images by date of photo
Read MoreSkies over Canaveral Seas (Panorama)
"Tell me and I will forget, teach me and I will remember, involve me and I will learn." ~ Benjamin Franklin
skycloudsCanaveral National SeashoreAtlantic OceanAtlantic Seaboardwaterwavestidesandtidal poolswhite capsblueNew Smyrna BeachFloridaEastern Seaboardbeachbeach floraseasidevistalandscapeseascapeoceansea
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Sanderlings, with Sleeping Dunlins
"Life is a gift, given in trust - like a child." ~ Anne Morrow Lindbergh
DunlinSanderlingbirdwading birdCalidris alpinacoastal birdsandpipershorebirdCalidris alba
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In Silhouette ~ Huron River and Watershed, Michigan
silhouette; Cormorant; birds; Huron River and Watershed; Michigan; in silhouette; image; solid shape; backlit sight of a Cormorant; emphasises outline; Etienne de Silhouette; outline portrait; profile; portrait; clouds; sky; bird; bird; tree; branches; limbs; perching; fauna
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Portrait of Maui
"Cats have it all - admiration, an endless sleep, and company only when they want it." ~ Rod McKuen
MauiportraitcatfelinekittyOriental Shorthairpetanimal mammaldomestic catrelated to Siamesealmondshaped eyestriangular headlarge earselongated slender muscular bodyvocalintelligentsocialathleticgreeneyedgenetically from ThailandHimalayan family of breedsfaunaebony silver spotted tabby
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Summertime Fun on the Water Slide
"Truth is like a waterslide ~ only fun when it's slippery and wet." ~ Bob Dylan
waterwaterslidesummertimewetslipperyboychildplayfunportraitflumewater chutesliderecreationrunout.chute
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Red-tailed Hawk ~ Buteo jamaicensis
"Anyone who has ever stopped to watch a hawk in flight will know that this is one of the natural world's most elegant phenomena." ~ John Burnside
redtailed hawkButeo.jamaicensishawkopen.woodlandsanimaloldest at least 30 yrs Michiganeat small mammalssharp talonedmate for lifebuteobird of prey
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Michigan in Winter
"Hill tops we sled down hill tops
As fast as we can go
Snow man we built a snow man
When came the first snow
Hot chocolate we sip, hot chocolate let it warm our soul
All the lakes are frozen over so ice fishing we go
It's winter time, winter time, winter time in Michigan."
~ Jetty Raefallowfieldscorncorn fieldsskycloudssnowwintertrees
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Double-crested Cormorant ~ Phalacrocorax auritus
"If the sight of the blue skies fills you with joy, if a blade of grass springing up in the fields has power to move you, if the simple things of nature have a message that you understand, rejoice, for your soul is alive." ~ Eleonora Duse
double crested cormorantPhalacrocorax auritusprehistoric lookingmatte blackrelated to frigatebirds and boobiesdivers waterbirdcolonial waterbirdcormoran à aigrettescormorán orejudo
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Surfin' U.S.A. ~ Southern Outer Banks, North Carolina
"If everybody had an ocean
Across the U.S.A.
Then everybody'd be surfin'
.... Surfin' U.S.A."
