Happy Fourth of July!
To honor the holiday, I thought I’d share some red, some white, and a little bit of blue!

To help me with this post, I enlisted the help of three birds I encountered on a recent walk with my family.  I’m fairly certain they (the birds, not my family) saw it as their patriotic duty to pose for a few pictures!

First the red: A Juvenile Red-shouldered Hawk who sat perched on a deer stand overlooking the lake.  At first I though he might be a Copper’s Hawk, but his distinct (and constant) squawking gave away his true identity.  Although his streaking is brown now, it will turn a rusty red as he matures.

Then the white: A Great Egret who started on the far side of the lake (also known as the blurry photo zone) but gradually made his way closer.  These birds are also called Common Egrets, but they are not common to me, so I was thrilled to get some pictures.

And then the blue: A Great Blue Heron.  He is a regular visitor during the summer months (and already had his moment in the spotlight in the Unhurried Heron post) but it is always a pleasure to see him.

For those who live in the United States, I hope you have a lovely holiday!  And for everybody else, hope your weekend is wonderful too. 🙂