Christmas snowstorm aftermath

The Christmas snowstorm of 2009 has dumped over a foot of snow followed by a nice freezing rain on top of it, making for a tough -and very loud- walk today. I doubted I'd see any deer as they'd hear me coming a mile away, and I was right. The only thing that stuck out of the white scenery was this Cardinal. Since there was really nothin' else to see today I tried again to capture some snowflakes where the path was covered with interesting looking ice crystals. Don't think my camera is completely cut out for this close of a shot but I'm gonna keep tryin. On the west side I noticed that the recent heavy snows have just squashed large areas of cattails creating new views of the lake that did not exist before.

Wednesday Owls and Deer

I recently heard that an owl's eyes actually focus better in low light. Must be true as I've only ever seen them at Palmer Lake on dark and dreary winter days. For the past week or so I've been keeping my own eyes upwards hoping to spot one. Today right off the bat I noticed a Great Horned perched relatively low to the ground in some birch trees. Man he was big. Shortly after I started walking more briskly in an attempt to warm up a little when I came right up on a group of five deer. My fast pace apparently spooked them and they scattered quickly until I slowed up. When I did, a few of them came back around. I'm positive this is the same fawn from yesterday and probably the same mother doe always along side. On the opposite side of the park I spotted yet another Great Horned Owl, though this one was slightly smaller and much more rust-colored -especially in the face. Look how far his neck is turned.

Bleak Tuesday

Pretty bleak weather lately with no sun and temps hovering around 20 degrees. Looks like people have already been skiing up and down Shingle Creek. If I can find a pair of snowshoes I think I'd like to try 'em out there this winter. I did manage to spot one deer on the north side and the photo is another good example of how enclosed the park is by houses.

Closest deer ever

Decided to take a different trail today and glad I did. Right before the end of the trail I came right up on this doe who was much more interested in foraging than in me. Every time her head went behind a tree, I inched up a little closer. As I leaned against a tree to steady my camera, I watched her plunge her snout into the snow over and over again in search of food. Only once or twice did she bother to look up at me and at this point I was only about fifteen feet away! During this time I kept catching a glimpse of movement further behind and I knew at least three more were close. After a while two of them got curious enough to walk up close enough for a photo. Hard to tell now but I'm pretty sure the one on the right is one of the fawns born this spring.