Encounter with a Barred Owl

After two days of really cold weather I was finally able to get out again yesterday to see if I could pick up a few last birds for 2011. The day was heavily overcast, but mild; the temperature was only about -3°C with a barely-noticeable precipitation falling.

I headed over to the Beaver Trail first since I haven’t been there in a while; it’s a good spot to find Brown Creepers, a species which has eluded me this month. They eluded me there, too, however, and I only saw the usual winter species: lots of chickadees looking for handouts, one Red-breasted and three White-breasted Nuthatches, a couple of Mourning Doves, and a Downy Woodpecker feeding on a suet ball near the Wild Bird Care Centre.