How would you like to wake up and see a Red Fox burrowed into the snow under a nearby spruce? Diane and Ronnie Brown liked it plenty! (Photo by Diane Brown)

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The sleepy fox emerges from the snow. (Photo by Diane Brown)

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Is this a pretty animal or what? The fox is among the animals with us all year long but seemingly more conspicuous in the winter. (Photo by Diane Brown)

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Fully awake, the fox moves on. Diane says that the fox had a limp, which may explain why it remained in the same vicinity all day. (Photo by Diane Brown)

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As demonstrated by these Mallards (and by the fox), birds and wild animals are not affected by the cold the same way that we are. (Photo by John Ester)

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In the right light the iridescence of a male Bufflehead's head and neck is striking. (Photo by John Ester)

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Continuing scaup identification from last month, here are some Greater Scaup on the wing. The field mark is the extensive white in the wing, extending all the way to the tip. These are females with the white at the base of the bill.(Photo by Carl Freeman)

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For those who remember the cartoon, here are the Mutt and Jeff of the woodpecker world, a pileated and a downy wanting the same suet, (Photo by Carl Freeman)

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This adult Sharp-shinned Hawk (gray back, brown wash on breast) is probably a male. The gender of raptors can be determined by their size-- females are bigger than males. A small male sharp-shin is not much bigger than a mourning dove. (Photo by Carl Freeman)

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At our January meeting we kicked off the new year with Brian Allen and "Peru: Parrots to Penguins." Brian's images and descriptions made everyone eager to see this fascinating country. (Photo by John Ester)

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Christmas Bird Counts in our area depend on birders from other clubs or counties to help out. This is Benzie Audubon Board member Doug Cook on the pier at Williamsport with Gloria Savory and Barry Barto on the Manistee CBC. Despite appearances, the day was quite pleasant. (Photo by Carl Freeman)

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At our Annual Meeting in November we elected a new Board and then heard Doug Cook's delightful presentation, "The Seven Mysteries of Birding or Learning to Fly with One Oar in the Water." (Photo by Char Ester),

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Corey and Caitlin Larson help clean out bluebird birdhouses along River Road. They are hoping that another white-footed jumping mouse does not launch itself towards them, as happened on the first box they cleaned out! (Photo by Carl Freeman)

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Keith Westphal examines the contents of one of the bluebird boxes he helped install along the Betsie Valley Trail. (Photo by John Ester)

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Not all of the nesting efforts along the Trail succeed. This failed nest contained five unhatched Eastern Bluebird eggs. (Photo by John Ester)

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Tree Swallows also use bluebird boxes to build their feathery nests. The unhatched eggs reflect this nest's failure. (Photo by John Ester)

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On September 26 Brian Allen led a successful field trip at the GTRLC grassland preserve in Arcadia Dunes. While billed as a sparrow trip, we also saw pipits and warblers, as well as flyovers by longspurs, raptors, cranes and a plover. (Photo by Angie Lucas)

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The Chipping Sparrow is much harder to find at the end of September than during the summer. Brian Allen's report on the trip can be found on the Manistee Audubon blog. (Photo by John Ester)

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The Savannah Sparrow won the prize for the most frequently spotted sparrow. It was one of eleven sparrow species tallied on our trip. (Photo by John Ester)

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