Mike Powell

As the weather cools off and the insects disappear, my attention has gradually been shifting to birds. This was a real challenge for me a month ago when the leaves were still covering the trees and hid the birds from my view. Now, however, most of the leaves have fallen and I feel like I have a fighting chance of spotting a bird when I see or hear one.

On Tuesday I visited Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge and managed to capture shots of some of the resident birds. The bird in the first photo is a Downy Woodpecker (Picoides pubescens), the smallest woodpecker in our area. You can see a touch of red on the back of his head, indicating that he is a male.

Carolina Chickadees (Poecile carolinensis), like the one in the second photo, are quite common, but they are small and elusive and therefore difficult to photograph. During most of the time that I was observing this bird, its head was hidden by branches, but I watched and waited and finally was able to get an unobstructed shot of it.

I am not certain of the identification of the bird in the final photo. On the basis of its markings and color, I think that it may be a Hermit Thrush (Catharus guttatus), but that is really not much more than an educated guess. I would welcome a confirmation or correction from a more experienced birder.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.