A cold walk. Cold sunshine, wind out of the north, a raw early February feel hardly fit for a spring day, the temperature only a few degrees above freezing.
The small pond in the woods, now nearly clear of ice, has a few migrant ducks sailing the open water—the flashy white of male Buffleheads, the artsy decoy-like shape on Northern Shovelers. It's my first sighting of both of these species this year. They are joined by Canada Geese and Mallards and a single Ring-necked Duck.
In the adjacent woods, a male Cardinal hunches against the cold on a low branch and belts out its song as though it could raise the temperature a few degrees just by singing.
English Plantain
St Olaf Natural Lands
Northfield, Minnesota
Northern Cardinal
St Olaf Natural Lands
Northfield, Minnesota
Northern Shoveler
St Olaf Natural Lands
Northfield, Minnesota
Canada Goose
St Olaf Natural Lands
Northfield, Minnesota
Bufflehead
St Olaf Natural Lands
Northfield, Minnesota
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