Nature Notes: late November

I'm going to start with nature shots I took on Thursday and the photos will be moving from there through to the last ones which I took today.

This will be a long post because I was hurriedly picking out the shots and didn't narrow it down very well.

Most of the colorful leaves have dropped off over the past few days.

 We've had some windy days where I could catch the grasses plumes waving.

The trail around Shelley Lake has a lot of evergreens which are nice for variety as the fields and trees are turning brown and tan.

I don't usually notice the evergreens until late fall and winter after the deciduous trees are dropping their leaves.

I enjoy the contrast that is highlighted with change.

I already used some of the shots I took of the great blue heron catching a fish on my other blog, but I took so many that there were ones left for this post.

I hope the heron was as happy with its catch as I was with finally managing to get a photo of it with a fish in its mouth.

I have been trying to get a photo of the herons with a catch for years.

The pair of downy woodpeckers were fun to watch going up the tree and swapping sides. I didn't manage to get both of them in one shot but I used a shot of the other one on my other blog and saved this one for nature notes.

The duck below looked snug in a protected area on the bank.

I like the feathery look of trees that have recently dropped their leaves.

I might not have noticed this mallard pair in the creek if the male hadn't been continually honking.

There's something eerie to me about the next shot.

I've had my first mornings of the season with ice in the bird baths which I had to dump out.

The leaves almost look like the variations are a white color but the lighter part is frost.

The male cardinal looked like he was turning his nose up at me.

Then he showed off his profile.

The bluejay primping in the tree was showing off its white feathers and I almost didn't realize it was a blue jay.

I knew what it was once it showed off its tail feathers.

It's easier and easier to spot birds in the trees now that most of the leaves have fallen.

Even the oaks only have a few leaves left.

The squirrel was continually moving its tail up and down.

They always move their tails a lot but this one was in hyper drive.

I took a ton of shots but it was hard to catch the movement.

The tail went so fast I only got it in a few positions.

The female cardinals are abundant as are the males.

This female moved its head almost as much as the squirrel was moving its tail but not quite as fast.

I think the next bird is a sparrow but it was partly hidden in the tree so harder to tell.

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