White sky, warm wind

The concrete was wet but the birdbath had not collected much water overnight.  There was a strong, warm wind.  Some sun got through the clouds.  I glimpsed a red bellied woodpecker but it startled and flew before I could see which one it was.  The downy woodpeckers were bolder.  A wren came for mealworms which were running low again.  Many white throats and robins took advantage of fresh water. 

K hung fresh suet after a starling finished off the old.  The yellow rumped warblers had about given up. I noticed one butterbutt yesterday was starting to get black face feathers.  This one was a different bird.  In the afternoon the clouds became very dramatic.  The wind whipped the trees and grounded the birds.  The Carolina jessamine was covered with flowers and one dogwood's buds appeared to be opening.  The wretched Bradford pears and their invasive Callery descendants all over town were blooming. The whole day was very warm, even with the fierce wind, so I'm not sure if it qualified for a leonine start to March. In fact, the 82°F temperature broke the record set in 1918.