American Goldfinch, female

photograph of a female American Goldfinch on a branch

During the breeding season the American Goldfinch has beautiful, bright yellow plumage that turns to a sort of olive green in the fall.  This female, decked out in her summer plumage, looks curious about something.  The males are similarly colored but sport a prominent black cap as part of their breeding plumage.

 

Curious Horned Grebe

photograph of a horned grebe with a curious look

I spotted this Horned Grebe swimming in one of the canals at The Great Dismal Swamp.  It didn’t seem to mind me watching it at all.  It just swam around, in and out of the shadows and would occasionally dive under water.  I was able to get quite a few photos of it but this is one of my favorites.

Yellow Breasted Chat

photograph of a yellow breasted chat in a tree

This little Yellow Breasted Chat and I met up along a rather unscenic part of a hike.  I didn’t have my camera ready when I first spotted the bird but it was gracious enough to hang around and let me snap a few pictures of it.  It almost seemed to pose for me a couple of times.

 

River Otter

photograph of a river otter in the water

I was hiking near the James River when I heard a small grunting sound.  The trail I was on crossed over a stream and when I looked to my left a group of 4 or 5 river otters were watching me.  They clearly wanted to cross the trail I was on and seemed annoyed I was in their way.  They stuck around long enough for me to take this photo before swimming back the way they came.

Fawn In The Vineyard

photograph of a whitetail deer

I followed a small group of whitetail deer from quite a distance when they entered a vineyard.  This one seemed almost as curious about me as I was about it.  It allowed me to take a few photographs before disappearing deeper into the vineyard.