30 December

 "The woods are lovely, dark, and deep,"  

Lines stolen from Robert Frost, even though it was not a snowy evening, and there was no horse.  The woods, however, were indeed lovely, and it was indeed a dark morning,

as dark as any I can recall.  I've written often about sunlight in the forest, but the Forest's darkness has its own beauty.  It was still, as well.  One can usually hear the traffic of the nearby highway, and apparently there are a couple of helicopter instruction sites nearby who add their clamour.  Notwithstanding that, once in the woods, it somehow feels peaceful and quiet.  The mechanical noise is  distanced and not a part of the Forest.  

The unusually warm season has led to a continued growth of fungi.

The mysterious poached egg fungus has subsided to a single tough nubbin.

Meanwhile an assortment of white, fan-like fungi are appearing.

Some of these look as though they could meld with some of the orange fungi into something like the original "poached egg."

I guess the thing to do is to continue monitoring.

Meanwhile, the water level in the Marsh remains high, unsurprisingly, in view of warm weather, rain, and snowmelt.

Waterfowl weren't much in evidence, apart from two female buffleheads hunting diligently.

I find bufflehead behaviour interesting.  When males are present, it appears as though there are often rather large mixed flocks, very sociable.  Females, however, often seem to be solitary.  This warrants further observation. They are, in any case, cute little ducks, and fun to watch.

At the far southeast end of the Marsh, a bald eagle was feeding on something.  

It was a less eventful visit than some, but it's always a good place to be.

OH yes.  As I left, I heard a flock of trumpeter swans flying over.