Over the weekend I had the opportunity to put down the conservation hat for a few hours and simply explore nature’s transition from spring to summer.  And with the passing of the summer solstice the season decided to introduce itself in a rather unfriendly fashion to the eastern side of the Bay Area as the mercury climbed into the nineties.  I’m definitely  a cooler climate aficionado, but absolutely love everything about the Hawaiian islands so forgive the hypocrisy.

But as soon I stepped into the so-called wild I cracked a smile; the wildlife was abundant.  Ducks led trails of fuzzy young, geese herded goslings to the water’s edge and beyond, juvenile green herons were honing their foraging skills, a cottontail escaped the morning heat under a shady tree, dragonflies zipped amongst the reeds, belted kingfishers teased me with potential photo opportunities, an otter inconspicuously navigated a pond and crossed paths with a muskrat, turtles rested on logs, and a young raccoon stepped quietly through the wetlands in an effort to avoid detection. 

Although my day eventually came to end, it was indeed the beginning for so many animals that were embarking upon their first summer and learning the skills necessary to succeed in life.  So I hope you enjoy a few photos of my encounters with wildlife youngsters.

Tags: ducklings, goslings, green heron, raccoon, Wildlife

This entry was posted by Scott on Wednesday, June 30th, 2010 at 10:34 am and is filed under Photos, Wildlife, birds. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.