This Chipping Sparrow was part of a flock. The other birds in the flock either stayed hidden in this Sweet Gum tree, or looked for seeds in the tall grass beneath the tree. Notice the pinkish bill and gray rump which are the most distinguishing identification marks.
Coots are winter visitors to Madison County but we don't usually see them in October. These were found on Shadyside Lake.
The Northern Shoveler spends its summers mostly in the prairie provinces of Canada and the northern great plains. It winters in the southern states, so we only see them when they are passing through Indiana on their way north or south.
This Shoveler is a first-fall male. It evidently became separated from its flock and joined a flock of migrating Mallards. It appeared with the Mallards one afternoon in the Killbuck Wetlands and apparently left with them the next morning. The long, flat bill, for which it is named, is used to strain food from the mud at the bottom of ponds and lakes.