It was sunny, so time was spent wandering. The pictures are in the order they were taken.
The first shot of the day was a muskrat.
Then came a Wild Turkey in display with a female indicating a willingness.
There were many wild ducks seen, but the only I took notice of was the Cinnamon Teal.
A number of types of swallows were photographed, but the only spectacular picture was a Tree Swallow. This male had just fed a female in a nest box.
The first bear that was seen was a black bear with two brown cubs up a tree.
Probably the highlight was two fighting Turkey Vultures fighting over a female. They went at it for about 2 minutes. One male arrived with her, and one left with her, but I could not tell them apart and so it is not clear if she left with the original male or not.
Then there was another female black bear.
And it’s cub.
Decorative or functional?
Almost all sites that treat the Great Blue Heron give a passing reference to the plumes that extend from the back of the head. When mentioning them, one site explicitly says they are decorative.
Here is a picture of the Great Blue Heron that was taken in November and probably hatched that year. Consequently the dome of the head had not gone completely white and the upper mandible is blue. Nevertheless, the feather plumes have already grown down the back of the head.

This is yesterday’s heron. The adult’s white cap is visible and the upper mandible has become the breeding colour of yellow. The feather plumes extend further down the back of the neck. The question is: Are they functional or decorative? Certainly they look decorative, but then the bird is not flying.

This bird then flew off and the function of the plumes became evident. They provided a smooth flow of air from the head across the back. Recall, that the Great Blue Heron flies with its neck tucked against its back. Not every large bird has such a flexible neck. The crane must fly with its neck extended. Now, look at the plumes coming off the back of the head. The air flows smoothly from the head and along the back making it one continuous surface and thus minimizes drag. The plumes are not decorative, they are functional.
