The cold weather has many appealing aspects to it as well as a few downsides.

Pro:

1. Many more birds at the feeds including a yellow-rumped warbler, two Townsend's warblers, a Bewick's wren, a ruby-crowned kinglet, twenty plus Bushtits, several Anna's hummingbirds, many juncos, numerous Black-capped and Chestnut-backed chickadees, red-breasted nuthatches,spotted towhees, song sparrows, fox sparrows, and golden-crowned sparrows, robins, red-winged blackbirds, and Northern flicker.

2. No Eastern Gray squirrels!

3. Easy viewing of the birds at Capitol Lake while it is drained.

Con:

1. Starlings descended along with the red-winged blackbirds and monopolized the suet feeders. The juncos, however, loved the rain of suet.

2. Capitol Lake was drained to tried to kill the New Zealand Mud Snails. Waterfowl seem to leave and not come back when this happens. (On the other hand, those which hang around are easy to spot since they concentrate around the remaining water.)

3. I have gone through much more suet than usual.


It has now warmed up to 30 degrees and a squirrel has returned, which is unfortunate. It has started to snow--so far a little more than 1 1/2 inches. Maybe this will encourage the varied thrushes to visit again.


Deborah West
Olympia
olyclarinetatgmaildotcom