~ written by Chuck Berry, performed by The Beach BoyssurfAtlantic OceanAtlantic SeaboardoceanseacoastlineEastern SeaboardNorth CarolinaEastern North Carolinawavessurfboardskyclouds
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Fields of Gold ~ Huron River and Watershed, Michigan
"I never made promises lightly
and there have been some that I've broken
But I swear in the days still left we'll walk in fields of gold
We'll walk in fields of gold." ~ StinggoldenHuron River WatershedMichiganfloraflowerflowering plantnaturepetalsmacrowildflower
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Nature ~ Huron River and Watershed, Michigan
"One touch of nature makes the whole world kin." ~ William Shakespeare
rose.of.sharonseedpodsnatureplantbokehfloraHuron River and WatershedMichiganmacro
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Blue, Oriental Shorthair
"It is impossible to keep a straight face in the presence of one or more kittens." ~ Cynthia E. Varnado
whiskersfelinecatkittenOriental Shorthaircarnivorousmammalfurgreen eyesshort snoutkittypetfaunaanimal
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Yellow-rumped Warbler ~ Setophaga coronata ~ Southern Outer Banks, North Carolina
"I believe that there is a subtle magnetism in Nature, which, if we unconsciously yield to it, will direct us aright." ~ Henry David Thoreau
Yellowrumped WarblerSetophaga coronataSouthern Outer BanksNorth CarolinaonthewingfaunanatureEastern Seaboardyellowversatile foragerwarblerbirdtree
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Siberian Iris ~ Huron River and Watershed
"I want it said of me by those who knew me best, that I always plucked a thistle and planted a flower where I thought a flower would grow." ~ Abraham Lincoln
Siberian IrisHuron River Watershedpurpleflowerflorapetalsplantgardenbudsperennialherbaeceousrhizomatousvioletblueornamentalnature
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Black-capped Chickadee ~ Huron River Watershed, Michigan
"[1] Every autumn, Black-capped Chickadees allow brain neurons containing old information to die, replacing them with new neurons so they can adapt to changes in their social flocks and environment even with their tiny brains..... [2] Flocks have many calls with specific meanings, and they may contain some of the characteristics of human language." ~ Cornell Lab of Ornithology
birdBlack capped ChickadeePoecile atricapillusHuron River Watershedblack caphides seeds to eat laterChickadee flocks alert birders to migrantsperching birdacrobatsfeathersleavesfaunanature
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The Cove ~ Southern Outer Banks, North Carolina
"Everyone likes birds. What wild creature is more accessible to our eyes and ears, as close to us and everyone in the world, as universal as a bird?" ~ David Attenborough
Southern Outer BanksEastern North CarolinaNorth CarolinaRedbreasted MerganserMergus serratorwaterfowlwatercovediving ducksawbillsaltwater wetlandcoastal waterBonaparte's Gullherd minnowbird
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Bonaparte's Gull ~ Chroicocephalus philadelphia ~ Southern Outer Banks, North Carolina
"Birds flying high you know how I feel
Sun up in the sky you know how I feel
Breeze driftin' on by you know how I feel."
~ Nina SimoneBonaparte's GullChroicocephalus philadelphiaSouthern Outer BanksNorth CarolinaEastern North CarolinabirdwaterseaoceanAtlantic Oceangullnonbreedingthin black billadults are dark hoodedwavesin flightbird in flightAtlantic Seaboardbreeds in isolated taiga boreal forestsfaunanature
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Early Morning Ripples ~ Huron River
“A good snapshot keeps a moment from running away.” ~ Eudora Welty
reflectionsHuron Riverrippleswatertreefallen treetreesleavesskybluecloudsbanksshoreriverlandscape
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Mute Swan ~ Cygnus olor ~ Huron River
"To be born in a duck's nest, in a farmyard, is of no consequence to a bird, if it is hatched from a swan's egg." ~ Hans Christian Anderson
Mute SwanCygnus olorbirdHuron RiverelegantRussian balletsEuropean fairytalesimported from Europeform long lasting pair bondswhite plumageblack knobenormous appetiteThe Ugly Ducklingwaterfowl
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Straight on 'til Morning ~ Huron River
“Second star to the right and straight on 'til morning." ~ J.M. Barrie
naturefaunaCanada GooseBranta canadensisbirdsinflightbirdgeeseHuron RiverBlack neckedwhite chinstraphonkernorthward range shiftassortative mating33 years oldest known wild Canada Goosewaterbirdwaterfowllong webbed feetwide flat billlong neckdabblergrazeron the wing
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Prairie Morning ~ Huron River and Watershed
"We have taken into our language the word prairie, because when our backwoodsmen first reached the land [in the Midwest] and saw the great natural meadows of long grass—sights unknown to the gloomy forests wherein they had always dwelt—they knew not what to call them, and borrowed the term already in use among the French inhabitants." ~ Theodore Roosevelt
long grassprairieHuron RiverecosystemNorth AmericaFrench term for meadow
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Dandelion Wishes ~ Huron River Watershed
“Most of the dandelions had changed from suns into moons.” ~ Vladimir Nabokov
wishesHuron River Watershedseed headplantnatureseeddispersedwinddispersaldandelionflowerTaraxacumbeneficial weedwildflowerdentdelionlion's toothtaprootedperennialherbaceousparachutescankerwortdoonheadclockwhitch's gowanmilk witchyellowgowanIrish daisymonksheadpriest'scrownpuffballfaceclockswine's snoutwhite endivewhild endivemaskrosoikukkalatesdantylyliewwinecoffeeroot beermacro
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Red-winged Blackbird ~ Agelaius phoeniceus ~ Upper Mahoning River Watershed, Ohio
"Blackbird singing in the dead of night
Take these broken wings and learn to fly
All your life
You were only waiting for this moment to arise
Blackbird singing in the dead of night
Take these sunken eyes and learn to see
All your life
You were only waiting for this moment to be free
Blackbird fly, blackbird fly
Into the light of the dark black night
Blackbird fly, blackbird fly
Into the light of the dark black night
Blackbird singing in the dead of night
Take these broken wings and learn to fly
All your life
You were only waiting for this moment to arise
You were only waiting for this moment to arise
You were only waiting for this moment to arise."
