A Little Break From Magee...

 Ca-caw!

Hard to believe, butt I actually spent a day closer to home(gotta save gas!) and paid a visit to the Cuyahoga Valley National Park...specifically, the Beaver Marsh and the Ira Road trail head. This is always a great place for birding, even on bad days there's always something of interest. This is also the spot where I got my first(and only) otter!

The path I walk is only a couple of miles at most, butt I can easily spend most of the day in that little area. There is so much to take in with woodlands, the marsh and wetlands and a meadow....and the fellow birders I always bump into.

This was a productive day, and I probably posted too many photos, butt have a seat, get a cool drink and enjoy...or run away while you can!

 The Baltimore Orioles were out in force, singing and squabbling with each other.

 Yep! There's warblies out there too!

THis view of a Black-and-White Warbly was better than the ones I had at Magee so far!

 Black-capped Chickadees are my brother Phil's favorite lil birdie.

(AND they're nesting in my nest box for the third year!)

 A Cape May Warbly on the hunt for juicy bugs...yum.

 I even saw a couple of Chestnut-sided Warblies out there!

 I'm getting the stare down from a Green Heron...he won, I gave up and left...

 Sometimes the Great Blue Herons are too close!

 I love to hear that crazy Gray Catbird song!

 This Eastern Kingbird found the perfect hunting perch.

 How could you have a bad day when there's an Eastern Bluebird over your shoulder?

 This Downy Woodpecker was picking ants off the tree branch...

 And apparently, he didn't like that one...

 Male Mallards are the meanest ducks I've ever seen.

Here he was holding the female under water.

She managed to escape unharmed.

 A Midland Painted Turtle chillin' in his own Monet painting.

 This Northern Water Ssssnake was ssssniffing out ssssomething for a sssssnack...

 This slightly disheveled Orchard Oriole was singing up a storm.

Well, not really a storm, more of a sunny day...

 Trying to find another otter and up popped this Pied-billed Grebe!

Close enough...

 This female Red-winged Blackbird was having a nice stroll across the lily pads...

 Holy cow! A Ruby-crowned Kinglet actually sitting still!

 I think this was an extra from one of those Godzilla movies...or maybe just a huge Snapping Turtle.

I saw a smaller one trying to race across a road a couple of weeks ago. I stopped traffic to grab him and get him off the roadway...and I still have all of my fingers.

Don't try that at home kids, I'm a trained semi-professional...or something...

 When I saw this Song Sparrow with a chopper full of bug bites, I knew he was going to a nest somewhere. I backed away and kept an eye on him and lo and behold...

 Buried down in the reeds, there's a little nest!

I took a couple of shots and left immediately so as not to stress them.

 Nope, still can't figure out the Thrushes...

Swainson's?

Never mind, I've decided I will call all of them Swainson's from now on.

Simple.

 The Tree Swallow doesn't like my idea.

Well, I'm gonna call you a Swainson's Swallow from now on.

So there.

 This is a Swainson's Wood Duck.

(Not really.)

 Would you believe a Swainson's Myrtle Warbly?

No? Me either.

Just a Yellow-rumped, soon to be Myrtle again.

 And I'll leave you with my only photo of a Yellow-throated Vireo, appropriate, eh?

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