December 6 2012. Burlington ON. A small group of regular walkers convinced me to join them for a quick lunchtime march through woodland trails and along a small river valley. It was quite cold but with the sun shining it was not unpleasant. We were quite surprised by the bird activity including several White-breasted Nuthatches, Northern Cardinals, Downy Woodpeckers and even a boldly marked White–throated Sparrow that was hopefully examining the top branches of a bare Manitoba Maple. Two Red–tailed Hawks flew heavily through the trees to emerge into the open over the river flats provoking discussion among us as to their respective ages; I figured they were both immature birds. The hawks’ presence offended some of the smaller birds but none quite as much as a Belted Kingfisher that darted up river in the bouncing flight and rattling call that makes the kingfisher unmistakable. Its presence made it Bird of the Day, it seems late for kingfishers to still be around. I’m sure most have long gone farther south, but I guess as long as there’s open water and fish to be caught, there’s a living to be had.