Things With Wings in December:

So much life becomes dormant in the colder months, that finding moving things to photograph in December can be a challenge. However, we always find "things with wings" at Pinery Provincial Park. White-breasted Nuthatches are one of the species that are typically easy to find at Beach Parking #9. 

Black-capped Chickadees are almost universally considered "cute" thanks to their oversized round head, tiny body and curiosity about everything, including humans.

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Black-capped_Chickadee/overview#

Tufted Titmice are acrobatic foragers. They often flock with chickadees, nuthatches, and woodpeckers. They are regular visitors to feeders, where they are assertive over smaller birds. https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Tufted_Titmouse/id

Heritage Trail

The large lump on the bark reminds me of a Koala Bear climbing a tree. I can even see an eye! These tree lumps are called "Burls" and can result from an injury and subsequent infection by viruses, fungi, bacteria or insects. While they may look malignant, most burls don't have much of an effect on the overall health of a tree. Within a burl, the process of cellular reproduction has been interfered with causing cells to reproduce rapidly, resulting in a random distribution of cells. https://www.silive.com/news/2017/11/what_are_those_lumps_on_tree_t.html

Red Crossbills have been taking advantage of food and shelter available at Pinery Provincial Park. On my last visit, we had a blip of sunshine which allowed Deryl to take a better photo of this visiting winter species. Look closely and you can see the crossed bill!