April Fool's Wildlife

     Today's weather forecast was a wonderful April Fool's prank, I thought we were going to have thunderstorms and rain, with warm weather-- instead the sun came out and the jacket came off! Good prank, meteorologists!
     Upon my return home from work, I hopped on a bike and got to Prospect for a warm walk:

Turtles, like this red-eared slider were out in full force, basking in the warmth of the sun.

A mallard drake, dapper as one mallard drake could be. I am trying to take more photos in manual mode, setting the ISO and adjusting the aperture, and I like the results I (sometimes) get. A still subject, and good light makes it far easier to do.

I love the feathers with such minute detail on their sides.

Duck yoga.

Turtles all in a row.

Lil bebeh turtle.

The iridescence of a common grackle in the sun.

Found a lovely blooming rhododendron.

I might have to say that cedar waxwings are my favorite passerine.

They just look so slick, and they have a superhero mask on-- and they dive through the air to catch insects on the wing, just perfection with everything about them.

April Fool's on you, up a bit too early... But I took a billion photos because it isn't often you get an adorable raccoon in daylight.

Taking care of an itch...

Watching the dogs on the path...

And watching me. He stayed out for a solid 3 minutes or so, scratching some itches he might not be able to reach when inside his den. Because once he was done, he wiggled through a tiny hole on which he was sitting, shimmied his body inside, with feet comically sticking out, until all of him disappeared.

The flowers on this tree reminded me of fireworks, at the end of each branch there was a tiny, delicate explosion, with a little fresh leaf.

A pine warbler, down low, saving my neck-- the next month or two is going to be quite the pain in the neck as birders strain their necks to catch sights of the incoming warblers and other spring migrants.