2021 wasn’t all bad…

I don’t have a lot of time this morning, and it looks gray as heck out there again anyway, so let’s do a little year in review instead. Here are some of my favorite pictures from 2021.

Nothing brightens up a gray day in January like a male northern cardinal on sumac, eh?

But a thrush on sumac with snow and a blue sky in February ain’t too shabby either.

Here’s a raft of common mergansers, and one with a fresh catch, from March.

And a hairy woodpecker from April.

A robin feeding its chicks from May. What a thrill it was to get to see that whole process unfold.

One of a pair of North American river otters I spotted hunting goslings in June. (It still gives me goosebumps that I got to witness that scene and that this picture came out as good as it did. Phew!)

A great horned owl, also in June, who looked like it was hunting ducklings but eventually just took a bath.

A great blue heron picking a new fishing spot in July.

A mallard hen with her ducklings on the pond also in July.

A green heron fishing on the pond in August.

An indigo bunting also from August.

A great egret fishing in the river in September.

The osprey who visited us for a couple of weeks in October.

One of the bucks strutting his stuff in November.

Our female belted kingfisher who’s been fishing the lower river all December.

Of course, I am leaving out dozens of critters that could have just as easily made this list: warblers, vireos, hawks, eagles, goslings, wood ducks, the cuckoo, chipmunks, squirrels, rabbits, muskrats, the mink, raccoons, beaver, butterflies, dragonflies, snapping turtles, etc., etc.

In any case, it has been an absolute treat for me to see all these beautiful creatures right here in the little park across the street and share them with you. Thanks for coming along for the ride, and see you all next year.

PS. Some dates above are approximate because of reasons.