Sunny but Cold

It's hard to believe sometimes that I typically visit the park more often in the month of December than other months. I never used to particularly like winter in Minnesota but now having discovered birding, it gives me a great reason to get outside and enjoy nature. Plus you can always wear more clothes –LOL! It has been colder than normal even for this time of year, even though it didn't look that cold today with the sun being out. I took only 20 some photos again today as there just wasn't a whole lot to see. I did spot a Northern Shrike again today and is the 6th time I've seen one already this season which I'm pretty sure is a lot more often than last year by this time. I also spotted the male Wood Duck still in the Duck pond! At this late in the season I really can't figure out why he is still here. I plan to keep an eye out for him each time I visit the park and see how he fares the winter. Besides Tree Sparrows and Red-bellied Woodpeckers, my best bird photo of the day was of this Red-tailed Hawk trying to soak up some warmth from the sun. I never seem to get too close to Hawks without bumping them. Even this photo is quite cropped in.