Category Archives: Nature Photos

The silence of snow :: Return to the village

Leave a comment

But why I changed? why I left the woods? I do not think that I can tell. I have often wished myself back. I do not know any better how I ever came to go there. Perhaps it is none of my business, even if it is yours. Perhaps I wanted a change. There was a little stagnation, it may be. About 2 o’clock in the afternoon the world’s axle creaked as if it needed greasing, as if the oxen labored with the wain and could hardly get their load over the ridge of the day. Perhaps if I lived there much longer, I might live there forever. One would think twice before he accepted heaven on such terms.

— Henry David Thoreau

Looking across the creek at a snow-covered apartment complex
Looking down at a tree covered with snow
Looking down at a tree covered with snow
The creek hidden by snow-covered brush
Looking across the creek at a snow-covered apartment complex
A close-up of trees covered by heavy snowfall

The silence of snow :: First light

Leave a comment

In the night it turned to snow, which still falls, and now covers the wet ground three or four inches deep. It is a very damp snow or sleet, perhaps mixed with rain, which the strong northwest wind plasters to that side of the trees and houses. I never saw the blue in snow so bright as this damp, dark, stormy morning at 7 A.M., as I was coming down the railroad. I did not have to make a hole in it, but I saw it some rods off in the deep, narrow ravines of the drifts and under their edges or eaves, like the serenest blue of heaven, though the sky was, of course, wholly concealed by the driving snow-storm; suggesting that in darkest storms we may still have the hue of heaven in us.

— Henry David Thoreau

Ducks swimming along a snow-flanked creek
Looking across the lake with heavy snow falling while gulls fly overhead
Looking across a snow-covered field toward woodlands blanketed in white
Ducks swimming along a snow-flanked creek meandering into the woods

Don’t turn your back on me

Leave a comment

Roaming about the lake offers a great deal of wildlife to behold, and no kind of animal can be found in greater numbers than birds.  In fact, you can see just about anything here, including gulls, pelicans, ducks, geese, cormorants, coots, doves, pigeons, sparrows, cardinals, jays, mockingbirds, hawks, parakeets, herons, egrets, wrens, swifts, blackbirds, grackles, crows, loons, kingfishers, woodpeckers, chickadees, titmice, warblers, kinglets, grebes, starlings (a.k.a. avian rats), and a plethora of other winged creatures both great and small.  That is one of the reasons the lake is a federal wildlife refuge, not to mention the other kinds of animals that make it home (from foxes to bobcats to armadillos to opossums to raccoons to rabbits and a list longer than my arm).  The latest nature census found some 300 different species of birds, fish, mammals, amphibians, and reptiles living in the area, and that number fluctuates upward during winter months as migratory fowl arrive for the season.  Of course, I wonder when someone is going to inventory the insect species…  Ha!  Like that’s going to happen.

Now that I’ve completely gone astray from my original thought, let me share the photo with you that started this little gibbering.  I stumbled upon a male blue jay (Cyanocitta cristata) during a walk near the spillway.  It dashed continuously from the sidewalk to nearby trees and back again.  That’s why the photo isn’t the best quality.  I was too far away to get a good picture, and I had to snap it at high speed because the bird wouldn’t pose for me.  Lively little bugger…  And at that, he kept turning his back to me as I was coming down the hill, so finally I just took the picture and hoped for the best.

A male blue jay (Cyanocitta cristata) standing on the sidewalk (134_3432)

[Update] I meant to include this.  You can see the running census of birds in this area by visiting Birds of White Rock Lake and Vicinity.

[Update 2] Since I can’t seem to finish this post, I thought I’d include the wildlife statistics I found here.  To wit: “33 types of mammals, including squirrels, rabbits, skunks, raccoons, possums, bobcats, red [and gray] foxes, and minks… 54 varieties of reptiles, including rattlesnakes, turtles, lizards, and horned toads… Salamanders, toads and frogs are among the 20 kinds of amphibians found in the park… No fewer than 217 species of birds, including swans, pelicans, sea gulls, loons, and all kinds of ducks… 19 kinds of fish swim in the waters of White Rock Lake… Bass, crappie, and catfish are among the types.”

