Hawk

Everything refroze overnight but the day warmed up quickly.  Still, the snow seemed disinclined to melt and the creek ice gave way very slowly.  A red tailed hawk found a perch in the pines across the creek.  Its presence did not seem to frighten the songbirds, and one flew quite close to it.  But eventually it pounced on something in the grass.  I think it missed.

Starlings briefly mobbed the suet.  Carolina wrens and yellow rumped warblers and of course woodpeckers - red bellied and downy - also enjoyed suet.  The pine warblers were missing though, as was the kinglet.  A male cardinal ate some aged beauty berries. Juncos and white throated sparrows foraged on the ground and snow. A blue jay lurked in the trees.  A pine warbler returned only to be bullied by a butterbutt and chased away. 

Herons got very territorial in the afternoon.  Ruddy ducks popped up all over the creek.  A flock of robins blew through.  I walked around to see the progress of melting and on my way back was scolded by a red bellied woodpecker.  A bufflehead drake joined the ruddy ducks.  Mallards did more tipping over than usual.