Most of my recent outdoors time has been spent in the forests enjoying a change from the shoreline and its inhabitants. I can't believe that it is December and I am still using my bicycle to get around in the forests! This photo of a Red Squirrel was the highlight from what will likely be my last bicycle outing of the year. When I came upon this squirrel it ran to a log beside the trail and offered this upright pose, which seemed to me to be rare for a Red Squirrel.
 
Bird life in the forest was well below average for this time of year. Particularly noticeable to me was the complete lack of woodpecker species and scarcity of Red-brested Nuthatches. I doubt I would have been able to find 10 species of birds if I tried! As predicted by the winter finch forecast I saw no winter finches either. But I did see a flock of Common Redpolls elsewhere recently.