It’s freezing cold today, but the sun it bright. Not many critters stirring, but a good day nonetheless!

I was lucky to see an American Kestrel hunting today. The camera cannot capture how amazing the kestrel looks as it hovers motionless above the ground, its wings rotating rapidly while its body is as still as a helicopter.

I spent about 10 minutes watching this amazing falcon before it chose a more distant hunting ground.

Beka Weiss from the Aves Wildlife Alliance came to the Environmental Center this week. She brought an American Kestrel, a Screech Owl, a Great Horned Owl and a Red-Tailed Hawk.

Beka gave an amazing show, and the crowd of about 60 really enjoyed it!

A Downy Woodpecker out hunting.

A crabby-looking Cedar Waxwing.

An eagle in a tree.

A gull enjoys the sunny day.

Maggie, I don’t understand why you can’t see the “main page” pics. I can on 3 computers at home and one at work. Gremlins?

A Great Blue Heron in the river shallows.

It’s chilly today! It was cold last night, not quite freezing, though. The insects have a small reprieve!

No bugs today! I revisited this eagle couple in Wrightstown, I haven’t seen them in a while. They look like they’re doing fine, but I didn’t see either of the kids. Hope they’re okay.

An awful lot of the photos are out of focus. It’s wicked hard to catch a moving bug with a macro lens. Despite that, I was lucky enough to catch a few decent shots that I did not use for the Challenge. I put a few of the best together into a slide show, just in case you want to check them out.

Here are some of the photos that I didn’t use for the Challenge.

Unused Challenge Photos

A honey bee harvests pollen for the coming winter.

Day Thirty already?! I cannot tell you how much fun I’ve had. This contest gave me the incentive to go out and shoot every day. There were some days that I really truly did not think I’d finish, but the encouragement and the camaraderie of y’all – whether you left comments or not – kept me enthused, kept me going.

I’ve very much enjoyed the submissions of the other contestants. I regret that I didn’t comment as well as I should have. Some of those blog providers really need to make commenting simpler! But rest assured that I viewed, admired and was inspired by every entry. You are an impressive group of people, and an impressive group of photographers.

Today’s entry is one of my favorites of the month. I love capturing bees in flight! It’s hard to do with a macro lens, because the focus is so narrow. This 30th of September is one of those rare fall days in which all creatures from deer to eagles to the smallest mosquito are basking in the warmth of the sun. Let’s hope we see a few more of these before the winter winds come.

Again, thanks to all who played, whether you finished or not. And thanks to those who supported us Challengers! See ya next time!