Brrrrrr

I wanted to put the fresh suet out early, but the suet appeared to have melted and was stuck inside the package.  I was doing this outdoors to avoid a mess and it was so cold my fingers were fumbling.  Then the birds just stared at the suet and I worried that it had gone bad.  But I guess they were taking time to adjust to change because lots of birds that have been missing decided to return.  Anyway, the mockingbird took the lead.  Then a white breasted nuthatch began visiting.  There may have been more than one.  

The red bellied woodpeckers had no doubt about the suitability of the suet.  A ruby crowned kinglet and a Carolina wren slipped in while the bigger birds were digesting.  All the Baltimore orioles returned.  Even a pine warbler put ion an appearance, until the yellow rumped warbler pounced.  A brown headed nuthatch came for seeds but couldn't resist the suet. 

My extraction of the suet from its package left lots of crumbs on the patio so the white throats got a bonus.  A starling with a leg problem was also happy to help clean up.  Its right leg was sticking out sideways, almost like a dislocated hip.  But it had no problem flying so there was no hope of catching it and I'm not sure a wildlife rescue would take an invasive species.  A few juncos also came to forage.   Even the white breasted nuthatch joined the birds on the ground.  And, of course, the brown thrasher liked having food that wasn't in the air. 

Blue jays sulked till I put out some barkbutter balls.  Bluebirds sampled everything when they could.  So did the butterbutts.  A song sparrow showed up at the seed feeder.  When I didn't see it the last few weeks, I was getting concerned that it had been caught by a cat.  Today, I chased off the feral cat and later the green collared cat sauntered past the feeders.  The juvenile eagle circled overhead a few times.  And there were bird alarms when I didn't see a cause. In the afternoon, a red breasted nuthatch made a beeline for the seeds, unlike its cousins.  Titmice, cardinals, and chickadees also came for seeds. 

The creek had ice patches again but the pelicans didn't care.  A heron chased another.  I glimpsed some diving ducks but couldn't be sure which kind they were.  Pink sunset clouds reflected on water gone still while cormorants flew home.  But when I looked West, thicker clouds were flaming red.  Unfortunately, we don't have a good West view from inside, and I wasn't going out in the cold.