January 14

January 14, 2009 by OrientSee.

 Another bright windy cold day. Rosie’s thicket was empty and so was the pond. The fresher snow makes for easier and quieter walking.

As I was leaving the thicket, I noticed a very fluffed up Mockingbird and then this hole, the obvious work of a woodpecker. Since all that I have seen are Downy Woodpeckers in the thicket, I assume that this a newly excavated Downy home. The wood is so fresh that it seems to have been made very recently.

Palermo and Lawn were quiet except for a few gulls wheeling overhead and the Overlook path was quiet except for a mob of Chickadees and sparrows at the feeders.

From the Overlook, I got this photo of a ghost moon while the flats are covered in ice, ice and more ice. We’ve had a couple of astronomical high tides these past few days and with the cold, the flats are layered with thin sheets of ice. It’s quite forbidding and difficult to walk over.

From the Boardwalk, there was a small flock of Brant airborne, headed for Winthrop. A good sized group of crows were patiently gleaning through the marsh grass and for once, they were quiet. The park was empty (not even dogs and dogwalkers).

The Revere creek bed at low tide was host to a good sized crew of Canada Geese. Some of the geese seemed to be sleeping on the mud flats which I’ve never noticed before. Across Bennington St. from the bridge next to the pumping station, I saw a Robin which was a little unexpected for a cold January day. Although it was bitter at times with the strong northwest winds, it felt good to be out in the clean cold air. It feels like a drink of water rather than draft of cold air.

Ciao!

-Jorge

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