We first walked from the visitors center to the "pit" via a meadow path. The bees were working hard to gather pollen from the apple trees.
I was intrigued by this old maple that is regenerating from a huge stump. That diameter must be about 8 feet or so.
This European ornamental beech is a fantastic specimen. The trees at Greenlawn are stunning, and there is so much variety that is not surprising that this large cemetery is a birding hotspot.
One of the nice finds for the day was this purple finch. We don't have them around here very often. Mike Flynn, our leader for the day, said that it's been four years or so since he last seen them around here.
We enjoyed watching three Orchard Orioles working the buds of this tree. There were two adults and a subadult sticking pretty close together.
Another nice spot of the day - a male Rose-breasted Grosbeak.
This intimidating looking thing is a snapping turtle. What a view! I'll take a bird AHV anyday over this one.
Male cowbird - not my favorite species of bird as they are nest parasites.
Downy woodpecker trying to get her turn at the suet cake.
After Greenlawn, a few of us avid birders carried on to Slate Run for some different habitat. I hadn't been to this Metro park before, but I'll definitely go back. Aside from the ticks, it was a lovely set of wetland habitats and there were another 50 or so species of birds to be found there during the afternoon.
This gander was keeping a careful watch on us and even came out to try to intimidate us to stay away from his mate.
She was sitting on a clutch of eggs and was also keeping a careful eye on us.
There were a lot of eastern blue bird boxes scattered around the park, but the tree swallows seemed to be in control of them.
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