2-20-2011: duck head, crawdad owl pellets, deer scat, goose tracks by bike path

At the base of the big tree we were greeted by a duck head and a couple of crawdad owl pellets! We hadn't previously seen an owl pellet containing crayfish parts. This led to musing how an owl hunts for them. Does it snatch them from another animal (such as the beheaded duck), or actually skim the river's shallows for them?
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2-20-2011: tree line, the cottonwood copse, a portent of spring, a fallen nest, freshly cut trees

The tree line from the bike path, and then into the familiar cottonwood copse. Some greenery was struggling to emerge, followed by two background-worthy leaf shots. We spotted a fallen nest which posed amiably. Then we came upon freshly cut trees bleeding chlorophyll. Sad yet picturesque.
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2-20-2011: further into the copse, keys, a burrow, fence-tree, hole in a tree, an owl surprise!

After padding through the leaf-strewn copse, we made our way around the now mostly dry swamp toward the river. At a bend, someone had hung a set of keys from a branch. We noticed a hollow, or maybe a burrow, at the base of a scraggly tree. A metal fence post was overlapped by a tree, and struck me as significant; given time, the wild will absorb everything again. Holes in trees always tickle my imagination. And then we were surprised by flushing a Great Horned Owl out of the underbrush! It was close, and huge. Jay barely had time to attempt a shot--it can be seen in the last photo (upper left).
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2-20-2011: fog rolls in, Northern Flicker, duck head, feathers, close-up of swamp, heading home

Not less than a minute after the owl flew away along the river, the temperature dropped significantly and moisture beaded the air. A fog rolled in, blanketing everything in its wake. It was so cool and eerie.
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