In early May I made my last trip out to the Roosevelt Wetlands for the summer. There is no shade here and not many critters during the dead of summer. I was standing near the parking area and could see across the lake to the waste plant mountain. All of a sudden tons of birds took off across the open mound. I’m not sure what scared them, mostly gulls and terns. There’s a lot of hawks in the area and I think most of the eagles are gone for the summer.

Cattails along the trail.

After staring into the reeds for a while I saw a bittern’s head pop up. He stayed hidden after he saw me.

Little critters along the trail.

A bunny hops across the trail, trying to hide fast before I pass him.

Color along the trail in the form of tickseed.

I saw a purple gallinule heading into the reeds and noticed a baby was right behind her. I was able to get a quick shot before the baby disappeared.

A female grackle posing. When I cropped this up I noticed the ladybug on the bottom right.

Standing near the waste plant, looking across the lake to the parking area. It’s a long walk back when it gets hot and the wind blows from the waste plant area.

A little blue heron flies by.

The northern harriers and winter ducks have all gone north for the summer. There was no sign of baby black necked stilts which is the highlight of late spring. Critter traffic comes to a halt through August so I took a long break from visiting.