Gray

Morning was quiet under a white sky.  The wind was not so strong and the birdbath was not frozen but the air was cold.  I saw an oriole in the camellia and hustled to get the mealworms out.  And never saw another bird.  We've been taking in the mealworm dish at night to make K happy.  Plus, it reduces the likelihood they'll be soup by morning.

Clouds were breaking up and the sun shone when I got home, around 1:30pm.  The orioles had finished off the mealworms and jelly and the dominant one was bumping a downy woodpecker off the suet, while number two watched enviously.  White throats scurried around and a nuthatch took seeds and suet whenever there was an opportunity.  They all scattered when I took more mealworms out, but an oriole pounced on them as soon as I went inside.

Later, a Carolina wren got a share of the mealworms. The clouds returned in the afternoon. I saw five egrets flying in formation over Independence Blvd.  And a mockingbird in the neighborhood.