This December continues to be one of the least snow-iest Decembers in some years. So far we've only seen barely an inch of snow and most of that is now melted already. It's looking very much like we're going to have a brown (or green) Christmas depending on how you look at it.
Here at the park I took note of just how green the Garlic Mustard still is just off the southern wood chip trails. By the photo alone you'd almost think it was April not December. I hadn't walked too far today before I ran into some friends of mine. I wasn't seeing much until my friend pointed out a Cooper's Hawk up in a big tree. It was terribly dark and dreary out today and when I took a few photos the bird looked mostly like a silhouette. My two friends had to leave after a bit so I decided to hike off the trail and try to get the Hawk in some better light. In the process I saw a Northern Shrike come in and land across the field. It eventually flew in closer and then actually got in a scuffle with a Blue Jay! I've never seen that before but I've heard a few similar accounts.
I snapped a few photos off and barely caught this image at the top of my frame. Not a good pic by any means but you can see the Shrike has his tail fanned out and mouth open in a display of aggression. After finally realizing I just wasn't going to get any decent images today pointing my camera up, I decided to spend a while at the duck pond, looking down. I watched some of the Mallards slipping and sliding on the thin ice which was pretty comical and kept my interest. But while scanning the various ducks I noticed one that didn't quite look right. It appeared to be a drake, but he didn't quite have a dark "bib" like the others.
Instead his front was kind of patchy and mottled, with only hints of the correct color. Also his back and side feathers didn't look quite right either. Most drakes will have a clearly defined horizontal line across their sides with lighter feathers on the bottom. This one not so much.
I wondered if he was crossed with something but to me there are no obvious traits of another species. So my best guess is that he's just immature and has yet to grow his mating plumage.
Here at the park I took note of just how green the Garlic Mustard still is just off the southern wood chip trails. By the photo alone you'd almost think it was April not December. I hadn't walked too far today before I ran into some friends of mine. I wasn't seeing much until my friend pointed out a Cooper's Hawk up in a big tree. It was terribly dark and dreary out today and when I took a few photos the bird looked mostly like a silhouette. My two friends had to leave after a bit so I decided to hike off the trail and try to get the Hawk in some better light. In the process I saw a Northern Shrike come in and land across the field. It eventually flew in closer and then actually got in a scuffle with a Blue Jay! I've never seen that before but I've heard a few similar accounts. 
I snapped a few photos off and barely caught this image at the top of my frame. Not a good pic by any means but you can see the Shrike has his tail fanned out and mouth open in a display of aggression. After finally realizing I just wasn't going to get any decent images today pointing my camera up, I decided to spend a while at the duck pond, looking down. I watched some of the Mallards slipping and sliding on the thin ice which was pretty comical and kept my interest. But while scanning the various ducks I noticed one that didn't quite look right. It appeared to be a drake, but he didn't quite have a dark "bib" like the others. 
Instead his front was kind of patchy and mottled, with only hints of the correct color. Also his back and side feathers didn't look quite right either. Most drakes will have a clearly defined horizontal line across their sides with lighter feathers on the bottom. This one not so much. 
I wondered if he was crossed with something but to me there are no obvious traits of another species. So my best guess is that he's just immature and has yet to grow his mating plumage.
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