Winter Ducks

 

I visited Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge this week, to look for winter ducks. It was windy, cold, and lovely. Click to enlarge.

There were lots of ducks. I saw norther shovelers.

Pintails.

Buffleheads. 

 

A male bufflehead with some food he caught dangling from his beak.

Ruddy ducks!

The two pictured above gave me pause because they were swimming together, and seemed at first to be a couple. They turned out to be two different species. In front, a female bufflehead. In back, an immature male hooded merganser. Tricky!

It was worth the trip for beautiful scenery and abundant interesting ducks. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge has an 8-mile one-way wildlife drive. Click on this sentence to visit the refuge website for information and directions. It's a nice place to visit, even in the cold. Stay in your car or wear your warmest coat.

Creature of the Year Awards, 2024

 

There was a lot of drama at the Creature of the Year judging for 2024, which resulted in the first ever tie. White squirrel was a co-winner. Seems to be saying "who, me?" right? Congratulations, 2025 Creature of the Year! Click to enlarge.

A latecomer to the race, but a popular favorite, was the beloved reindeer. She is co-Creature of the Year, 2025! Cheers, reindeer!

The upset was caused by a substantial number of write-in votes for this stunningly lovely clear winged moth. Insect supporters had been outraged when moth was left off the ballot due to an oversight. Moth is the official runner-up. In the event that both winners cannot fulfill their duties, moth will step in.

The look on katydid's face (spokesperson for the insect contingent) says it all.

Happy New Year

 

Click to enlarge.

Two days after Christmas, I visited the Spruce Ridge reindeer farm in Albrightsville, PA.

I am happy to report that the reindeer are in good shape and resting peacefully.

And fully recovered from any magical journeys they may have taken recently.

Merry Christmas

 

Dawn Redwood Tree

 

This is a dawn redwood tree. Isn't it pretty? It has an interesting history. In 1941, a tree genus was described from fossils that were around 5 million years old. A few years later, small populations of that fossil tree were found alive in central China. It was not extinct, just very rare. People call it a living fossil. Its common name, dawn redwood, refers to its early fossil record.

In 1951, dawn redwoods became commercially available in the United States. They have since been planted widely. There are two on my suburban New Jersey street. I noticed this one in a nearby park.

The tree has male and female cones. These are female, or seed-bearing cones.

These are male, pollen-bearing cones. Click to enlarge.

Although the dawn redwood is a conifer with needles and cones, it is not an evergreen. It sheds its needles in autumn and grows new ones in spring. So, yes, it has a nice Christmas tree shape, but it won't be green for the holidays.

Christmas Nutcrackers

Just nutcrackers today. Click to enlarge.

Do you know what goes Oh Oh Oh?

Um, no. 

Santa Claus walking backwards!

Resting nutcracker face.

Santa Claus is coming anyway.

Leftovers!

 

The annual feast of holiday lawn pumpkins is on!

Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Autumn decorations... all tasty.

These are for me, right? Click to enlarge.

Well, maybe just a nibble.

And they have seeds inside! Gotta love the holidays!