Jocelyn Anderson Photography

The last of the Great Blue Heron nestlings left their nests back in August, which means this time of year some other birds will hand out in the rookery, like this Bald Eagle. This is a Great Blue Heron nest; the Bald Eagle nest is massive and at a different location in the park.

The sunlight highlighting the ruby eyes of a Virginia Rail.

The moment before a Great Egret makes a landing in the marsh.

A Great Blue Heron shot with my 135mm lens and my 600mm lens. My 600mm is my main lens (and I prefer the 600mm shot between the two), but the 135mm lens has excellent sharpness and buttery smooth backgrounds.

A Pileated Woodpecker passing by overhead.

A Virginia Rail getting the feathers in order during a preening session in the sunlight. The cattails die back this time of year, making the marsh birds easier to see.

A male Pileated Woodpecker — males have the red mustache — working his way up a tree.

2026 Bird Calendars are here 🙂 They are available here: www.createphotocalendars.com/Store/Jocely... . The calendar features some of my favorite photos over the past year.
The calendar is 8.5"x11" and is $18 + shipping (ships US and international.)

A Nashville Warbler perches in Calico Aster, a flower of Fall.

If you look closely, you can see the winged insect on the lily pad this Sora is locked in on and about to turn into a tiny snack.

A Belted Kingfisher circling the pond. I can't tell if this is a male or female because I can't see if there's a band on the tummy (females have the band.) I do see a few brown feathers around the neck, which points to this being a young bird.

A Blue-headed Vireo, one of vireos migrating through. These birds forage slowly, methodically searching branches for insects.

The plumage of a Least Bittern is excellent camouflage for the marsh environment. I have a hard time spotting these birds unless they are on the move.

Sunlight lights up the wings of a Great Egret landing at a new fishing spot.

An American Red Squirrel, also called a Pine Squirrel, working on getting through the husk of a black walnut.

Barn Swallows lined up on a branch along the lake. These birds are the most widespread species of swallow in the world.

A female Red-bellied Woodpecker waits along the boardwalk railing waiting for peanuts to be offered.

A Ruby-crowned Kinglet with a friendly wave. It's fun having these little cuties migrating through.

A male Wood Duck with the light bringing out the colors in his fancy mullet. These ducks are my favorite waterfowl to photograph.

An adult and a juvenile Sora, photos taken on the same day. The adult is facing to the right and has the brighter beak and grey plumage on cheek and chest, the juvenile is facing left and has more brown plumage.

A Green Heron flying over the marsh on a foggy morning.

A Great Egret taking some fresh fish to go.

The sunlight brings out a touch of green in this Green Heron's wing feathers. The brown edging to the wing feathers shows that this is a young bird.

The tiny flying lobsters are still around! This Hummingbird moth, a Hummingbird Clearwing, was sipping nectar from Purpletop Vervain.

A Great Egret gliding in to land at a small pond. I haven't seen any of the big birds (Great Egrets and Great Blue Herons) catch big fish at this spot, but there is plenty of panfish, crayfish, and water beetles to eat.

A gnat about to become dinner for a Ruby-crowned Kinglet who is doing a big stretch.

An Orange Sulphur butterfly sips nectar from Purpletop Vervain. The pink edging to the wings against the bright yellow is so pretty.

A juvenile Sora peeking out from the cattails. Adults have a brighter yellow beak, red eyes, and have gray feathers on the face and neck.

A Northern Flicker (yellow-shafted) heading towards the sunrise.

Northern Flickers east of the Rocky Mountains have yellow wing feathers, while Flickers west of the Rocky Mountains have red wing feathers. Where the range of these birds overlap you can have hybrid coloration from interbreeding.

A Virginia Rail looking over his/her shoulder before heading deeper into the marsh.