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On my way to the State Park, I ran across a flooded lake with a dozen swans, so I had to stop. |
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Swimming amongst them are American coots. |
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While I was admiring the swans, I heard a very distinct call, one I've never heard in the wild before, and I thought I was hallucinating. |
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Yet, there he was! A common loon! Nothing common about loons in this area, though. This was my first wild loon ever! |
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What a beauty! And what a beautiful, haunting call! |
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Drooling swans. |
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As if the loons weren't enough, this female banded kingfisher showed up, bill full of fish! |
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I've never seen a kingfisher, either! She hung around and showed off her catch. |
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It might be called Channel Lake, but I dub thee Swan Lake. |
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At the State Park, I recognized the call of a sandhill crane. |
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It took a while to spot her in the bog, but there she was, wearing her red cap. |
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Suddenly she started to fly off. |
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I was totally caught unaware because she didn't sound off before flight. |
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But I managed to get one good shot of her flying over me as she passed. Gorgeous! |
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I had company in the woods. |
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I think we both looked at each other with the same expression. |
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The park was still smoldering in areas from the annual spring burn off. |
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My favorite duck pond in the rain. They really don't care about the rain at all. |
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We're looking at mallards, Northern shovelers and blue-winged teals. |
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Have a good flight, guys! See ya next Friday! |
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