There has been a lot of humidity in the air lately and when overnight temperatures dipped into the 20s, it created a frosty coating on every little branch, twig and blade of grass in the park. Everything was thus twice as thick as it should be, making the paths like tunnels through the iced-over woods.
Typically these hoar frosts wont even last as long as it takes to walk around the park but this one lasted almost all day for some reason. Just to keep looking at it all, I took a different trail off the north end of the park. There I could hear a rustling in the leaves but could not spot the Squirrel I expected to see. When I looked closer I was surprised to see a fairly large and fat rodent about 6 inches long. It had no obvious eyes or ears and a very short fur-covered tail. I was able to get right up to it for a closer look but then it moved pretty quickly though the leaves and eventually would run into fallen branches where it would sort of half bury it's head thinking it was totally concealed.
When it moved I could see it's naked pink hind feet and caught just a glimpse of a pink nose but I never did see it's front feet. Per my field guide on Mammals from Stan Tekiela it is likely either a Northern Short-tailed Shrew, or an Eastern Mole. I think the latter is more likely due to it's larger size and it's time of breeding being in Feb and March. Later on I spotted a few other birds including Downy Woodpeckers, a Red-tailed Hawk, Starlings and a few random Juncos.
The only good bird photo I got on this grey and cloudy day was of this Nuthatch who had no problems walking down the side of a tree.
Typically these hoar frosts wont even last as long as it takes to walk around the park but this one lasted almost all day for some reason. Just to keep looking at it all, I took a different trail off the north end of the park. There I could hear a rustling in the leaves but could not spot the Squirrel I expected to see. When I looked closer I was surprised to see a fairly large and fat rodent about 6 inches long. It had no obvious eyes or ears and a very short fur-covered tail. I was able to get right up to it for a closer look but then it moved pretty quickly though the leaves and eventually would run into fallen branches where it would sort of half bury it's head thinking it was totally concealed. 
When it moved I could see it's naked pink hind feet and caught just a glimpse of a pink nose but I never did see it's front feet. Per my field guide on Mammals from Stan Tekiela it is likely either a Northern Short-tailed Shrew, or an Eastern Mole. I think the latter is more likely due to it's larger size and it's time of breeding being in Feb and March. Later on I spotted a few other birds including Downy Woodpeckers, a Red-tailed Hawk, Starlings and a few random Juncos. 
The only good bird photo I got on this grey and cloudy day was of this Nuthatch who had no problems walking down the side of a tree.
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