Chilly

Morning was sunny.  The female red bellied woodpecker arrived early but I never saw the male.  The butterbutt was not happy to have competition for the suet.  Then the downy woodpeckers took over the suet.  White throated sparrows foraged below.  Titmice and wrens were still on Standard time.  The female kingfisher was sitting on the dock bench when I was leaving for the Rec Center.

While I was gone, a rumpled blanket of cloud spread up from the South but it didn't bring any warmth.  When I returned, so did the red belly and downy, the wren, the sparrows, and the warbler.  A dove was very puffy against the cold.  The pine warbler ventured out to the suet and got run off by the butterbutt.  And then, a goldfinch appeared with its drab winter feathers being replaced by bright yellow.  I've never seen one in transition before.

Egrets and herons fished below the dam outfall and photos revealed a male wood duck among the stones.  Buffleheads paddled and dived their way up and downstream.  Pelicans glided above the creek.

In the middle of the afternoon a pair of towhees scouted around the feeder.  I have heard them whistling, but haven't seen a pair since the fox family arrived back in 2013.  A song sparrow came for a drink and a snack.  The song sparrow seems much fonder of water than the white throats.  A couple of nuthatches came for suet and that wretched butterbutt bullied them.  The pine warbler returned when it began to get dark. 

Rain finally started after dark.