~ John Lennon, Paul McCartneyRedwinged blackbirdAgelaius phoeniceusmalebirdboldly coloredabundantglossy blacktumbling songterritorialblackbirdslender conical billred shoulder patch bordered with yellowagile flyer
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Rudbeckia ~ Huron River and Watershed
"All in the downs, the fleet was moored,
Banners waving in the wind. When Black-Eyed Susan came aboard,
and eyed the burly men.
'Tell me ye sailors, tell me true
Does my Sweet William sail with you?'" ~ John GayBlackeyed SusanRudbeckiawildflowergoldPreakness StakesMaryland State Flowerjusticerelated to coneflowersflowerplantnaturesummertime
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Migrating Double-crested Cormorant ~ Phalacrocorax auritus ~ Huron River Watershed, Michigan
"Fly silly sea bird, no dreams can possess you, no voices can blame you for sun on your wings." ~ Joni Mitchell
preeningriverwingsbeakfeathersrockseabirdDoublecrestedCormorantbirdPhalacrocorax auritusHuron River WatershedMichiganganglyprehistoriclookingfishing birdfrigate birds are relativesblack waterbirdmigrationcolonial waterbirdwater
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Juvenile Sandhill Crane with Family, Keeping Watch and Foraging ~ Antigone canadensis ~ Huron River and Watershed, Michigan
"One touch of nature makes the whole world kin." ~ Shakespeare
Sandhill CraneAntigone canadensisfarmers fieldgreenbirdgray bodycrimsoncappedelegantrolling crygangly gracetrumpeting sounddancing skillmate for life and yearroundjuvenilefamilyoldest Sandhill Crane 36 yearsbugling callbustle of dropping feathersbeakbroad wingswhite throattall birdforagersplumagefeathersHuron River watershedMichiganpasturechoose partner based on display dancesurvival tied to fate of habitatanimal
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Great Blue Heron's Escape ~ Pointe Mouilee, Lake Erie
This Great Blue Heron had been, just moments before, majestically poised motionless along the Lake Erie freshwater marsh, scanning for prey. Suddenly, a juvenile Bald Eagle soared in and perched in high, dead tree branches just outside the wetland area, surveying the area and enjoying his grand visibility. Once spotting this "intruder," a colony of Caspian Terns from a nearby beach area immediately began aggressively harassing the Eagle in the tree, swooping down on him in droves, sounding their heron-like cries while protecting young Caspians in their colony. The Eagle then decided it was best to escape all the raucous. His escape flight path was nearly over the Great Blue Heron, and as soon as the Heron spotted the Eagle in the skies overhead, he immediately headed toward and landed in a herbaceous wetland thicket for cover. I managed to snap this photo of the Heron just before he disappeared into the brush. The Eagle shortly left the territory for more peaceful grounds, the Caspian Terns settled down and seemed satisfied that their young were safe once more, but the Great Blue Heron seemed happy to remain hidden in the thicket for at least quite a while.
