On the pond

A nice assortment of ducks graced the pond one recent afternoon. All just passing through and very temporary visitors staying just long enough to rest-up and grab a meal on their journey south. Lesser Scaups (both males and females) Red-headed ducks and Buffleheads were present and enjoying a nice afternoon of filtered winter sunlight.

Short day-Long Shadows

There’s no escaping and no mistaking this time of year. Early December, high noon, without a cloud in the sky, yet the sun casts long shadows upon a male Red-winged Blackbird with wing-bar colors faded to only a pale yellow. Short days and long shadows. A calendar and perhaps a metaphor.

Big Bird

It’s amazing that with just a few quick footsteps this big bird can seemingly disappear into their surroundings. A Sandhill crane with feathers matching their environment hunts for a meal in the dried reeds and cattails in an ever shrinking wetland. It’s a true testament to survival with these creatures when this years wetlands become next years strip-mall.