Here’s why I love walking by the riverside on campus:

Common wildlife on the St. Joe. Click to enlarge the preview, or click here for a hi-res version with no captions.

This is on the bank of the St. Joseph River at IPFW, looking west. On the near side is a little parkland with a few ornamental trees; on the far side is a bit of forest on a little peninsula that, situated behind the soccer fields, has been allowed to remain wild. I thought the avian diversity here was worth noting, especially since the symmetry with which they organized themselves was nice. That egret has been hanging around the last few weeks; I’d seen egrets here only once before, about a year ago.

The birds pictured are, left to right, Canada Goose (Branta canadensis), Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodius), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos), and Great Egret (Ardea alba).

Tags: Birds, Campus wildlife