Thursday, December 22, 2011

Red Fox

This morning, I startled a Red Fox from along the shore of the lake. It was hidden in the vegetation along the north shore of the lake when I walked by. I got a bit too close without realizing it was there, and it quickly padded away across the frozen edge of the lake for a more secluded area.

This is another good example of why I get frustrated by all of the people who let their dogs off-leash in the park every morning. We do have native wildlife around here other than squirrels. They're generally more wary, however, and they don't often show up in areas where large domestic dogs are running free and crashing through the shoreline vegetation.

Brown Creepers continue to hang around the park; I saw 4 of them this morning. I wonder if they're more numerous this winter than years past or if I've just gotten better at noticing them...

Monday, December 12, 2011

Brown Creepers

Although the park is pretty deserted by now, a few hardy souls remain. Crows and Starlings are the most numerous. Interestingly, November, December, and January are about the only time of the year that I see Starlings in the park even though they're around the area year round. Juncos are still around, though not in the numbers they were a few weeks ago. And of course the regular Chickadees, Downy Woodpeckers, and Nuthatches remain.

Every now and then, a Brown Creeper or two shows itself. This morning, a pair of them were foraging on the cottonwoods on the north shore of the lake. They're difficult to see because they're so well camouflaged, but if you keep your ears pricked for this high-pitched noise, you may be able to catch a glimpse of one as it probes the trunk of a tree:

Direct link to mp3