Cold and Quiet, and Another Big Bird

I explored a little more of the Naugatuck State Forest this morning, venturing farther into the forest than I've been before. Some of the places I found might be fun to revisit in the spring, but for now, everything was just sort of cold (really cold!) and more or less empty, except for the few chickadees, titmice, and goldfinches flitting about.

Although lacking in wildlife, the walk was interesting in other ways. I saw my first pond-ice of the season, just barely knitting together on the surface of the water:

And I came across some really wild ice formations on the rocky paths:

It looks like winter is definitely settling in. Now we just need some snow...!

Continuing the trend from my last post, I returned from my trip to find four Black Vultures circling low over the house:

Of the two species of vulture we have around here (Turkey Vultures and Black Vultures), I see Black Vultures much less frequently. It took me a while to become confident in telling these two big black birds apart, but now when I see the triangular tail and silvery wing tips on a Black Vulture, I know it right away. It's always cool to see these giant creatures. :)