Stuck in the doldrums of not spring and barely winter…

Jeepers! February just won’t give me a break. The skies are as grey as ever, and the critters won’t come out to play, but here are a couple that I managed to capture on film anyway.

The red-tailed hawk, which we saw appearing to dry itself off beside the river last Thursday, was still dry but perhaps contemplating getting wet again as it gazed upon about a couple dozen mallards on the river below. It eventually opted to skip the bath this morning and took a swing instead at a flock of starlings making a racket high in a tree across the river.

I only took this next picture because crows seldom let me get this close. This one must have really like the taste of whatever it was digging up from the bottom of that puddle.

Finally, I’ve been hearing and spotting winter wrens recently, as they begin pushing their way back north already, but they’ve been eluding my camera so far. Instead, here’s a feisty one from April 25, 2022 who was a bit more willing to let us have a good look.