Iced fish

Having a bad case of cabin fever, I just had to go out for a walk today. Don't know if it was the early onset of all the cold and snow or what, but for some reason this winter is seeming especially long.

The roads in the local state park are still snow covered and some are closed. I decided to go walk the beach down by the lake to see if anything was hiding out. It was very quiet. Every once in a while, the eerie creaking and snapping of the melting ice would pierce the silence.

The first birds that I noticed were the numerous Great Blue Herons fishing from the edges of the ice.

Great Blue Heron

As I made it down to the water's edge, I noticed a flocks of gulls standing on the ice. Some took flight at my appearance. An initial scan of the flock revealed only Ring-billed Gulls. I continued to walk the water's edge.

With a ruckus, a group of gulls took flight. I could notice that they were fighting over something as they flew overhead. I guess they felt that they had to share their find, as they dropped this right in front of me:

Catfish head

I continued on. I could hear a tapping sound behind me, so I turned around to find this Herring Gull pecking at a fish under the ice.

It managed to pull the fish from the ice. This got the attention of the nearby Ring-billed Gulls.

Hey buddy, this shad is mine!

I am always surprised at the response of local birders in reference to my seeing Herring Gulls in the winter. I have run into at least one in almost every trip here this winter so far.

Heading towards the car, I heard the birds giving a ruckus. I figured there must be a raptor close by and I was right. This Cooper's Hawk was staring right at me.

Cooper's Hawk

The sun only came out for a short time today while I was out, only to succumb to the gray clouds again. So it is I leave you with this picture of two male Canvasback ducks in the setting sun from the other day.

Canvasback

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