Snowy walking along the Little Spokane, entering the trail at Painted Rocks, with many woodpeckers (Pileated, Hairy, Downy, and Northern Flickers) very busy in the fire-scarred Ponderosa Pines from 2015 summer burns. We saw four species in one binocular field at one point. A pair of Bewick's Wrens waited below a tree being worked over by a Pileated, checking the fallen bark pieces for missed larvae, and White-breasted Nuthatches also worked nearby trunks.
The river was still open, although we saw no ducks.
In town, large flocks of robins (50-70) mobbed Mountain Ash trees, eating berries 2 or 3 at a time before resting, either because the berries were cold or fermented (or both).
Out at Higgens Point on Lake Coeur d'Alene we saw more than two dozen Bald Eagles catching Kokanee Salmon during their December run. Large flocks of Common Goldeneyes gathered nearby, and many Ring-billed Gulls picked up scraps.
Gary Kelsberg
Seattle
gkelsberg at Gee Mail Dot Com