Sunshine

It was cold overnight but the day warmed up and the sun shone despite clouds on the horizon.  The tide was very low at breakfast and there was a skin of ice away from the current.  Later, I think I saw a bufflehead drake on the creek.  Blue jays took the first turns at the barkbutter balls.  Then a pine warbler, two Carolina wrens, and a white throated sparrow visited the barkbutter dish.  One wren poked at seeds while the other foraged on the ground.  An orange crowned warblers ate jelly.  The pine warbler also checked out the seeds.  

Overcast

The overcast sky did not precipitate either rain or snow but occasionally let the sun come through.  Yellow rosebuds continued to open but the camellia had used up most of its buds.  The orange crowned warbler nibbled on barkbutter balls until interrupted by a chickadee.  Then the warbler went for jelly.  I spotted a mockingbird running along a cherry limb.  The Carolina wren was back with a good appetite.  I spent too much of the day looking at screens instead of windows.  

Busy

A couple of pelicans and at least eight egrets flew over the creek in the early morning before the dock workers arrived.  My photos were all blurred by foreground vegetation.  The tide was very low.  A Carolina wren and an orange crowned warbler came to the feeders.  But mostly workmen were coming and going all day, inside and out.  

Not so cold

All I saw was a Carolina wren.  Too much disturbance was going on.  Sunset was colorful, but so early.  Ten more days before the nights start getting shorter.  

Cold sunshine

Some snow survived on vegetation and furniture.  As they say, "Bridge Freezes Before Road" and a leaf is a small bridge.  A junco foraged in the birdbath.  Carolina wrens were quite hungry so I poured a fresh dish full of mealworms.  Then a white throated sparrow poked through the snowy leaves.  Later there were two wrens and one tried the underside of the suet.  The other sat on a chair arm.  One of them poked at the seeds as well.  Very thorough.  We had people working on the dock in addition to the dredge so I didn't expect waterfowl. An interesting article described using Bluetooth transmitters to track monarch butterflies. 

Snow, sort of

The NWS said, "WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 2 PM THIS AFTERNOON TO MIDNIGHT: Snow expected."  Rain was falling in the morning so K left the caps on the dish feeders. The birds were not happy.  One tried to peck through the glass to the food it could see inside.  Then lumber arrived for the dock.  Meanwhile the tide was running high for a waning gibbous moon.  A cold NNE wind was probably the cause.  Around 3pm, clumps of flakes began blowing around, melting on contact with any surface.  Eventually some flakes on vegetation didn't melt.  The snowfall continued into darkness.  Altogether a miserable day.  

More birds

The prediction was for low clouds, fog, and general gloom but that was gone by 9am.  It was cold but not windy, good bird watching weather.  The new cat ambled across the patio early, but I didn't see any other predators.  Pine warblers were particularly interested in the dish of mealworms.  Bluebirds made the rounds of feeders.  Blue jays would really rather have had barkbutter balls.  The orange crowned warbler went straight to the jelly.  

Fuzzy clouds blew past and out to sea.  A Carolina wren picked through the dish but didn't seem pleased.  Pine warblers tried to get past bluebirds to the mealworms.  A titmouse clung to the brick wall, seeming interested in a cavity in the grout.  I thought I saw a butterbutt but couldn't be sure.  A white throat foraged under the seed feeder.  Juncos were also hard to catch on camera.  The two female orioles showed up for mealworms.  A pair of house finches kissed beaks.  

A flicker landed up in the wild cherry.  Then a male red bellied woodpecker chased a downy away from the suet.  He had a noticeably red belly.