PARTIAL LIFTOFF - The Heron chicks are fledging and only a few of them are still on the nests. This one did several wings-out-almosts...including a couple with both feet off the nest...but didn't fly away.

UNUSUAL SPOTTING - Hunting for Monarchs in a meadow down the road - we spotted a bird on the wire that we had not seen before. A Red Crossbill - unusual in our area anytime - but especially unusual to see one in Summer. They have distinctive mandibles, crossed at the tip, which enable them to extract seeds from conifer cones and other fruits.

POND-SIDE WILDFLOWER - Swamp Candles, Lysimachia terrestris, blooms on the edge of the beaver pond. The star-shaped flowers with five yellow petals appear in mid-summer. The red dots on each petal form a circle of ten red dots in the center of the flower.