Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow!

Over the past couple days it has gotten quite cooler, and on Saturday night it started to snow. By yesterday morning, the ground was covered in a carpet of white.

Photo from last year

I'm amazed that just three days ago it was a record high setting temperature and I was observing Cattle Egrets and Monarchs. I'm sure the Cattle Egret is regretting it's choice to come back to the lagoons.

Yesterday there was a Nature London outing at Weldon Park in Arva, so that's where I went for an hour and a half. The leader wasn't expecting many bird species to be around due to the wind, but we managed to spot an impressive 20 species, such as Black-capped Chickadee, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Dark-eyed Junco, Mallard, and House Finch. Other birds included the following:

Downy Woodpecker

White-breasted Nuthatch

Red-bellied Woodpecker

See the Red Belly?

Hairy Woodpecker

Cedar Waxwing

Canada Geese

American Goldfinch

This tree has been used by a White-tailed Deer to rub the velvet off it's antlers.

Trees were covered with snow, creating a very pretty woodland sight.

I wonder how much longer the snow will stick around?

(Update November 22) On a side note, the "Semipalmated Sandpiper" I saw in Blenheim on Friday turned out to be in fact a first winter Western Sandpiper.  This sighting is exciting as this bird is quite rare in Ontario, and only a few, if any, show up each year. I didn't take any photos, but you can view some nice shots here and here (note: on this page you can find photos of the WESA, however they are listed as a Semi. These photos will likely soon go over to the WESA page).