to muddle through these bad weather days.

Because July is World Watercolor Month, a social media event now in its 10^th year, it is only fitting that I share some of my paintings I’ve done the past three months.

I am taking online classes with Julia Bausenhardt, a German artist who specializes in nature art.

To date, I have finished 37 paintings, but I’ll just share my favorites in slideshows and singly below.

First, I embarked on a four-week course in sketching and painting botanicals:

I followed that course with sketching and painting garden flowers:

I’ve painted lots of flowers so far. 🙂

Next was a course in sketching and painting butterflies:

Currently, I am immersed in learning how to sketch and paint birds.

Here are some of those sketches, along with the finished paintings:

My next painting will be a beautiful Blue Jay; the pencil sketch of it does not do it justice.

As to the featured image, it is a White-breasted Nuthatch. I am undecided whether to paint it or leave it as is. Julia did her sketch in fountain pen, but ultimately finished that watercolor painting using black, bluish-gray and white.

For my drawing I used a fine-line marker, but toyed with the idea of using my mom’s fountain pen, a gift she received from a friend when she completed Shaw Business College in Toronto in the late 1940s. I opened the pen to see if I could buy some ink to fill it. I remembered seeing Mom filling the pen from a bottle of black ink to use for correspondence through the years, but unfortunately the ink reservoir was stuck and I couldn’t twist it to remove it … alas, the fine-line marker worked well.

It’s been fun and a hobby I promised myself I would start when I retired. I first took a charcoal sketching class as a teenager in the late 60s.

These are the courses taken or in progress to date:

Some paintings, like this Flax and Snail …

… or this Skipper on a Thistle …

… or especially this Blue Hairstreak …

… admittedly are a tad whimsical, but they fit right in with my blog title, right?

I hope you think so too.

Terri has no Sunday Stills Challenge this week.

Posted in #Sunday Stills Challenge, nature, Watercolor painting, | Tagged #Sunday Stills Challenge, #World Watercolor Month, nature | 149 Comments

Mad Mallard #Wordless Wednesday #Ruffled feathers? #Missing feathers (due to molting)

Posted on July 23, 2025 by Linda Schaub

Wordless Wednesday – allow your photo(s) to tell the story.

Posted in #WildlifeWednesday, #Wordless Wednesday, birds, nature | Tagged #WildlifeWednesday, #Wordless Wednesday, birds, Mallards, nature | 33 Comments

It was a feather in my cap …

Posted on July 20, 2025 by Linda Schaub

… that I decided to go to Heritage Park on July 16^th.

I had an agenda of “wants” that included tiny ducklings, grown-up goslings and baby Barn Swallows. I knew that of these three “wants” the Barn Swallows would be the most difficult images to capture. The adults are constantly on the move, swooping here, there and everywhere to gather insects for themselves or their brood, or snagging mud and various plant materials to construct their cup-shaped nests, mostly beneath wooden structures, like overlooks, or in the rafters of covered bridges like the one at Heritage Park.

You’ll recall in my recent post about ducklings that while awaiting Mama Mallard and her offspring to emerge from beneath the covered bridge where they were expertly evading my shutter-happy self, I swiveled my head up to peer at the rafters for Swallow babies.

Hmm, it was a messy mishmash overhead!

Barn Swallows are beautiful creatures, with their peach-colored tummies and iridescent cobalt-blue bodies. I’ve been lucky to capture images of them at Lake Erie Metropark as they favor a dead tree to congregate and chatter to one another.

But here at Heritage Park, it’s not as simple. Sometimes I’m lucky to see a Barn Swallow catching its breath on the boulders near the bridge …

… or sitting on the wooden overlook by the Little Red Schoolhouse, in between their constant swoops and dives for bugs or nesting materials.

Back in 2020, I saw these cute baby Barn Swallows …

… but unfortunately, there were no babies this time.

Because it is dark under the bridge roof, my photos are never crystal clear, but it is interesting to see how these fine-feathered friends craft their nests. I took pictures, with great expectations since the camera’s red, low-light icon kept flashing.

There appeared to be an adult in one nest, but, due to the low light, plus me squinting a little, I still wasn’t even sure it was a bird inside the nest due to the messy feathers around where it sat, but later, when I sorted through my pictures, I saw a tail and confirmed yes, it was a Mama-to-be Barn Swallow.

Even though I was on the bridge walkway, far from any nest, an adult Barn Swallow parked itself up high, monitoring my movements, eyes trained on the nest on the other side. Each time the flash lit up the area, it seems it similarly flashed me an irritated look.

Near the nest, was another Swallow – was it protecting the nesting Mama-to-be or bringing her snacks while she silently incubated her eggs? It sure was messy in that corner and I was glad I had a hat on, though I didn’t really want white polka-dots on my hat either. 🙂

Believe me, the Missus sitting on the nest was safe and secure, way out of my reach, even if I was inclined to touch that mud-and-feathers, likely lice-infested and poop-ridden nest. But the adults positioned themselves as guardians of the gates, so I muttered that I was “just passin’ through, then I will be on my way.”

I noticed another messy-looking nest in the light fixture, but this one belonged to another type of bird – probably a Sparrow. They are fond of building nests in the pole lights around the park.

Postscript: Barn Swallows encounter #2.

It seems I’ve set a trend here of visiting Mamas on nests, then returning later in search of babies. This was the case once again as I returned to Heritage Park on July 4^th, 18 days later, grateful that the park’s Summer Festival had wrapped up and I could do my usual slow meander around Coan Lake and to the Taylor Botanical Gardens.

It was a blazing hot day and I arrived later than usual, having visited Emily Frank Gardens before driving here to Heritage Park. I usually visit much earlier in the day.

The sun, already high in the sky, looked as bright yellow as this Coreopsis plant that I saw in the perennial garden, while I was multi-tasking, looking for butterflies. The sun seemed like it must have a blazing red interior like this plant.

After stopping for a fun photo op with a Great Blue Heron and a Double-crested Cormorant, getting “grown-up” pics of MY goslings and ducklings, I stepped under the covered bridge once again.

I was reminded of the realtor’s expression: “location, location, location!”

All I can say is the living conditions of my fine-feathered friends was deplorable!

I had to assume that the Barn Swallow chicks had fledged in the 18 days since I’d last visited on June 16th and, when I hopped onto the “All About Birds” site that night – yes, that time frame confirmed it.

Well I might have been back sooner but for the Taylor Summer Festival the weekend before.

The bridge floor was a hot mess … nest pieces strewn about with feathers everywhere. Ugh! I hope it happened post-fledging!

On closer inspection I concluded this fallen nest belonged to the other inhabitants. It really should have been cleaned up by park maintenance before kids got their fingers into it.

I saw no Barn Swallow babies and all the adult Swallows that had previously “patrolled” the covered bridge while scoping out intruders were gone.

Mission accomplished – maybe they’ll have another brood this Summer. I’m keeping my eyes peeled as I remain on “Baby Patrol”.

I am joining Terri’s Sunday Stills Photo Challenge: Feathers.