Caught in mid-bite...

I took this morning off and went for a leisurely hike in the Paulinskill WMA - for the first hour it was just me, the deer and the birds. The temps started out in the high 40's, warming into the high 50's by the end of my walk, just perfect. Early in my walk, I happened to glance into the marshy area and saw this big, robust white-tailed doe, looking cautiously back at me. She let me get a couple of shots before she faded into the tall grass, like a ghost. It always surprised me how incredibly quietly they move. I like this particular shot because you can see the long piece of grass hanging from her mouth as she peers intently at me.

I posted four other pictures, starting HERE with a Bald Eagle. The highlights were definitely the bald eagle and the savannah sparrows. Also saw flickers, pied-billed grebes, ring-billed gulls, eastern Phoebe, RC Kinglets, song sparrows, white-throats, great blue herons, crows, blue jays and a couple of late flying butterflies.

BlipBear and Kiwi are getting ready to travel. I've made a donation to WWF in their names and I went on the Geocaching.org website to update their journey. I may try to get a couple of pics before they head out across the country...

Thanks for sending yesterday's golden goldfinch to the Spotlight yesterday! I am going to miss the wonderful colors of fall when the last leaves fall ... Not really looking forward to winter, either.

Happy Monday!

ciao,
Debbi