Hi, I'm Alex.

Welcome back to another episode of the season at Chambers Creek.

It's been an interesting summer with some new species sightings, new behaviors displayed, and some familiar visitors too.

Let's take a look.

We had two black bear sightings this summer, both using one of our trails to more easily navigate.

There's a few bears that live in our area, but they're shy animals, and they're almost never seen by people.

It had been a while since we've seen a mink in the area, so I enjoyed seeing this little muskrat hunter out doing its thing.

In keeping with our tradition of sightings of white tailed deer and other wildlife using the same spaces.

I want to do include this quick clip of this deer and great blue heron hanging out right by our troll bridge.

Just upstream.

We found these two playful funds bounding past arresting Green heron, which ends up startling them a little bit.

Just a few weeks later, we had some heavy spring rains that raised the water level of Shaver's Creek by a few feet, and I really appreciated the courage that this young fawn showed by fording this fast flowing stream.

Now, this spot on the creek served as an attractive natural birdbath.

Once the water level went back down and we see this flock of common grackles taking a bath on a hot summer's day.

It looks like a mix of adults with their iridescent heads, and some juveniles, too, who are a little bit more brown in color.

Now, this was a brand new sighting on our trail cameras.

This juvenile black crowned night heron was really a surprise to see here at Shaver's Creek.

Since they tend to be a little bit more of a coastal species that's found closer to Lake Erie to the west or the Atlantic Ocean to the east.

I like to this because it was reminiscent of the sighting of the juvenile white ibises that we had last summer, which was the first time that they'd ever been seen in the area.

It's easiest for bats to drop from height to take flight, and it was neat to see these big brown bats dropping just in front of the camera.

From the tree.

They were hanging on.

We saw quite a few herons catching fish throughout the season.

Let's take a look at some of those highlights.

We're going to start with this clip of a great blue heron pulling what is by far the largest fish I've seen.

One catch out of Shaver's Creek.

Now, this was by far my favorite video from the summer.

I've said it before, but the patience of these herons never ceases to impress me.

This bird was so still impatient that it didn't even activate the trail camera until it actually lunged for the fish.

Okay, now watch this.

As the heron swallowing its cries, you can actually see the fish wiggling on the way down that heron's long neck.

I thought it might be good to wrap up the season by checking in on what animals we saw using that hemlock tree bridge that fell in that storm this spring.

Now, there aren't very many animals that ever seemed to notice the trail camera lights recording, but bobcats are one that do.

And you can see that this individual gets a little bit nervous about that strange object that's in its pathway.

Now, the quills of a porcupine are essentially just modified hairs that have evolved to grow thicker and stronger and a lot sharper for defensive purposes.

It's a pretty clever way to keep predators at bay when you can't rely on speed to escape.

We were lucky enough to get a good look at one of our belted kingfishers on the log bridge.

We've seen them hunting in past episodes, but up close, you really get a chance to see that large bill that they use to catch fish and other aquatic critters.

And it gave us a good chance to hear their loud rattling call.

This pileated woodpecker is out on the hunt for insects which often colonize fallen trees.

It seems he came up a little short this time, but he was kind enough to give us a good look at our largest species of woodpecker.

And if you look closely, you might notice a little red streak extending from the beak right down toward the neck, which tells me that this is a male that we're looking at.

We had quite a few wild turkey sightings in the summer, crossing back and forth over Shaver's Creek.

And I think these birds are often underappreciated as they've got gorgeous plumage sporting so many different textures and colors.

Now, these young turkeys or poults will be sticking around with their mom, and multiple groups will often join up together, for safety and security.

And we saw one of these groups that had two adult females and over a dozen young exploring Shaver's Creek.

We finally barred owls are often found near wetland habitat, and one of their favorite little snacks is actually crayfish.

Now, if you look closely, you can just make out the curved tail of this crayfish.

That this owl court just moments ago in the creek.

Thanks for joining us for another exploration of the seasons at Shaver's Creek.

Be sure to check in again this fall for another episode.

But until then, never stop discovering.

Some.