Warm Winter Weather

There were a couple signs of approaching Spring at the Fontenelle Forest Wetlands today.  A flock of geese was flying north and our freezing weather was replaced with a 60 degree high.  The trails turned into a layer of mud but the lake was still completely frozen.

A Red-Tailed Hawk patrolled the sky overhead looking for lunch but wasn't having any luck.

Several kinds of woodpeckers were looking for insects that survived the cold winter.  This Red-Bellied Woodpecker landed in a near-by tree.

I watched this Red-headed woodpecker for quite a while but it didn't get very close.  It was moving from tree to tree with a regular pattern.  It didn't seem to be looking for food.  I think that it was looking for a mate.

The American Tree Sparrow was a challenge to photograph.  It stayed in a bush with hundreds of branches.  It was hard to get a clear view as it rapidly moved from branch to branch.

The stream was mostly ice covered.  I haven't figured out exactly what has happening at the edge of the ice.  The ice was white and water was running under it.  At the edge, portions of the ice turned black and then back to white.  At first, I thought it was trapped air that was moving under the ice.   After watching for a while, I think that it was some form of life, moving up to the edge of the ice.  It could have been fish, a turtle or just the hypnotic nature of running water.