Thawing

The temperature rose above freezing at last.  Clumps of snow fell off trees and dripping roofs.  The sky was hazy with cirrocumulus ridge clouds that became overcast.  Before that I saw, briefly, a Kelvin–Helmholtz cloud.

Both kinds of warblers  two kinds of sparrow, blue jays,titmice, and Carolina wrens joined us for breakfast. Three kinds of woodpeckers visited in the morning: downy, red bellied, and pileated. 

Snowbirds (juncos) still flitted through our winter wonderland, but the bluebird had not gone away after all.  The female was back for lunch.

Mallards and herons prowled the melting edge of the creek.  The shovelers mostly stayed out of sight.