Old Man Winter ain’t done with us yet…

I could almost hear Old Man Winter chuckling to himself as I looked out the window this morning and sipped my coffee. It was snowing, although I’m sure most folks were glad we had almost no accumulation, the clouds were thick, the wind was stiff, and the cold was pretty bitter. He ain’t done with us yet.

Fortunately, the snow didn’t last long at all, the clouds blew out over the lake, and there are plenty of critters in Estabrook Park who are built for the cold and wind. Here are a pair of common merganser hens taking a break from fishing in the icy water to keep their feathers in tip-top shape.

Here’s a goldeneye drake catching his breath between dives to the river bottom for snails.

The huge surprise of the morning, however, was spotting this killdeer, who would normally still be in balmy southern Illinois, at least, but was now standing on the softball field and considering the error of its ways.

I’m sure it was as surprised to see me as I was to see it, but instead of fleeing, it opted merely to sink into the grass, like Homer Simpson retreating into his hedge.

I’m not exactly sure if it was escaping me, the wind, or both of us, but I was impressed by how far it could sink.

At the pond the house finches and house sparrows were thick in the bushes on the island again, after taking a week off during the thaw, but the funner sight for me was this opossum trotting across the ice.

Finally, this cardinal must have heard me grousing about the shy cardinal yesterday, and wanted to make sure I knew that some cardinals really are as bold as their plumage.

Lastly, the weather forecast for our weekly wildlife walk tomorrow morning is even colder than today, with temps in the teens and winds pushing the RealFeel® temps into single digits. Yikes! On the other hand, I have been having a string of “first of the year” sightings this week, at least for Estabrook, and maybe it will continue tomorrow. Thus, when you contemplate coming out to join us, you really have to ask yourself, “do I feel lucky?”