Cold wind blowing

It must be harsh out on the bay. Cormorants and gulls are fishing the creek instead. A heron was poised by the bulkhead across the creek, but it flew off. Then crows hassled a hawk in the pines over that spot - maybe that's why the heron left?

Egrets gathered below the bulkhead where it's in the sun and out of the wind. Then a female kingfisher landed on the dock bench with a fish. She whacked it on the wood repeatedly as she worked it around into swallowing position. I had to take the photo through a screen unfortunately.

Clouds have rolled in and the wind is even stronger. A lone bufflehead paddled upstream and some mallards passed it on their way downstream. An eagle put in a brief appearance overhead. Chickadees and titmice visited the feeder, then a male red bellied woodpecker showed up. It perched almost upside down with head back and tail tucked under the feeder. I think that's because woodpeckers always brace with their tails on tree trunks, but Kathleen thinks it was to make room for the long beak. At any rate, it flew off to the oak and busied itself with a knot hole. Last year one did the same feeder trick in mid-February. But a year ago today was not so interesting, though I did hear an owl then.