Icy

The creek was thinly iced and the thermometer read 31° at breakfast.  The male pileated was an early riser, wanting suet.  A mockingbird showed up next and complained about the empty barkbutter dish.  Then the female oriole headed to the jelly dish for some quick calories.  A couple of goldfinches tried to get a drink but I think the ant moat had frozen.  

White throats picked through the mulch.  After the woodpecker left a pine warbler worked on the suet.  When another bird investigated the jelly, the oriole came shooting in to take possession.  Bluebirds ate seeds.  A chipping sparrow came back and ate seeds.  The red bellied woodpecker did too.  A blue jay peered into the dish but found no barkbutter.  Three doves foraged in the mulch.  A butterbutt ate suet.  

A starling came for lunch, maybe because I finally refilled the barkbutter balls.  Buffleheads widened the open water where the current flowed under the bulkhead.  Blue jays queued up in a stream for the barkbutter balls.  A white breasted nuthatch ate seeds and bluebirds returned for more.