hollow bonesGreat Blue HeronArdea herodiasPointe MouileeMichiganLake Eriecoastal wetlandbirdthicketmarshwetlandanimal natureGreat Lakesheronbluegray plumageescapeinflight
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Caspian Tern, Juvenile ~ Hydroprogne caspia ~ Pointe Mouilee, Lake Erie
"I believe that there is a subtle magnetism in Nature, which, if we unconsciously yield to it, will direct us aright." ~ Henry David Thoreau
dark caplargest tern in worldshallowforked tailbirdternCaspian TernHydroprogne caspiaPagaza PiquirrojashorelineLake ErieMichiganPointe Mouileeaerial balletdiversSterne caspienneaerial acrobatsdrive away blad eagles to protect youngwater swallowname refers to Caspian Seacall is loud heronlike croakplungershighly vocalseabirdmonogamousanimalskyflightbird in flightjuvenile
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USAF Thunderbird No. 5 ~ Thunder over Michigan Air Show ~ Willow Run Airport, Michigan
"Major Whit Collins is the Lead Solo Pilot for the U.S. Air Force Air Demonstration Squadron, flying the No. 5 jet. He earned his commission in 2006 as a graduate of The Citadel’s Air Force ROTC program. While studying Computer Science, he enjoyed playing intramural soccer and was president of the school’s aviation club.... Before joining the Thunderbirds, Collins served as an F-16 Operational Test and Evaluation Instructor Pilot at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. He has logged more than 1,500 flight hours as an Air Force pilot, with more than 150 combat hours. Collins is in his second season with the team and hails from Warner Robins, Georgia." ~ text from AFThunderbirds.com
United States Air ForceUSAFsquadronWillow Run AirportMichiganflightThunderbirdsThunder over Michiganpilotaviationmilitary aviationaircraftairplaneskyfighter technologystart your enginesairshowThunderbird demonstrationairmanvolunteerAmerica's Ambassadors in Blueinflightprecisionflyingsharp choreographyF16 Fighting Falconopposing solo pilotcockpitjetwingscontrailThunderbird 5
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Upside Down USAF Thunderbird #6 ~ Air Show ~ Willow Run Airport, Michigan
"Major Matt Kimmel is the Opposing Solo Pilot for the U.S. Air Force Air Demonstration Squadron. flying the No. 6 jet. He earned his commission in 2008 as a graduate of the University of Southern California's Air Force ROTC program.... Before joining the Thunderbirds, Kimmel served as an F-16 Evaluator Pilot at Shaw AFB, South Carolina. He has logged more than 1,700 flight hours as an Air Force pilot, with more than 715 combat hours. Major Kimmel is in his first season with the team and hails from Vacaville, California." ~ text from AF Thunderbirds.com
United States Air ForceUSAFsquadronWillow Run AirportMichiganflightThunderbirdsThunder over Michiganpilotaviationmilitary aviationaircraftairplaneskyfighter technologystart your enginesairshowThunderbird demonstrationairmanvolunteerAmerica's Ambassadors in BlueThunderbird 6maneuverinflightprecisionflyingsharp choreographyF16 Fighting Falconlead solo pilotcockpitjetwings57th Wing
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Thunder over Michigan ~ Willow Run Airport
Renowned aerobatics flyer and one of the Living Legends of Flight, Sean Doherty Tucker, pilots his stunt bi-plane, Oracle Challenger III, an Extra 300L. This was his final flight as a solo performance. "We did a ballet in the sky together." ~ Sean D. Tucker
Thunder over MichiganWillow Run AirportMichiganaerobaticssmoke oilcontrailnimble flyerflyingSean TuckerpilotstuntflyingbiplaneOracle ChallengerExtra 300Lsolo performancelast flightballet in the skyaviationairshowLiving Legends of FlightaviatorTeam.Oracleflightunlimited class aerobatic aircraftcomposite siting devicecheateraileron spade propellerLycoming.AE10540 engineWalter Extraextreme maneuverabilitysmall wingspanlarge ruddersfour blade Properller propskyairplaneaircraft
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Caspian Terns ~ Hydroprogne caspia ~ Pointe Mouilee, Michigan
"The oldest recorded wild Caspian Tern was at least 29 years, 7 months old when it was found in Louisiana in 1989. It had been banded in Michigan in 1959. The average life span of Great Lakes Caspian Terns is estimated to be 12 years." ~ Cornell Lab of Ornithology
aerial acrobatsdark capslargest tern in worldshallowforked tailbirdternCaspian ternHydroprogne caspiaPagaza PiquirrojashorelineLake ErieMichiganPointe Mouileeaerial balletdiversdrive away bald eagles to protect youngSterne caspiennesandwateranimalbeachrock
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White Ibis ~ Eudocimus albus ~ Southern Outer Banks
“In order to see birds it is necessary to become a part of the silence.” ~ Robert Lynd
