Dreary Day in January

I had an extra day off from work today this Monday and got in a visit around 2:00 pm. It was already gloomy and overcast but with temps nearing 28º there was almost a "haziness" to the air today. After crossing the foot bridge on the north side, I spotted some movement in the woods to my left and saw three deer headed the opposite way. I turned around to get ahead of them, then stopped and knelt down on the trail where I figured they'd come out. Indeed a trio of Doe and two fawns popped out of the woods right in front of me. Someone has been leaving out apples near the trail this whole winter and the Doe stopped to gobble one up quickly. I watched one of the fawns cautiously sniff one, then jump back suddenly as if it smelled something completely out of the norm. Neither of the fawns ate the remaining apples and continued following mom toward the bridge. I couldn't believe it but I watched all 3 cross right over the bridge! I've seen tracks over the bridge before but this was the first time I've actually seen Deer walk right over it. Later I spotted a Bald Eagle and then another Great Horned Owl. Both were very far away and I did not get any worthwhile pictures for this post. Later on, I finally noticed some other birds near the east side including Nuthatches, Starlings, Robins and about 10 Cardinals. The male Cardinals were so bright against the overcast sky but this is the best photo I got. As often as I see Cardinals, I'm still striving for a better photo.

Sunset Snowshoeing

It was nearly 4 o'clock by the time I arrived at the park this Saturday. It was intentional though as I was hoping to spot another Coyote near dusk. Once again I snowshoed across the lake, meandering around through the middle and stopping near the spot of my close Coyote encounter last weekend. After waiting a bit without seeing anything I traveled further north and crossed the creek near the footbridge. I found myself in a few places I'd never ventured before and it was exciting to see a new perspective. I wandered to the east of these large trees and noticed a big Owl up in trees to my right. As I walked closer for a better photo, I noticed a second Owl much closer to me. This one was facing more into the sun and had better light on him so I inched closer and closer as quietly as I could on my loud snowshoes. I watched him for a while and he seemed perfectly content in the sun, periodically closing his large yellow eyes. I started to head back as the sun was really getting low now and possibly increasing my chances of seeing a Coyote. On the way back I paused to snap this picture as the winter sun was creating some interesting color and light against the sky and snow covered ground. Eventually I made it back "my spot" where I actually sat and waited to see a Coyote until I got so cold I could barely move. It was getting seriously dark now -too dark for my camera to catch a decent picture anyway. So I headed back to the parking lot, toes too numb to feel with a bright winter moon rising above me. I think I want to come back again sometime this winter and set out under a full moon. I don't think I'd get any pictures but it would definitely be bright enough to see where you're going.

Another Coyote Sighting

Apparently this is the time of year to see Coyotes at the park. This makes two sightings in two days -an extremely rare occurrence for me, despite my frequent visits. I decided to snowshoe yet again today and cut across the frozen lake and up to the middle of the park. All along the way I was spotting Coyote tracks and taking note of how they walked and where. In most places they were able to stay on top of the deep snow but every now and again, one paw would crash through and drop about a foot or more. I myself was running into the same problems even on snowshoes. Anytime I was near lots of Cattails I would crash right through the snow, sinking up to my knees. The worst part about when this happens is that it's really hard to get out without crashing through again. After trekking through the middle and not seeing any wildlife, I decided to stop and just stand still for a while near a group of wild trees. I stood there until I got bored and turned around to my right to head in another direction. It was right then I spotted a Coyote at fairly close range. He had been walking straight towards me! He spotted me immediately and took a hard right, then took off running. I figured because he was running I'd never get a photo, so I flipped my camera to video instead.

Coyote Sighting First Visit of 2011

I guess I kind of wore myself out last month so today, January 8th was my first visit of 2011. It was the coldest day of the year so far with the morning staring out well below zero, so I waited until after noon for the temps to warm up a bit. Instead of my normal walk around the park I was joined by my wife on a snowshoeing trek. It was a beautifully bright sunny day but we were both cold as we headed up the frozen creek. When we were closest to the middle we cut over and explored some big trees and some groves of Buckthorn. Our snowshoes made an awful racket on top of the crusty snow due to the rain in late December. Thus there was not much wildlife to photograph. After crossing the middle of the park we ran into another guy on snowshoes who said that he saw a Coyote earlier that appeared to have been scared up by us walking up the creek. I was really disappointed that we hadn't noticed it. Eventually we turned around and ended up coming back almost the same way we came in, heading back down the frozen creek. Shortly after pausing to look at a Hawk through my binoculars, I caught a glimpse of something running off to the east. Sure enough it was a Coyote and I tore my camera out of the case just in time to catch a LONG distance shot. I cropped the photo here really far in so you can see him better and notice that both hind legs are off the ground at the same time. After seeing and photographing a Coyote on my very first visit of the year, I can't wait to see what the rest of 2011 will bring!