It seemed only fitting to usher in our first snowstorm in years with a Snowy Owl. A couple of these enigmatic creatures have been gracing the Chicago lakefront the past few weeks, and I hoped to see them last Wednesday when I joined my friends on a Chicago Bird Alliance walk at the Montrose Bird Sanctuary.

We first walked out toward the pier where the owls had been seen frequently. Eventually we located one owl sitting distantly on the sand in a corner of the beach. We walked back around to see it closer from the other side. It turned out to be a young female, who tolerated our binoculars and lenses from a more reasonable distance for us.

Some of the other birds seen that morning were Red-breasted Mergansers.

A female American Kestrel struggled to keep her balance in the wind.

A Northern Harrier flew by.

On Thursday, Thanksgiving Day, I first heard Sandhill Cranes flying over when I went out on my back porch briefly, but did not see them until I stepped out later in the afternoon. A small group flew overhead, then joined two or three other groups as I saw them disappear into the distance.

Then on Friday, in Riverside, I saw only a few birds. House Sparrows were in the vegetation by the Hofmann Tower.

Mallards have been on the Des Plaines River, to be expected. But it’s sometimes hard to resist the shiny green head of a drake in the sunlight.

I encountered a couple active Golden-crowned Kinglets.

American Robins have been abundant by the river. I decided to engage with this one.

This morning, after it snowed all day and overnight – I am estimating a foot if not more – this was the view from my back porch with my cell phone after I hung a couple feeders. There must have been 150 House Sparrows, if not more.

I decided to roast the purple sweet potatoes I had purchased last week with red onions, mint and some Rogan Josh seasoning. Perhaps it resembles fallen leaves… I’m looking forward to having some for dinner later. The colder weather makes it a lot easier to spend time in the kitchen.

I shoveled snow three times yesterday and went to bed pretty sore, but I woke up feeling fine this morning and did a little more snow cleanup, including unburying my car. There is more snow in the forecast this week. I shouldn’t complain, after the drought conditions we have endured. But we’re in for some single-digit cold. Time for us all to fluff out our down feathers.