Even more poofy little birds…

I hiked along the entire length of the river again this morning in hopes of spotting some exotic visitor from up north, especially while the weather is so nice, but I didn’t see a bird on the water except for a pair of common mergansers and a couple of mallards at the far south end and a dozen geese, and a dozen mallards at the far north end.

At about the halfway point, however, I did see a quartet of American goldfinches in their winter plumage, and here’s the one I could get my camera to focus on.

Farther north, the great horned owls were back, after a couple-day absence, and in their usual spots again. Here’s the one that was less hidden.

All through the park the black-capped chickadees are acting bolder than ever lately, some perching barely out of arm’s reach, and I don’t know if they really are braver or they are so cold they just don’t care, but they seem to be their usual selves in all other respects. In any case, I’m happy to enjoy it while it lasts.

I’ve been glimpsing cottontails from time to time during the winter since I started this little journey, but they are always extremely shy, and I believe this is the first time I’ve ever managed to capture an image of one in the snow. Woo hoo!

At the pond, I found this male house finch male purple finch mixed in with all the similar-looking house finches, which also have red faces, only less so, but they do not have red backs like this guy.

Finally, here’s a second nuthatch from yesterday, when it seemed to be nuthatch picture day.