I took advantage of a relatively uncluttered schedule today and went for a walk. A friend showed me where some pine trees were growing in an unusual setting for around here. We ended up wandering around a little bit between the Cross Trail and Gavan Hill Trail before doing the upper Cross Trail.
Weather: Despite the snow on the ground, today actually felt spring-like. Though it was below freezing last night, sun was up this morning when I went to a meeting and it quickly warmed up. I think the high temperature was in the 40s, but with light winds and the sun reflecting off the snow, it felt pretty warm. In the afternoon some clouds did come in and it started snowing this evening after dark.
Birds: There was a Winter Wren just up from the interesection of Gavan Hill Trail and the Cross Trail. Mostly we heard it’s chirps, but it did break out in song for a few seconds as well. This is the first wren I’ve observed since sometime last Fall.
There were several times we heard Chickadees, Kinglets, or Creepers. We never did see them, so I’m not exactly sure which they were.
Other Notes: I had not realized that there were actually quite a few cedars and pines in the second growth stands along the lower parts of Gavan Hill Trail. There are pines in the middle of the stand, very uncharacteristic for this species that is usually only found in and around the edges of muskegs around here.
We stopped and investigated a couple of different rocky outcrops. There was a pretty amazing diversity of lichens and (mostly) bryophytes. I brought my tripod and stuff for taking macro photos, but forgot my macro lens. I think those will be good places for getting photos of some of the bryophytes.