Farewell 2013

     On this last day of 2013, I indulged in a walk through Prospect Park. And on my walk there I thought about why I go off looking for wildlife when I can. My walks are the only time I stop thinking about life, it is the closest thing to meditation as I get. I stop thinking about school and only about what bird is making that call or what that flit in the tree-top was. I truly enjoy looking for wildlife, even if I don't see any, because I stop thinking about everything and just focus on my immersion in the natural world, soft foot steps, honing in on a particular sound, and observing.
     One thing I did think about on my walk was how it was my first walk through Prospect Park in 3 months! If you know me personally, you know what the last three months has been for me, but this walk felt so liberating and gave me another step forward in my journey back to normalcy. I felt like me again and that is the best way for me to end the year.
     My walk brought me sights of goldfinches, cardinals, blue jays, white-breasted nuthatches, black ducks, mallards, N. shovelers, hooded mergansers, ruddy ducks, coots, mute swans, Canadian Geese, house finches, hairy woodpeckers, mourning doves, juncos, white-throated sparrows, a brown creeper, mockingbirds, and a pair of sleepy raccoons. The park was quiet and cold, 27 degrees when I left on my walk, and perfect to indulge in solitude.

American Black Duck

Dabbling male mallard

An american coot

insert "bloop" sound here.  The coot goes down for a dive.

the "bloop" would be appropriate here, he was a diving monster!

A male Northern shoveler gives his best GQ look. And rightfully so!

These guys migrate down here in the winter and I love that they always congregate on the lake in Prospect Park. They are so gorgeous and so interesting in their looks.

A ruddy duck flaps after a good preening session.

I love birds in flight, and this shoveler gives us a nice look as to what those wings really look like.

love them!

The feeders are up and active. I found out the Brooklyn Bird Club puts these up and stocks them. I joined the Brooklyn Bird Club this year and hope I get to partake in some fun adventure.

Near the lullwater these raccoons were spending their night snuggled up and keeping warm- see the other ear in there? This guy has a buddy in there with him. 

This white-throated sparrow looks so tiny amongst the giant oak leaves.

the cutest kind of creeper you'll ever see, a brown creeper flew in and foraged on some trees checking out the nooks and crannies in the bark.

perfect coloration for such a lifestyle. 

Backlit hooded mergansers

I love that bird eyelids close upward, so they always have this look of pure bliss, like this Canadian goose preening and cleaning its feathers. (yeah, I know I anthropomorphize, but how can I resist?!)