End-of-year walk in Crystal Peak Park

I’m in New York visiting family and friends for the holidays, but wanted to post some photos that I took last week in Crystal Peak Park in Verdi. It was a sunny December morning, and there weren’t many people around. Over on the fishing ponds, a large flock of Buffleheads and American Wigeons hung out near the dock, but crossed to the far side when I approached.

Fishing ponds at Crystal Peak Park, Dec 22, 2015.

Ducks on the water: Buffleheads and American Wigeons, Crystal Peak Park. Dec 22, 2015.

It was a quiet morning and I didn’t see many animals on-the-move, but tracks in the mud let me know that a raccoon had been by in the night, and a cottonwood tree across the channel showed evidence of a busy beaver in the area.

The Truckee River, Crystal Peak Park. Dec 22, 2015.

Raccoon tracks, Crystal Peak Park. Dec 22, 2015.

Someone has been gnawing. Crystal Peak Park, Dec 22, 2015.

Recent storms had caused the river to rise higher than it has been in some time, and small patches of tiny white mushrooms had popped up along the banks of the Truckee. Out in the river channel, a few mergansers surfed by in the waves.

Unidentified white mushrooms, Crystal Peak Park. Dec 22, 2015.

Common mergansers, Truckee River. Dec 22, 2015.

Truckee River, Crystal Peak Park. Dec 22, 2015.

Happy holidays, all! I hope you’re out enjoying the wintery weather!

-Kelsey