As promised, here's the third in my Coraciiformes series. The European Bee-eater is one of 28 members of the genus Merops (the bee-eaters), and all are strikingly colorful birds. They're social, nesting in colonies of sand-bank burrows, and sometimes gather in large hunting and roosting flocks. The duo I've sketched is an immature in a crouched posture with an adult who's just caught a large wasp.

European Bee-eater, Merops apiaster
Istanbul Turkiye, September 5, 2024

This afternoon, being a weekend, we had time for an all-out field trip, and went in search of eagles. The lower Connecticut River is a pretty reliable place to find them, and we observed a pair from Eagle Landing State Park in Haddam. Their nest is on a nearby river island, and residents of a riverside community told us about the comings and goings of this particular pair. Good to hear the eagle-pride. Jorge's Bald Eagle just took off from a treetop and he caught it spread-eagled as it gained lift.

Bald Eagle, Haliaeetus leucocephalus
Eagle Landing State Park, Haddam, Connecticut