IbisEudocimus albusSouthern Outer BanksAtlantic OceanAtlantic Seaboardshallow wetland estuaryred legsred billmales are highly protectivecoastcoastal wetlandbirdwading birdmarshblue eyessocial birdroost and nest in treeswateranimal
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Ruby-crowned Kinglet ~ Regulus calendula ~ Southern Outer Banks
"'Pan, who and what art thou?' he cried huskily. 'I'm youth, I'm joy,' Peter answered at a venture, 'I'm a little bird that has broken out of the egg.'" ~ J.M. Barrie
Rubycrowned KingletbirdRegulus calendulaforagerSouthern Outer Banksconstant flicking of wingsBogue Bankssea isleAtlantic Oceanseasideseaseashoresea coastpasserinekingletolivegreen plumagetwowhite wing barswhite eye ringmale has ruby crownanimal
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Time and Tide ~ Southern Outer Banks
"Time and tide wait for no man." ~ Geoffrey Chaucer
sea glassweathered glassbeachsandy beachglassSouthern Outer Banksfrosted glasssandcoastcoastlinecoastal CarolinasEastern North CarolinaNorth CarolinaEastern SeaboardAtlantic OceanAtlantic Seaboardtake 20100 years to formdrift glassdrift processoriginally shard of broken glassrolled and tumbled in oceanshipwreckgenuine sea glasswave rigoredoceanic salinegreenshorelineseasideseashoreseasea coastsea isleshoreBogue Banksgift from the seamacrotime and tide
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Ring-billed Gull, Juvenile (1st two years) ~ Larus delawarensis ~ Southern Outer Banks
"I call to a seagull
Who dives to the waters
And catches his silver-fine
Dinner alone
Crying where are the footprints
That danced on these beaches
And the hands that cast wishes
That sunk like a stone
My dreams with the seagulls fly
Out of reach out of cry" ~
Joni MitchellLarus delawarensisringbilled gulljuvenilebirdbirdinflightseasideseashoresea coastsea isleseascapeseabirdseaboardSouthern Outer BanksBogue BanksAtlantic OceanAtlantic Seaboardwingsacrobatcoastal plaincoastcoastlinecoastal carolinasNorth CarolinaEastern SeaboadEastern North Carolinabuiltin compassblack band on beakgraceful flyercan race at more than 40 mphvaried vocal repertoiredunesdune grassesskyanimal
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The Approach ~ 1978 Cessna 152
Fixed-wing, single-engine. Owner: Butternut Aviation, LLC, Jackson, Michigan.
"The engine is the heart of an airplane, but the pilot is its soul." ~ Walter RaleighaircraftairplaneCessnasingleengineapproachfixedwingflightinflighttricycle gearonthewing
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Portrait of a Red-Tailed Hawk ~ Buteo jamaicensis ~ Huron River Watershed, Michigan
"The wild hawk stood with the down on his beak and stared with his foot on the prey." ~ Alfred Lord Tennyson
redtailed hawkbirdraptorButeo jamaicensisHuron River Watershedbirdofpreybuteo shapesharptalonedmonogamousanimal
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Three Little Goslings ~ Branta canadensis ~ Huron River, Michigan
"The early Celtic Christians called the Holy Spirit, 'the wild goose.' And the reason why is they knew that you cannot tame him." ~ John Eldredge
goslingsBranta canadensisHuron RiverMichiganCanada Geesechilsraphonker vformationswateranimalriver
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Great Blue Heron ~ Ardea herodias ~ Pointe Mouillee, Lake Erie
“And I rose
In a rainy autumn
And walked abroad in shower of all my days
High tide and the heron dived when I took the road
Over the border
And the gates
Of the town closed as the town awoke.”
~ Dylan ThomasGreat Blue HeronArdea herodiasbirdPointe.MouileewateranimalnatureLake ErieGreat Lakesheronmajesticbluegray.plumagehollow bones
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Marsh Creature ~ Perhaps a Muskrat? ~ Metzger Marsh Wildlife Area, Ohio
“I have an immoderate passion for water; for the sea, though so vast, so restless, so beyond one's comprehension; for rivers, beautiful, yet fugitive and elusive; but especially for marshes, teeming with all that mysterious life of the creatures that haunt them. A marsh is a whole world within a world, a different world, with a life of its own, with its own permanent denizens, its passing visitors, its voices, its sounds, its own strange mystery.” ~ Guy de Maupassant
animalMetzgermarshwildlifeOhiosemiaquaticrodentdiverswimmermammalriparian zonewetlandGreat LakesLake Erieplantlilynaturewater
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Black-necked Stilt, Juvenile ~ Himantopus mexicanus ~ Metzger Marsh Wildlife Area, Ohio
forager; shallow water wetland; marsh; shorebird; bird; wader; animal; marsh; wetland; Metzger; Ohio; Great Lakes; watershed; water; waterfowl
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