January Thaw?

Nuthatch at Nature Center feeder

At 7:30 a.m., it was 42 degrees, overcast and misting. The temps were originally forecasted to reach into the 60's today, but I guess that's been revised downward. Either way, it felt pretty comfortable out there.

I decided to go around the park in reverse order in hopes of seeing the cormorant that Haynes had flushed from the dock. As I headed down the path to the river, I saw a tree covered with robins. In the brush nearby were juncos, a house finch couple, nuthatches, tufted titmice and some chickadees.

The river was very high. I stood on the dock in quite a bit of fog. It was very quiet out there, until I heard a very distinctive red-bellied woodpecker. It was combing a nearby branch. I was so happy to hear and see it, as I hadn't seen one all summer or fall. I got chatting with a kayaker who has seen the blue heron hanging out all winter the last few years.

Whoever put up this feeder (above) and is keeping the little rundown feeders across the path filled with seed - thank you! The birds are enjoying this food source. There were chickadees, nuthatches, cardinals and titmice. What a great idea! It allows for excellent viewing.

On my way to the lower gardens, I saw a couple of tree sparrows hanging out with a song sparrow at the edge of the soccer field. Four geese flew overhead.

In the lower gardens, "Caroline" sang from the brush on the Winchester St. side. Otherwise, it was pretty quiet. There was a mourning dove and a bush covered with house finches and goldfinches and tons of robins and some starlings foraging in the meadow. The upper gardens were extremely quiet, save for a large flock of goldfinches.