Christmas is a week away. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all. Thanks for your support throughout the year. Every day leading up to Christmas I’ll post a winter-themed bird photo I have taken over the years. What better way to kick it off than with this beauty?

For as common, tame and lovable as chickadees are, they can be difficult to photograph because of their tiny size (you have to be close) and constant movement. This one sat still long enough for a few photos the other day.

As a follow-up to my last post, which featured the “small, but mighty kinglet,” here are a few more photos of these little dynamos. New England has two types of kinglets: ruby-crowned and golden-crowned. Here are examples of each. Despite their names, the “crown” is not the best way to determine an ID as the crown is not often displayed. Instead, look at their eyes. Ruby-crowned kinglets have a broken eyering (think of a ruby ring) and golden-crowned kinglets have a black streak through their eye.

I saw this great blue heron on the edge of a small pond. It obliged as I took a few photos and continued on my way.

Thanks to those who participated in the latest bird quiz. No one got it right, but everyone who guessed was on the right track in saying it was a young or juvenile bird. The bird in question is a young yellow-crowned night heron. I saw it stalking in a marsh in Milford, Connecticut, earlier this fall. Thanks again for playing along.

A few weeks ago, I wrote about finding a flock of yellow-rumped warblers eating poison ivy berries. Here are a few more shots. Click here for the original story.

A little late for Halloween, but whatever …

I’ve always liked Halloween. It’s kind of a silly holiday if you think about it, but maybe that’s why I like it so much.

As a kid, trick-or-treating was the highlight of Halloween, of course. It was fun to find a costume and dress up, but it was mostly about the candy back then. As I got in my late teens and 20s, Halloween parties become the highlight of the season. I’ll don’t think I’ll expand on that one. We’ve all been there.

Even as an adult I still like Halloween. I don’t trick-or-treat, and I don’t party as much, but I still like the imagery and aura associated with the holiday. “It feels like Halloween tonight,” I find myself saying on many walks in the fall. Something about those chilly nights with clouds and a bright moon remind me of being a kid trick-or-treating or taking my boys around the neighborhood when they were younger.

I know some people don’t care for red squirrels — particularly homeowners who have the rodents in their houses — but I’ve always liked them and enjoyed their antics.