beautiful blues and other birds

I work at a Massachusetts Audubon Society sanctuary, so it is not surprising that I see birds at work. We have several unreleasable raptors, which are fascinating to look at and work with, since one rarely gets to see those up close in the wild, but my favorites are still the birds I see out in the open, living on their own terms.

Today I saw a great blue heron taking off from one of the ponds on the property. I love these birds, so big and ungainly, yet so graceful at the same time. How they manage to maneuver their bodies is a great mystery to me. Flying so slowly, they look like they'd fall out of the sky, but they never do.
And I also saw an eastern bluebird - it is hard to mistake that brilliant blue of its plumage. While the great blue heron is really more gray than blue, the bluebird is about as blue as you can get. So small and agile, they fly around eating insects and making me smile.

Also I've recently begun seeing large numbers of birds around my yard, eating all sorts of berries and other late summer goodies. Some are probably migrating, or getting ready to migrate, and others will hang out here all winter. The robins have begun flocking, as they do each winter, and I've seen flickers hopping around the lawn several times in recent days. And yet it is still warm enough to have the windows open, so I can hear their calls.
Fall is about as exciting as spring, with all the changes going on!