Red-shouldered Hawk
We had light rain during the night and most of the morning. I headed out here in Old Trail during the mid-afternoon under heavily overcast skies. I hadn't seen very many birds by the time I got to the golf course pond, and I didn't see the Great Blue Heron that had been at the edge of the pond the past few days. All of a sudden, I heard a lot of commotion. A Red-shouldered Hawk was being chased by some crows. I followed the hawk in flight through the narrow field-of-view of my telephoto lens as it flew into some trees.
Red-shouldered Hawk
When I lowered my camera, I could see that the hawk had flown high into a tree just above where the Great Blue Heron was perched. The heron wasn't too agitated by all of the commotion, but did keep an eye on the hawk.
Great Blue Heron
I continued on my hike, and took a grassy path off of the main trail when I heard some birds. A pair of Carolina Wrens were very noisy.
Carolina Wren
And then I got lucky. A fall plumage, Blackpoll Warbler and a Cape May Warbler popped up a few feet in front of me.
Blackpoll Warbler
Cape May Warbler
Cape May Warbler
I continued on my hike and ended up with 22 avian species, as well as re-locating the Red-Shouldered Hawk.
Red-shouldered Hawk
Pileated Woodpecker
Eastern Painted Turtle
Monarch Butterfly