Today was one of the nicest days of this new year in Boston: sunny and around 55 °F/12 °C. Even after our mid-winter thaw the last few days, Leverett Pond was mostly frozen and its banks covered in snow. The wood ducks I had seen early in the winter are still around.
These ducks have such outstanding color that they each deserve a close-up. Here are the male and female, strutting across the ice.
American coots are swimming in our local ponds as they do every winter. With their gigantic green feet and red eyes, they could be mistaken for dinosaurs.
I saw a number of common mergansers on the water. Here they are forming a circle. Put a goose between two of them and you have a game.
I caught one of the male mergansers raising his tail. According to at least one source, this is a display of dominance.
A male and a female red-bellied woodpecker were scouring the barks of trees, one on either side of the pond. The red patch on the male’s head goes from beak to neck, whereas the red patch on the female is broken up.
