Cold, but happy

It's not comfortable outside when it's cold and windy, but if the birds can stand it so can I. Nothing special, but I didn't expect to see a female towhee. As I watched her I didn't realize I was standing in the acorn patch. The grackle didn't mind my presence. Normally they're skittish, but obviously not when there's food at foot.

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Frigid fun

Some day I'll figure out how to carry a heat pack, but even being park-frozen it was fun today. The trick is to not stand still too long. For today- pretty cardinals, well fed blue jays, posing sparrows, red belly woodpecker and a curious downy. I did see a female towhee,.. very hard to photograph.

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The What's its...

I've seen hundreds of grackles, so I know a grackle when I see one, but every once in a while there's a totally weird grackle in my space. This first grackle may have been hen-pecked in the nest or scalped by a heron. The second grackle may just be getting adults feathers, have a vitamin deficiency, have parents that cross-bred, planning to blend in for when it snows, or a punk-rock grackle since he was hanging out in Strawberry Field.

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Bad "hair" day

It was frigid in the afternoon. The poor cardinal was getting blasted from the rear.

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Cold feather friends

Happiness is when you go strolling and see one friend after another. Sometimes I hear them before seeing them. Who's there? Show yourself.

Once again there was a swarm of grackles, Hitchcock Alley. Out on the Point the chickadees and titmice were picking at the same kind of seeds. A hermit thrush showed up. We stared at each other. "Haven't we met before?" I'm used to seeing this bird on the ground, not up a tree. And then there's the nuthatch, one of my favorites, a space-walker.

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Nuts

In comparison to yesterday today was balmy. It went up to 40. Again there were lots of "regulars"- all eating seeds and nuts. The sound of sparrows hunting under leaves sounded like an ocean of crinkle. I haven't edited everything yet. It was a fun few hours. Here are a few nibblers. The squirrel could be named Mudface.

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A nice crisp morning

This was the first morning trying to get pictures while wearing heavy gloves. Nice fresh air, but not exactly cozy. There were lots of "regulars".... bluejays, cardinals, chickadees, titmice, sparrows, cedar waxwings, - but Tanner Spring was frozen over. I hiked for about two hours and then came back home before becoming frozen over myself.

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