Frozen

Ice covered the creek, so I wonder why a heron landed along the edge.  White throats, a Carolina wren, and chickadees were hungry.  I glimpsed a male towhee.  A downy and a brown thrasher visited the suet.  The sky was gray but the air was still.

Around 11, the sky started to clear but the creek stayed mostly frozen.  I saw a mallard edging along by the bulkhead.  The birds during lunch were varied and colorful.  In addition to the regulars, white throats, juncos, doves, Carolina wren, and titmice, there were several bluebirds, a couple of cowbirds, a goldfinch, a pine warbler, and a couple of squabbling yellow rumped warblers.  Because the birdbath was frozen, they were drinking from the pool cover.

The butterbutts tackled the suet though they wouldn't challenge the woodpeckers or titmice, unlike the pine warblers.  A squirrel tried to get to the suet but was defeated either by the cage or by the hot peppers.  After lunch the wind began to gust.

The grocery parking lot was full of ring billed gulls.