Frost filagrees roof and lawn. Sunlight glints from millions of ice crystals. Sunlight melts its path across the hoar as it rises. Hungry birds at breakfast. The collared-doves arrive with the scrub-jay. Do they depend on the jay’s perspicacity, his loud alarm call? Many previous doves have fallen to the marauding Cooper’s Hawk. The jay’s role is town crier. Inadvertent saver of doves. Juncos are often the first to arrive at dawn. Cold does deter this determined, hardy sparrow.
745AM I carry out the sunflower seeds to feeders. The night shift always cleans up every grain. A lone starling whistle greets my task.
750AM A crisp-patterned male junco is the first to savor the morning grains. Fog lies close to the ground. It is cold, gray. 32.7 degrees.
752 Two juncos now.
825 Seven juncos, sunlight now coming through smoke tree foliage. First squirrel on the seeds. 34 degrees.
835 First scrub-jay of the day and host of juncos at the seeds. Quartet of House Sparrows are first to taste the suet delights this Saturday morn. Two squirrels now–one in hanging feeder, second on the ground. 37.
843 Two starlings arrive. One goes for suet, the other has a chilly bath.
846 Jay hauls off six-inch strip of burned bread crust, perhaps to cache it somewhere.
847 Flicker comes, feeds on ground. Collared-doves come out with jay present.
900 Jay back and forth. House Sparrows and juncos feeding. 43
911 Eight juncos now. Three squirrels.
934 Scrub-jay. Flash of color: Red-breasted Sapsucker lands on smoke tree. I never see this bird on feeders or bird bath, just tree trunks. Juncos, House Sparrows, suet squirrels.
940 Ten juncos now. House Sparrow drives away lone House Finch. Jay on suet now.
1005 Spotted Towhee appears. Male flashes his tail spots to fend off any critter nearby, 43 degrees.
1043 Two Spotted Towhees now, male and female but not together. Juncos avoid them but linger with much coming and going and white tail lines bright in mid-morning sun, fog is lifting.
Acorn Woodpecker at Wennerberg Park. Sapsucker tree there as well:
Garden sapsucker, behind his bamboo cover:
Robin was in garden earlier this week.
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