I had no time to look out a window until a late lunch. The day was much warmer and a pine warbler was back. Coincidence? Anyway, a butterbutt soon bullied the pine warbler into leaving the suet. The kinglet got some suet too, undisturbed by the warring warbler as far as I could tell. Downy woodpeckers also took their turns on the suet. I was surprised that the suet in the feeder at the front of the house was untouched despite all the rough weather since I put it out.
A pale polypore fungus grew on the stump of a red cedar. The old conk under the oak survived the snow. Rosettes of bittercress were happy with the spongy ground. Something, perhaps snow or frozen seepage, tore moss of the retaining wall.
Buffleheads dived for fish. A pair of hoodies paddled upstream. Herons continued to argue and chase over creek bank territory. The sun and wind together made the water sparkle. Ice floes moved slowly downstream, catching on structures and mud flats. A red tailed hawk landed in one of the pines on our side of the creek. It seemed fascinated by something on the ground, but the songbirds were still wary. Later I caught it in flight.
A flock of robins proved to be the advance scouts for a much bigger flock of blackbirds, including cowbirds, red-winged blackbirds, and starlings The female red bellied woodpecker took over the suet. I got a glimpse of a possible eagle but the camera refused to focus. Late in the day, I saw a Carolina wren on the suet. And even later, when the light was fading, the feral cat came to bird watch. At sunset, a pale pink suffused thin clouds I had not noticed before. I went outside and tried to capture the crescent moon.
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