02-FEB-2018
Red squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus)
Picking up seeds spilled from the bird feeder.
02-FEB-2018
Grey squirrel
Grey (and red) squirrels do not hibernate, therefore they need to find a constant supply of food to get them through the winter. Both species cache food, but under the ice it is not always easy for the greys to find their buried food (reds tend to create big piles of cones and walnuts, readily accessible). Those crabapples with fruit still remaining and the keys of manitoba maples become especially important right about now.
02-FEB-2018
Pileated woodpecker work
As can be seen, there are fresh wood chips on the snow, indicating a pileated at work. On the other side of the tree and higher up, are more fresh holes. This old snag has been worked over multiple times through the years, by pileated, downy, and hairy woodpeckers.
02-FEB-2018
Pileated woodpecker, male
I noticed some very fresh pileated woodpecker activity on a well-used conifer snag in the old woods. The first time I went by, a downy woodpecker was busy at the tree. Later, I went back to see if by chance the pileated might be there, and sure enough, there he was, even posing for a photo.
02-FEB-2018
Red-breasted nuthatch
The nuthatch was really working on these cones, ignoring the nearby feeder where other birds were busy. It was a cold day at the Fletcher garden but the following birds were found in the hour I spent there: Pileated woodpecker 1, White-breasted nuthatch 2, Black-capped chickadees 8, House finch 2, Northern cardinal 4, Downy woodpecker 3, dark-eyed junco 1, American crow 2, and this Red-breasted nuthatch.
02-FEB-2018
Ravine
Looking east from the pond down the ravine where there is still some open water in the small stream.
02-FEB-2018
The amphibian pond
Completely snow covered and with not a single track marring the surface. I can't help thinking of when fox tracks were common after every snowfall, cris-crossing the pond.
02-FEB-2018
Red-breasted nuthatch
A chubby little nuthatch who spent much time poking away at the cone.
