Today the walk was fairly typical for a December morning. Common mergansers, green-winged teals, and mallards dotted the lake. Several killdeer were on the mud and the great blue heron was at its favorite spot on the beaver dam. A kingfisher guarded the east side of the lake, and there were large flocks of robins and juncos all around the lake. Song sparrows, chickadees, white-crowned sparrows and Bewick's wrens scurried around in the brush. Downy woodpeckers worked the small trees and noisy flickers let everyone know they were present. Townsend's solitaires sang to us from the trees, several yellow-rumped warblers darted around in the conifers and a great horned owl watched us with interest on the east side. On the high trail a northern shrike, a red-tailed hawk and a northern harrier hunted the fields. There are still plenty of insects in the air, but cold weather is coming later in the week. It will be interesting to see how the birds react to the cold and snow.
Ginger
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