Warm Colors on a Cold Day
Under a cold, gray, mottled sky and the icy threat of freezing rain or sleet in the forecast, a warm yellow Pine Warbler clung to our bird feeder for several minutes, flying off only to chase away another male Pine Warbler nearby. When it left, a reddish House Finch took its place, along with a Downy Woodpecker and, briefly, even a Ruby-crowned Kinglet. An energetic Brown Thrasher tossed aside leaves from a site among our front yard bushes, feeding on something it found there. Yellow-rumped Warblers darted all around the house and yard, calling out “chek!” and “chek!” like leaves stirred up by the wind.