Two fledgling Blue Birds enjoy the water in early September. Mick Hardy's Blue Birds have raised several hatches of young this year and were still at it into the late summer season. See Baby Blue Birds for more of these delightful birds from northern Madison County.

You can't get much more seasonal than this - a Buckeye Butterfly on goldenrod. September is the month when butterflies peak in Indiana and more may be seen at Butterflies.

A Bumblebee searches for nectar on a fall flower. See Insects and Raccoon for more creatures that can sting and bite.

We don't see much of our Barred Owls in the late summer and early fall. Penelope, the mother owl, is especially reticent, so we were surprised to see both owls on an early September morning. Here, Penelope is getting ready to retreat to her daytime roost, deep in the woods. See Barred Owls to see both of these Barred Owls. For the history of this family of owls, see Barred Owl Family History.

We have watched these two Wood Ducks since they fledged. Still in the Killbuck Wetlands in September, this brother and sister have stayed together all summer. See Waterfowl for more pictures of these and other Wetlands birds.

An immature Turkey Vulture rests on a snag above Killbuck Creek. Its rest was short. See Fall Birds I to find out why and for more seasonal birds.

For nearly four months, from early April until late July, we enjoyed daily concerts from a male Wood Thrush, deep in the woods near our home. His flute-like melodies filled the woods, and our hearts. In all that time, we never saw him or his mate as he would fall silent at the first approach. However, in September, we were rewarded with some fruit from their labor. This is a first-fall Wood Thrush, no doubt a result of their efforts. See Fall Birds II for more seasonal birds.

Screen Savers

This month, Birds of Madison County brings you three high resolution pictures. Clicking on one of the images below will cause the corresponding high resolution image to be downloaded to your browser. You may save this image by dragging it to your desktop or using the "SAVE" command on the File menu. These images are large and may require a little time to download, depending on the speed of your Internet connect. The size of the picture in pixels and of the file in bytes is given for each picture.

AOL Users should use Internet Explorer instead of AOL's browser to download these images.

These images are suitable for use as a screen saver or desktop. They may also be printed in large sizes for personal use only.

Bumblebee and Daisies

A bumblebee feeds on nectar and pollen in a stand of wild daisies in the Killbuck Wetlands.

2400 X 1600 pixels; 561K Bytes.

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First-fall Mallards

Two Mallard Ducks, brother and sister, enjoy a late summer day in the Killbuck Wetlands where they were hatched.

2400 X 1600 pixels; 760K Bytes.

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Monarch Butterfly

A Monarch Butterfly feeds on wildflowers in the Killbuck Wetlands before beginning the long flight to Mexico, where it will spend the winter.

2400 X 1600 pixels; 424K Bytes.

Award Winning Web Site

We hope you enjoy the pictures. Your comments are welcome and may be sent to us at this address:

Tom and Jean Harbron

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Birds of Madison County thanks the Midwest Antique Fruit Jar & Bottle Club for providing the hosting web site.

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