An Icy Morning and a New Month

This Saturday morning was the first of November and a chilly one at that. It was the first time this fall that I've noticed a thin layer of ice any water. When I stopped at the railroad-tie overlook on the south side I spotted a Coot standing right up on the ice while others swam in the water just feet away. It was a beautifully sunny morning though and I thought this was a nice view with the reflection of the birds and cattails. Near the south east corner on the wood chip trail, I was surprised by these two younger looking deer. I pretended not to pay any attention to them, looking the other way for a bit which I've found to make them more curious and sometimes come closer. It did prove effective again and the pair inched closer as I took more photos. At a certain point the nearest one began stomping his front leg into the ground which I take to mean that they wanted me to go away! I was about to get up and move back to give them some more space when they both leapt up and into the nearest woods. I spent a lot of time later around the "duck pond" as I was seeing periodic glimpses of a Fox Sparrow which is a bird I don't have very good photos of yet. By the way, the Muscovy Duck was still here today. In between chasing the Fox Sparrow back and forth, I came across many Dark-eyed Juncos. Though they are such a common bird I think they are fun and challenging to photograph. This one turned out with a lot of detail but like SO many photos I take there are twigs in the way. Oh well. Along with a few Black-capped Chickadees, I saw a Red-bellied Woodpecker and then this Downy Woodpecker who paused just for a brief second before digging into the bark of this tree. Oh, I almost forgot. I saw something else very interesting just minutes after leaving my vehicle on the east side. Right at eye level in the Willow and Dogwood was a dead mouse draped over a thin branch. This was probably the most obvious "Shrike cache" that I've come across yet at the park. This mouse was killed and placed here for later by a Northern Shrike, a bird that is known for doing just that. I've not seen one at the park yet this fall but I've heard from others that they are back. Hopefully it wont be long now until I finally spot one!