Cold Sunshine

A cold walk. Cold sunshine, wind out of the north, a raw early February feel hardly fit for a spring day, the temperature only a few degrees above freezing.

The small pond in the woods, now nearly clear of ice, has a few migrant ducks sailing the open water—the flashy white of male Buffleheads, the artsy decoy-like shape on Northern Shovelers. It's my first sighting of both of these species this year. They are joined by Canada Geese and Mallards and a single Ring-necked Duck.

In the adjacent woods, a male Cardinal hunches against the cold on a low branch and belts out its song as though it could raise the temperature a few degrees just by singing.

Posted on March 22, 2017 03:59 AM by scottking