Winter Birds

The lake's lone Heron. He took up residence in December and I am waiting to see if he will stay or go when spring comes. Bottom-right: Charlie playing with a stick as I take pictures of birds.

One of my favorite things about my lake walks is observing the local wildlife. Squirrels fighting over nuts, turtles sun bathing on logs, and the birds. I love watching the birds. I love watching the changes in their behavior as time goes by and at the same time getting familiar with their routine.

Top-left: Buffleheads. Top-right: gulls on a bad fishing day. Bottom-right: Double-creasted Cormorant on a bad fishing day. Bottom-left: Gulls and cormorants on a good fishing day. The cormorants dive and do the fishing and the gulls do the stealing.

I know where the winter flock of cardinals can be found every morning (but not the rest of the day), the shoreline that is preferred by the wintering Great Blue Heron, which is preferred by the small group of Buffleheads, and how the fishing is by the presence or absence of the gulls in the air as I approach the lake. When I first moved to Utah it didn't start feeling familiar and comfortable until I could name the surrounding peaks and began getting familiar with their trails. There aren't any peaks here but the same idea is true with this lake. It seems like the more familiar I get with the lake the more I discover, and the more comfortable I feel here and that is why I don't tire of walking the same path week after week.