Patches of fish scale clouds alternated with blue sky. The birdbath was frozen but there was no ice on the creek. Instead there was lots of fishing. I missed the pelicans again. A heron was wading by the dam outfall. A half dozen hoodies sailed past the heron. Buffleheads were also out on the water, as was a female ruddy duck - first this winter.
A downy woodpecker managed to bluff a red bellied woodpecker off the suet. A blue jay lurked but didn't come close. White throated sparrows were also shy. A yellow rumped warbler finally got up. Then a pine warbler had a staring match with the red bellied woodpecker. A goldfinch joined the party but had no refreshments. I glimpsed a brown thrasher under the camellia before it spooked.
In the afternoon, the heron moved to the dock closest to the dam. The ruddy duck was like a jack-in-the-box, popping up and immediately diving, only to reappear 20' away. Eventually she stopped diving and bathed and preened, then went to sleep.
Three blue jays landed in the hackberry and one went for the bark butter balls I'd put out. At sunset the sky was clear except for streaks of gilded cloud right over the sun. As I pulled into the driveway, a mockingbird dashed into the shrubbery.
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