Winter gently arrived, with some snow and ice and a few days of cold temperatures.
Early in the month we had a 10cm fall of light snow. Enough to get me out for a local walk to see what caught my eye.
A visit to Petrie Island on a grey day produced a beaver still up and about, along with nuthatches and chickadees hoping for handouts. One red squirrel was particularly red. There were still berries standing out against the white snow. The first ice fishing huts had appeared
My eye was caught by a variety of things during three visits to Mud Lake. A good supply of birds including 20 or 22 wild turkeys, over wintering robins and a surprise - a male wood duck. The first cold morning with temperatures down at -18°C or lower, produced some wonderful frost up on the ridge.
The month ended with a rainy, warm few days. We went looking for "different" ducks at three places other than Mud Lake. Strathcona Park, Billings Bridge and Manotick. Not much to catch the eye other than mallards, which we more active at Billings. There were a few goldeneyes at Strathcona, along with some pigeons, but not the variety hoped for. Manotick had very few ducks and a muskrat swimming about.
Strathcona
Strathcona
Strathcona
Billings Bridge
Billings Bridge
Manotick
Manotick
Manotick
