Early morning was still quite cold, though not as low as yesterday, but enough to make birds hungry. A male towhee foraged under the seed feeder alongside a song sparrow. At the glass dish, birds were pecking dust so I bundled up and carried out more barkbutter balls.
Turkey vultures swooped over the creek and perched with a view of it. I think they must remember the year we had cold-stunned fish floating.
We had a very cold, windy night below 20° and windy enough to prevent the creek from icing. I wonder if I've lost any plants to this abnormally cold couple of weeks. I read that a high over Greenland was blocking circumpolar winds and pushing them South. Small birds need a lot of food in this weather. Bluebirds arrived very early. The female oriole was close behind. A turkey vulture perched on the dock piling. With no feathers on their heads, I wonder if they get frostbite? I guess it was our day for big black birds - a crow foraged under the seed feeder. Blue jays (also corvids even if not black) preferred barkbutter balls.
A mockingbird came next, then a male oriole. The female demanded another turn at the BBBalls so the male went for jelly. Well, the female hustled over and evicted him. She took her sweet time while he waited. Meanwhile, the aggressive butterbutt kept ambushing other warblers and chasing them all over the yard. And while it wasted energy, bigger birds ate their fill. A brown thrasher took over the barkbutter feeder. A Carolina wren finally showed up at the feeders, followed by a white breasted nuthatch, then a mockingbird, then a white throated sparrow.
Across the creek, a great blue heron rested on the new bulkhead. Dirt covered the yard behind the bulkhead and I noticed scrapes on the trees. A herring gull found something in the water and a mallard drake had to investigate. A crow watched from the dock. I got a couple of glimpses of an eagle. Like the eagle, pelicans were always behind twigs that threw the camera focus off. A downy pecked at the suet. I spotted a pine warbler up in the redwood, probably avoiding the mad butterbutt. The male red belly had some seeds. I noticed the sweet gum balls were sparse this year which might explain the house finch squabbling at the seed feeder. Sunshine warmed the day up to 30°. The orioles and warblers emptied the jelly dish. K refilled the barkbutter dish several times.
A dusting of snow lay on the concrete, evidence that the ground was frozen. Wind whipped the trees and passing clouds made the sunlight blink. The birds went through a lot of food. A Carolina wren woke up hungry. Then a titmouse came for seeds. White throats foraged in the frozen mulch. Three bluebirds watched from the wild cherry.
Out on the creek, I saw herring gulls and a hoodie drake. A handful of buffleheads flew downstream and a pelican flew upstream and landed on the dock. Of course there were mallards. A great blue heron strutted by with its catch.
The red bellied woodpecker joined us for lunch. Bluebirds and white throats appreciated the barkbutter refill. A mockingbird lurked in a dogwood, seeming upset at the competition. Then a male Baltimore oriole brightened the jelly dish. A blue jay drank from the pool puddle. That water is the last to freeze. A white breasted nuthatch ate barkbutter balls. The female oriole showed up and made the male wait for jelly. Two orioles and several warblers consume it fast. A myrtle warbler wasted energy chasing other warblers away from food.
The red bellied woodpecker was up early for suet. Out on the creek, herring and ring bill gulls were fishing along with one bufflehead drake. Pelicans flew over and the resident GBH chased another away. Bluebirds ate seeds while a white throat complained that the barkbutter dish was empty. Myrtle warblers got aggressive. Clouds moved in. A flock of vultures settled in the trees. Bluebirds ignored them because I had refilled the dish. Carolina wrens were pleased too. A white breasted nuthatch ate seeds. The downy ate suet.
I got up late. A lone dove poked around under the seed feeder. Bluebirds and white throats cleaned the dish feeder. A mockingbird wasn't happy about that. A white breasted nuthatch ate seeds. A starling seemed unimpressed with the choices. A Carolina wren sat inside the dish. I spotted a brown thrasher in a dogwood, obscured by twigs. The red bellied woodpecker worked on the suet. Myrtle warblers popped up everywhere. A blue jay wouldn't leave the trees.
A downy woodpecker also craved suet. A song sparrow foraged in the last patch of snow. The white breasted nuthatch enjoyed the refilled barkbutter dish. A boat towed away another that was sitting at the dock across the creek all week. Then a male Baltimore oriole showed up. A brown headed nuthatch joined the crowd. The Carolina wren was back.
Yesterday started sunny and clouded up ad the temperature rose above freezing. Today the last of the snow melted but there was still thick ice on the creek, The dredging continued and kept a passage open through the ice.
The Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources says, "The woodchuck is present everywhere in Virginia except the eastern shore and the extreme southeastern corner of the state." That's us, no groundhogs. If we had them, and if they poked out of their dens today, they would have been blinded by the sunlight bouncing off the snow. (While the snowfall was light, the cold kept it from melting.) This is also Candlemas and Imbolc.
