Nature Notes: Photo walking on New Year's Eve

This morning the shallowest part of the lake had a thin layer of ice which formed interesting patterns.

You can't really tell from the next shot but the mallards were sticking their heads through the thin ice and finding something to eat at the bottom.

The next shot is the part the mallards hadn't broken up yet. I'm not sure what they were finding in the murky bottom.

The gulls were active over the deeper part of the water where they didn't have to deal with ice.

One thing I like about cold morning walks is there aren't many other people around.

This is either an early nature notes or a late one since I took a break during the holidays, mostly due to browser issues.

The sky motivated me to walk because I knew it would be good for reflections over the lake.

This time of the year the gulls are very active at the lake and then they leave in the spring to nest elsewhere.

  

I only saw two Canadian Geese today. After signs were posted about not feeding them, their numbers began to reduce beginning in the summer. Most years they stay at the lake in the winter but move from the water near the bridge to the brown grassy slope where I spotted two this time. Last year there were dozens of them on the slope this time of the year.

I saw several Great Blue Heron this morning.

The cormorants were on their favorite perches.

They are another bird that seem to leave the lake in the spring with a similar return time to the gulls.

I thought the pair of ducks below were rather dreamy.

The next gull let me stand very close for a shot.

I think the great blue heron looks like a teacher surrounded by school children.

In the next shot the heron reminds me of an elderly grandparent all hunched over with a long beard.

I couldn't stop photographing the cormorants with their reflections.

The gull seems to have learned the herons trick of hanging out at the fish feeding station.

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