Ring-billed Gull ...

After seeing that silly chipmunk during our walk on January 1 (I have an extra posted of him/her) we have been thinking about him/her and have been feeling really bad for it. 

Why is he/she above ground this time of year when they should be hibernating?  Do he/she need more food to survive the winter? Or does he/she simply like to out and about?

We decided to go back up the the Rail Trail to see if it was just a fluke that we saw the chippy and to bring it some food .... just in case.  We didn't see him/her at first but put down the peanuts and other seeds anyway.  Then just as we were leaving I saw him/her!  Simply unbelievable!

Now keep in mind .... the chipmunk's hibernation is not a true "sleeping all winter" hibernation, but it is rare to see them up in January ... especially when it's this cold out.  They are usually active throughout the winter .... but almost always down in their extensive burrows. They are ground-dwelling animals.  The chipmunks that we have around the house I rarely see from November to March ... and sometimes as late as April.

After leaving the Rail Trail we stopped at Kohl's as I needed to return some items.  As soon as we saw the line for the returns we turned right around and left! 

Then we drove around for a while looking for snow geese ... the sky was a nice bright blue and that's the best time to get pictures of them.  We saw a few but they weren't close enough to the ground for any decent shots. 

At one on the other parking lots we were in we came across some Ring-billed Seagulls! These birds are always fun to photograph as they hover in the air looking for handouts  .... I didn't even have to get out of the car! This is SOOC .... with no cropping whatsoever.

I have done a quick catch-up on my journal ... including a snow Titmouse and a grateful squirrel.