6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary, 25 October 2006

It started out as a questionable day for strolling... but we decided to leave the warmth of our cars, and we're so glad we did! Four families braved the wacky weather (one minute sunny and warm, the next cold, windy and almost sprinkling) to enjoy some of the last outdoors time we might see for a while. Ebony and Queen brought along their furry friend Jamaica, certainly the largest (and most well-behaved) creature we have seen walking on the path!

The Sanctuary did not let us down today. Almost immediately as we stepped onto the path, a great blue heron took flight and soared through the trees over the stream. As we walked, we saw (seeming to pose for us) a female northern harrier. This beautiful bird periodically rode the gusts alongside us on the way out and on the way back to our cars, scaring away the waterfowl resting on the lake as she looked for lunch. Though this picture is the only clear one we got of the bird, there is a tree in the foreground that makes it hard to see.

On the lake we saw a flock of American coots, a black duck-like bird with an interesting white bill. These birds will be present on-an-off here at the Sanctuary throughout the winter, and are diving birds... so they are fun to watch. We were also lucky to be on the path just as roughly 100 Canada geese came in for a landing on the lake... presumably to take a rest before they continue their long journey south for the winter.

We spotted one white goose among the crowd, and although we assumed it was a lone snow goose, it did not seem to have the black feathers on the wings... so it is most likely a domestic goose. We'll be sure to go back to the Sanctuary again soon, armed with binoculars to watch the antics of the coots and to try and identify any interesting hitchikers among the Canada geese!