This Goldfinch and others have nearly plucked all the seeds from the large head on the right. He holds a sunflower seed in his bill as he tries to crack it.
A female House Sparrow pauses in its daily rounds in early August.
This Killdeer was acting and looking like a shore bird in the Killbuck Wetlands even though we usually find them on open prairies. They often make crude nests of stones and pebbles on open ground. They depend on their ability to distract and lead predators away from their nests for safety.
This recently fledged juvenile Robin has probably been on its own for just a few days. The product of a late-summer hatch, it still has its spotted breast.
Another product of a late hatch is this juvenile Cowbird. As we showed last month (see July, 2008 edition), female Cowbirds lay their eggs in the nests of other species for the victims to raise. Researchers have recently discovered that the female Cowbird stays around the nest and watches, checking on the nest from time to time. If she finds that her eggs have been removed, she will destroy any eggs that the songbird has laid.
A Cedar Waxwing watches over the Killbuck Wetlands from a high limb. Cedar Waxwings are distinguished by a crest and a black "bandit mask" across their eyes.
This Blue Jay was beginning its molt when these pictures were taken. Humans hate "bad hair days" but birds have a "bad feathers month" usually in August.
