I had a chance to head out to the lake today to see what I could find.
I came across a small flock of Golden-Crowned Kinglets. They are usually found in spruce or white pine and other conifers. They always seem to hang out in small groups of less then ten, the flock I found was a group of three. These guys pick very small insects off the ends of branches and they will often hover or hang upside down while they are foraging. I was lucky to see all these behavior traits today which helped me determine the exact species.

GOLDEN_CROWNED KINGLETS



While driving home from the lake I noticed this hawk perched in a tree keeping watch over the field below. This hawk is a Red-Shouldered and usually hunts from a perch in the forests or in clearings. These hawks feed on reptiles, small mammals and some birds. In spring you can even find them foraging for frogs along the edges of ponds and lakes. They are also very vocal and if you find one I'm pretty sure you will hear it too. I did in fact hear this one calling several times while I was photographing it.

RED-SHOULDERED HAWK


While I was out at the lake today I came across a few antler rubs. Antler rubs are common during deer mating season. Bucks will rub their antlers on trees to mark their territory and to make noise. Bucks have tiny scent glands on the top of their head so when they rub they are leaving their scent, hence marking their territory. By the looks of these rubs this seems to be a good size buck.

ANTLER RUB