Winter Solstice

 And just like that.....it is the winter solstice.  

the snow arrived overnight Friday/Saturday and the freezing rain was just beginning as we set out for a walk here at the estuary today.

certainly a different perspective with all the various shrubs weighted down with the snow.

there was a fair amount of activity, and will continue to be, at least until the water freezes over, which given forecasted temperatures, is probably coming.  Here there were Mallard, one of several Great Blue Heron and a Hooded Merganser.

Lots of Varied Thrush!  The more inclement the weather, the more these guys show up.

Song Sparrow down getting a drink.  A little later in the day, heard there were a couple of snipe and a small flock of shorebirds, possibly Dunlin in this same area.  Will have to watch for them.

and back in the yard....who would have thought, back when I started blogging this area, that one of the most commonly seen birds any day during the winter would be.....

a hummingbird!  This male Anna's was standing guard over one of the feeders in the yard today....and not the heated one.

Yesterday, although chilly, we had a nice walk over along the dyke...

the big flock of Cackling Geese was fluctuating back and forth from the river to the fields and back to the river

it was a little choppy out on the water, which is why they were hanging close to shore.

some swans were in the fields but most were sheltering way over on the far side of the bay out of any wind.

Since it was a bit breezy, there wasn't much to see in the way of small birds,

but this Steller's Jay posed nicely in the sunshine.

and we will just post this to see how things progress for then next couple of months, snow, cold....who knows!