Recently at Nixon Park - December 2025
With the winter solstice in the rear-view mirror daylight hours slowly increase as the earth tilts towards the spring equinox in March. It's quieter, in some ways, at the park, but the winter choruses are in full voice; Canada Geese honk impatiently as they rise from the pond or sweep down out of the sky, bird alliances chatter away, Red Bellied and Pileated woodpecker calls echo through the woods, Red Squirrels bark and trill at the intruding Grey Squirrels raiding their larders, and both gnaw loudly on this year's bumper crop of black walnuts.
December can be a grey, wet, cold month with few good picture-taking days, but I have managed to get a few despite a number of low-contrast days. I haven't seen a Pileated Woodpecker this month, but I have heard them.
I was pleased to see a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker a few days ago. I've seen them fleetingly, heard their relatively quiet calls, and seen their handiwork on the maple trees. You can se how well camouflaged they are against the bark of trees. The sap flows provide an important resource for many birds, insects and animals, of course it freezes if it's cold enough.
Carolina Wren, White-Breasted Nuthatch cleaning up leftover nutmeat dust from a black walnut the squirrels were finished with. White-throated Sparrow. This Winter Wren was a bit shy but I was able to get a recognizable photo, Downy Woodpecker working away on a beech tree.
This single Snow Goose has been mixed into the Canada Goose flock for a few weeks now. It's not uncommon for geese to get disoriented or somehow separated from their flocks durinng migration. This one may be around all winter and join back up with a Snow Goose flock during spring migration.
Winter is when Red Squirrels are their squirreliest. The first one was giving me a pretty good chewing-out for being a little too close for comfort. They are enjoying the black walnuts, stashing them everywhere. The final two pictures are a Red Squirrel in what looks like an roomy, comfortable split locust tree. As we were watching each other they took some time to get a drink of snow.
One recent mid-morning a group of White-tailed Deer came bounding through the forest and over the trail ahead of me. It was unusual to see them so late in the day. Although hey were traveling at quite a clip they were nearly silent, and nearly invisible had they not their tail-flags been flying. It is remarkable how thoroughly they blend into the forest.