Cold coots

1 Comment

When I took a walk at the height of our recent ice event, I stood for what seemed like hours at the edge of the lake.  Despite the glacial chill in the air and the crunch of ice under foot, life continued at a normal pace for the wildlife that fills the area.  I was most impressed by the waterfowl scurrying about their business on placid water so still that its surface froze where it was protected from the lazy waves and animal activity.

The morning air tasted crisp, something akin to a refreshing drink on a hot day, and gray clouds spread like wet cotton across an endless sky.  Beneath the gloomy cover and weak light was a large number of American coots (Fulica americana).  They busied themselves with a somewhat carefree attitude as they set about their usual activities.  Even before most other avian inhabitants had stretched their wings and set out across the water, the coots massed and swam and bathed and hunted with an energetic eagerness.

American coots (Fulica americana) swimming on a cold morning (166_6698)

The mallard ducks (Anas platyrhynchos) on the opposite shore seemed a bit put off by the coots.  I noticed the ducks had only just started their morning routines even as the coots engaged the day head-on.  With wings stretching and webbed toes sampling the coolness of the water, the mallards watched in dismay as their mornings were invaded by these dark interlopers.

Yet I found myself sharing a bit of that shock when I realized some areas of the lake’s surface had frozen.  You might have noticed in the bottom of that photograph where the shore is protected by a fallen tree.  Waves and wildlife kept ice from forming on the lake side of that barrier, but the stillness near the shore had allowed a thin layer of tundra to begin reaching toward the depths.  I turned to follow the writhing trunk as it stretched along the water’s edge.  There, just on the other side of more ice and reaching branches, several coots had approached my position.

American coots (Fulica americana) swimming on a cold morning (166_6700)

The only two mallard ducks willing to start the day early huddled together just off shore amidst the great many coots.

After standing and watching the activity with interest, the whole while snapping photographs, my own fingers began to numb in the freezing temperatures.  Light winds blowing off the water did not seem to help maintain my warmth.  So I eventually turned and began a slow walk back toward home.

My path kept me near the shore for some distance, first along the lake, then beside the mouth of one the larger creeks feeding the reservoir, and finally along the creek itself.  And with each glance over my shoulder, I realized a dozen or more coots followed from a safe yet rapidly closing distance.  Were they looking for a handout?  Did they believe I was carrying some breakfast treat for them?  Or were they curious why the large, lumbering ape was there on such a bitterly chilled day?

American coots (Fulica americana) swimming on a cold morning (167_6712)

I suspected it had more to do with food than anything else.  After all, a silly primate wandering about the lake on such a day could have no other purpose than to feed the locals, right?  At least that’s what they were thinking, I bet.

At my nearest approach to the creek before starting a slow, lazy arc away from the water and back towards home, the avian stalkers came right up to the place where I stood.  Near enough for me to see their breathing, I knelt down precariously on the ice, working diligently not to fall into the dark, cold water.  Even the clouds reflecting on its surface appeared all to eager to escape its cold embrace.  They raced leisurely across the sky, a herd of whispers colored in the season’s most expected hues.

And yet the coots remained still for one last photo.  One particularly close to the shore eyeballed me with eagerness for a handout.

An American coot (Fulica americana) swimming on a cold morning (167_6713)

With nothing to offer, I finally stood and backed away from the water.  It was then the birds realized I had no treat for them.  They sighed with exasperation, turned away from land, and began making their way back into open water.  I would swear I heard a few of them discussing the rudeness of the man with the camera, to have lured them in with nothing to offer, and to have wasted a few minutes of their precious time just to grab a picture or two.

Yes, I’d swear I heard that conversation.