A big finish to a big year…

Well, shoot! Somehow, I forgot to finish my post yesterday and send it out to you. I even had some nice pictures for you, as you will soon see, but I must have gotten distracted. Sorry about that!

Anyhoo, after the early snow yesterday morning, which was barely more than a dusting, the sun came out for a bit and nicely lit up this dark-eyed junco beside the river at the north end.

Thankfully, the sun was still shining by the time I found this red-bellied woodpecker by the pond.

Finally, as far as yesterday went, here’s an American tree sparrow, also beside the pond and always a treat to see.

Now, on to this morning, when we had more snow, less sun, and milder temps. I don’t know if it was because of those weather conditions, they’ve figured out that we don’t pose much of an immediate threat, or if they simply had bellies full of fish and needed naps, but these common merganser hens, between the two islands in the river, were especially accommodating this morning.

When I got to the pond, I was working on another tree sparrow picture when I spotted this beauty drifting upstream over the river, and I can’t believe my luck that a picture came out this clear, given the distance and the lighting. For those in the back row, that’s an immature bald eagle and its breast looks darker than the one we saw looking on as its elders sang their duet a few weeks ago, which suggests that we have at least two youngsters patrolling our stretch of river, in addition to the two adults. Yippee!

Back at the pond and just a bit behind and above the tree sparrow, this female cardinal was busily digging seeds out of a sumac clump.

Finally, the huge news for this morning is that a couple of goldeneye hens have finally deigned to join us. “Hello, Sweeties!” I did manage one dark and grainy picture of the two together as I made my way upstream, from which I will spare you, and then one gave me a second chance on my way back downstream later in the morning.

I hope you have a safe and happy time celebrating the end of 2025 this evening, and I should have new content for you in the new year, if I don’t get distracted before I send it out. Wish me luck!