2016/12/11

Familiarizing with winter once again

Winter feels like it has arrived in Ottawa last week; and now, everyone (including myself and the animals) is getting used to the frigid temperature and icy/snowy road once again.  I have been very busy in November and December, mostly working on my research while maintaining some work-life balance.  Sadly, I have not taken as many pictures as I would like.

It was kind of sunny this afternoon, so I went out to the Arboretum and brought my camera with me.

2016-12-11-PC110158
One of the first birds I saw today - a Downy Woodpecker (Picoides pubescens).

I saw many American Robins (Turdus migratorius) today - most of them were either trying to stay hidden/warm or finding food to eat.

2016-12-11-PC110166
A robin uncertain about its snowy surroundings.  Perhaps it might be time to migrate south.

American Robin (Turdus migratorius)
A robin feeding on juniper berries.

American Robin (Turdus migratorius)

American Robin (Turdus migratorius)
Hello, handsome robin.

2016-12-11-PC110202
European Starlings (Sturnus vulgaris)

2016-12-11-PC110198
No need to worry about Eastern gray squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis).  They know how to stay warm and what to eat during the wintertime, such as berries.

Eastern gray squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis)
And maple seeds.

Eastern gray squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis)
Such a cute creature.

2016-12-11-PC110463
I walked to Fletcher Wildlife Garden afterwards and saw many common winter birds, e.g., chickadees, juncoes, nuthatches, etc.  I also saw this single American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis) on the feeder, which I thought was kind of interesting.

2016-12-11-PC110445

White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis)
White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis) taking a nut from the feeder.

Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis)
A brightly-coloured Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) watching the feeder from a distance.

Dark-eyed Junco (Junco hyemalis)
Dark-eyed Junco (Junco hyemalis) picking off the fallen seeds.

2016-12-11-PC110494
Robins drinking from an unfrozen part of a stream.

2016-12-11-PC110528
Canada Goose (Branta canadensis), Great Black-backed Gulls (Larus marinus), and probably Ring-billed Gulls (L. delawarensis) on the mostly-frozen Dow's Lake.

There will be another heavy snowfall tonight and tomorrow.  Maybe that will convince some creatures that it's time to move further south.

No comments:

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...