I was so excited about this that I ventured out on a freezing, drizzling day just to see what was going on. I had low expectations but I didn't care; I needed to be on this trail. I layered up, crossed my fingers (which are still frozen even though I've been home for over an hour), and got in the car. As I drove towards my beloved trail, raindrops dotted the windshield. This was not what I wanted to see; I momentarily considered turning back and spending the afternoon binge-watching The Handmaid's Tale in the warmth of my living room. After deliberation, however, I decided that the trail was calling and I needed to answer even if I ended up a little damp.
As I made my way to the tall blind, it was obvious that the little birds were completely fine with the cold, dreary weather. The sparrows and ruby-crowned kinglets were out flying from branch to branch, and the downy woodpeckers were actively pecking away at promising trees. I tried for some great photos of a tiny ruby-crowned kinglet, but the bird decided that today was not my day and flew off. The regal great blue herons at the river's edge were willing to stand still, though. Great blue herons are the Buckingham Palace Queen's Guard of nature- no matter how cold or how annoying the lady with the camera is, they don't even move an eye.
In the distance, I could hear a belted kingfisher chattering. It was much too cold for snakes and too early in the year for dragonflies or butterflies, so it was me and the birds. Like the ruby crowned kinglets, the ducks in the ponds flew off as they heard me coming. I stood at the tall blind for awhile, looking at the remains of last summer's vegetation and thinking that I had seen a few trees beginning to bud out; spring (and the dragonflies) is not that far away.
As I made my way down the trail, I looked down to see two Harris' sparrows hopping around on the ground in front of me, pecking around in the ground cover. If they knew I was there, they didn't seem to care; they were busy about their own work. They were constantly moving and that made it harder to get a good photo, but good enough for ID is good enough for me.
On a whim, I decided to walk back to one of the other ponds. As I walked past it, something on one of the trees caught my eye- was that part of a tree, or was it a critter? A view through binoculars and the camera confirmed that it was a hairy beast of some kind, but what kind? I could not easily determine. I sat for a few minutes watching the mysterious hairy tree blob to see if it would move but of course it did not; finally it was time to go. Later, looking at the hairy blob on the computer, it was easier to see that it was a raccoon.
After that, it was time to go- my hands were freezing, the battery on the camera was blinking a warning, and the park was about to close. However, it had been a successful reunion, and I was glad I had ignored the raindrops on the windshield of the car.
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