Coyote at Breakneck Hill Conservation Land

The sky was so pretty that I couldn't pass up a chance to take a photo of the beautiful sunbeams piercing through the clouds.

A recurring theme of my Christmas vacation has been to take the time to stop and photograph the things that I see that I often intend to stop for "some day".  The following photo shows one of my favorite old New England farm houses.  It is located in Hopkinton.

My friend Freddie had tipped me off to reported sightings of Redhead Ducks in the Sudbury Reservoir along White Bagley Road.  I made a point to stop there today and was rewarded with a nice view of them!

They were among a huge flock of Ring-Necked Ducks and several Hooded Mergansers.  I also had a Belted Kingfisher rattling and flying away when I walked over to get a closer look at the ducks.

Ring-Necked Ducks

I took an afternoon walk at BHCL.  I went there hoping for a bluebird to add to my 2015 bird list.  I broke the rule of nature photography and had my camera in the bag, zipped up, not thinking I'd be needing quick reaction to anything.  WRONG.  Right at the top of the first hill from the parking lot there was a coyote!  By the time I unzipped my bag and got my camera out, cap off and powered on, it was significantly farther away.

This is only my second time seeing a coyote at BHCL.  The first time, the coyote was watching me the entire time I hiked around the property.  Every time I looked around and searched for it, I could find it watching me.  This one behaved much more cautiously, which I preferred, and was always moving away from me.

Northern Mockingbird (one of two near the wetlands)

Red-Tailed Hawk

I decided to watch the sun go down at Hopkinton State Park.  I enjoyed the moon rise too.

The corner of the reservoir closest to the dam was full of pieces of ice.  It was quite noisy as the wind whipped it against the dam.  Most of the water was open, but there were no waterfowl to be seen.

While I was at the park, I noticed a lot of police activity near the boathouse.   I later learned that a woman walking her dog had discovered an attempted suicide victim lying in a puddle of blood near the trail.   I hope things work out for that person and for the poor woman who found him, too.