Cooper's Hawk at Aspetuck Land Trust

I spent the 4th in Fairfield, CT with my boyfriend Steve's family. On Saturday we went for a walk with his mom and dog Toby to Aspetuck Land Trust in Easton, CT. Aspetuck is a really great spot- we usually go there whenever we're in Fairfield.

(I believe this is a Cooper's Hawk because of the white spots on its back.) *UPDATE: Thank you to Chris from Tails of Birding for sharing this helpful insight. He believes this is actually a Broad-winged Hawk because "Tail is short, beak appears dark, eye appears dark, and a brownish hood - all suggest a broadie. Cooper's would have a long, banded tail, lighter eye (if juvie - red if adult) and bigger head." Thank you Chris!

I didn't see any other interesting birds during the trip, just the usual suspects.

I did get some great nature photos though.

Newt:

Water snake:

Tadpole:
Water spider:

And some wildflowers (using the macro feature on my camera):

Orange Butterfly Weed (thanks to Kelly from Red and the Peanut for the ID on this!)

Sunset from Steve's parents' yard:

(This is for you Meg!) Here's Steve's family dog Toby. I actually have a picture of him at Aspetuck Land Trust, but not on this computer...