First Snow | a 7 Image Story

First Snow | Last ColorFirst Snow | a 7 Image Story  This fall seems to be a bit colder than most and the first real snowfall a bit sooner than usual.  It’s a wet snow so it sticks to trees and bushes. The temperature has hung around freezing.  A little snow, like 8 inches, a little sun and shadow, and a simple click make for a nice winter scene.  As the afternoon sun melts some of the snow, the falling temperatures froze it into ice. The ice and snow weighted the tree branches so much that some broke under the strain.

The snow makes a nice background for this perky Dark-eyed Junco. The Juncos stay around all winter.  For some reason, this year the Juncos outnumber all other bird species around the bird feeder.  Morning Doves tend to stick around all winter as well. They are beautiful calm birds that are easy to photograph. They would rather eat their seeds off the ground than fly up to the feeder.  It’s amazing how much more activity gets generated at the bird feeder when the first snow falls.

The first snow for a Pug puppy is always entertaining. The snow tastes so good. And, it’s so much fun to run and play in the snow.  Each image will be posted individually this week under category First Snow.

Click any image below for a slide show!

Double-crested Cormorant

10/07/2013 Double-crested Cormorant

Double-crested Cormorant  My walkabout today took me along a narrow inlet to a small lake.  Clearly, I’m not a person who knows birds well.  Still, I think this is a Double-crested Cormorant.  Actually, a pair of them seemed to be swimming along the inlet.  Yeah, they just go along about half-submerged most of the time.  Occasionally, they’ll drive under for food and come back up to this half submerged position.