Brian Kanowsky

Walked about 3.1 miles this morning – overcast, but not too cold despite the dusting of snow last night.

Happened across a flock of juncos flittering about a clearing, and noticed a purple finch watching them from a nearby bush. A couple of titmice flew from branch to branch overhead, and a nuthatch bobbed down the trunk of one of the larger trees.

Saw the fat cardinal in his bush again, and the cluster of bushes behind him was blazing with the bright red feathers and neon orange beaks of other cardinals, cheeping background vocals to his loud song. The cardinals were out in force this morning, singing loudly from tall branches and chirping from the underbrush.

The mud was frozen enough that I could walk out by the beaver dam, which has seemingly doubled in size since I last saw it. Lots of fresh deer tracks in the snow around the banks of the creek, and a skittish bluebird tried to stay one tree ahead of me as I walked forward.

Then I walked down to the park, and saw a couple of enormous chattering crows preening themselves on branches over the creek. A blue jay, seemingly annoyed with the cavorting squirrels, did his best hawk impersonation, screaming and swooping down in their direction. The squirrels scurried for cover, while another blue jay nonchalantly went on digging through the dead leaves on the ground. I heard a red-bellied woodpecker, and when I finally spotted him, I noticed that the tree to his left held a small downy woodpecker, while the tree to his right hosted a couple of nuthatches.

The doctor ordered more walking, and so I play the role of a dutiful patient.

Yesterday afternoon, the wife and I walked about 1.8 miles. Again saw many crows in the sky, joining their small flocks together. Also saw a lone pair of mallards and a number of bluebirds. Watched a red-tailed hawk glide over the trees, and a vulture wobble on a low breeze, searching for a thermal.

This evening, I managed about 2.8 miles despite the cold wind, and the road that alternated between slick ice patches and shoe-sucking mud. A whole neighborhood of cardinals exchanged terse cheeps from their claimed braches, and a large rabbit splashed across the creek when I got too close. Watched a vulture make his last passes over the field before dusk settled, and a lone whitetail deer tracked me with her satellite-dish ears. Watched a couple of mallards splash down in the pond, and when I got closer I saw that there were at least a dozen pair of the ducks swimming together, trying to stay warm.

Managed only about 1.4 miles this afternoon, as it started snowing midway through my walk.

A cold, gray, and snowy afternoon makes for a very quiet walk, but I did see a couple of song sparrows and a solitary cardinal, who chipped in alarm as I approached. Watched a couple of geese flying low, and several smaller groups of crows flying back and forth as they merged into a large murder.

Foggy (and chilly) morning for a walk, but managed 1.75 miles.

In addition to the usual suspects – titmice, sparrows, crows, and doves – I saw a red-tailed hawk, several bluebirds, a downy woodpecker, a yellow-bellied sapsucker, and what I’m guessing was a towhee, although I don’t often see them in winter. Also saw the fattest cardinal I’d ever seen. In the pond, a pair of mallards and a skittish, large muskrat with a mouthful of leaves.