Really amazing thread. My third quarter entry : Five shots that together comprise the image. A gannet fishing off the coast of Nova Scotia. These birds are quite large (6 ft. wing span) and hit the water up to 60 mph.
Third quarter: While spending time at a night heron rookery, I stumbled across a bunch of juvenile tricolored herons which must have nested locally in south Jersey. Here's one of them at first light:
This has got to be one of my favorite threads of the year, soooo many great images from everyone....although I haven't posted anything from the previous quarters, here is my contribution for the 4th quarter, from this mornings outing.
One of the fun parts of this thread is the opportunity to review one's own images and think about changes in taste/skill/processing/time. My 3rd quarter was slow; here's one from a kayak the end of July at Pillar Point Harbor. This site is more of a winter spot for shorebirds, but there was a lone Surfbird who didn't get the message.
Looking forward to Q4...
Greg
Even though it's a Surfbird, both the subject and the photographer took advantage of calm waters
This photo was taken during my vacation 2 weeks ago along the Georgia Coastline. We took a road trip to Jeckyl Island and spotted a handful of terns on the beach.
This is a stupefyingly wonderful thread, and inspiring, and completely humbling. Wonderful work everyone!
I've had to take a few liberties with the "quarterly" categories, sorry -- but here are 4 photos, anyway...
Mark
A robin for spring...
Sunbathing turtles for summer
Brown pelican fishing in the Pacific ocean for fall
A Bactrian camel and... yours truly, near my Boulder home. :-)
This thread has all of its usual glory. Great shots from all over the world! However, it does seem underrepresented with the flora side of things. Therefore, I guess it is my duty to sneak in a few more flowers! I'm doing an "all in one" post this year.
Keep them coming (and sneak in a few flowers of your own).
Certainly not my best from the quarter but one that I really like a lot. 
