I haven’t been out for a walk the past two days, due to snow of one sort or another. I did manage a few visits last week in the gloom. These photos are all from Riverside, starting with January 18.
it was warmer last week and from time to time there were Canada Geese.
Any bird who sits still long enough to be photographed gets my attention.
There were geese on the lawn by the library.
And then I noticed a lot of American Tree Sparrows in the grass as well.
But then after I crossed the footbridge and started to walk the trail nearest the river in Riverside Lawn, I spotted a Winter Wren.
Seeing I was paying attention to the Winter Wren, a Carolina Wren came out to pose for me. This happened the last time I saw these two characters. I was also happy to hear a vocalization from the Carolina Wren that was new for me. I hope I remember it next time I hear it.
Fitting in with all the brown birds, a Mallard hen standing in a shallow spot.
And I saw 64H again. That may have been the last time I saw him.
My next visit on January 20 was much gloomier.
But there was a pair of Red-breasted Mergansers in the river that made up for the gloom.
I barely caught the Belted Kingfisher in flight and then managed to find it perched later with its back to me.
Backlit gloom did no favors for this White-breasted Nuthatch.
On January 23, there were at least 100 Canada Geese by the footbridge. I couldn’t stuff them all into one frame.
The light wasn’t good enough to capture a Downy Woodpecker in focus, but he brightened up the gloom anyway.
I saw the Belted Kingfisher again. He was quite far away.
A Northern Cardinal was my consolation prize.
It’s been quiet, getting colder, and we are about to dip into the deep freeze. The snow so far hasn’t been too much of a problem as the temperature has been just above freezing most of the time, but it looks like the next few days we will have more snow to deal with in addition to the cold. Such is winter.
Looking forward to singing Sunday morning. It will be just sopranos and altos. We’re singing a lovely little song in Italian and I am looking forward to rolling my r’s.
More winter birds on the way. Hard to believe we’re almost done with January.
The overcast skies and gray “picturesque” landscapes prevail. The cardinal stands out even as the weather does everything it can to dull our views. The Canadas and juncos seem to blend in to the background making us dream for some occasional sun. Minnesota offered the same heavily overcast skies, hazy fog and some deep snow. But, there were a few good birds of note. Enjoy your performance on Sunday. I am sure you will be well prepared.
I look forward to hearing about your trip. You should be well-prepared for the weather we are experiencing now.
I hope that the snow is not too bad and that you can still get out to see a bird or two . . . or three. I enjoyed this selection in spite of the gloomy weather.
I did go out this morning briefly – it was good just to walk.And I’ll have another chance in the morning before the serious snow starts. More gloom coming up.