On the second time we went tracking with D T-T, it was kind of hard to walk in the snow because it was up to just below my knees out by the shore. Also it was a little windy and so they weren't very good conditions for going outside that day. I had to rest a lot.
The birds were not so close to shore, but we saw a number of different kinds: there seem to have been Common Mergansers and Mallards, and also Pied Billed Grebes. We looked them up in National Geographic Complete Birds of North America. We also saw a bald eagle fly out towards the bay from somewhere over near the marina.
Some of the birds were diving under water, maybe to catch fish.
The ice in the lake sounded like glass bottles clinking together. It is called brash ice.