Early December in northern Kentucky tends to be gray, cold, and wet. I've been mourning the short days, all my dead flowers, and the lack of fun insects to photograph. But...I have a skunk!! This is the first one I've seen in my yard in years, though they are common in this area. It was rustling around in the dead leaves at the front of my shed. I feed the birds nearby, and there's plenty of fallen seed, so I suspect it's a good area to look for insects.

Captured about 40 feet from the county line during a banding program. Bird was handled with all proper federal, state and local permits, banded and released. Molt, and size puts it likely as being a Hatch Year female