As Bobby noted, the cold weather brought a steady stream of visitors to our feeders, although probably the most visible and active were the Pine Warblers and the Bluebirds, both of whom were making constant trips to the feeders on the back deck and to our hopper feeder in the front yard. The Warblers concentrated on the deck, while the Bluebirds flitted between both feeders - there are different seed types in the front and back. Now that it's warmed up some, the Goldfinches have taken over the deck feeder as I type this, although the other birds are still making appearances, and I just saw a female Bluebird fly up and move everyone out of the way. The whole peanut feeder in the front yard has been emptied daily by the Blue Jays - all in all, an amazing amount of calories have been consumed since the first week in January, by both the birds and, unfortunately, me.
Update on the Barn Owl: Several months ago I wrote of picking up a beautiful Barn Owl on the side of 85 in Atlanta after she/he/it had either been hit by a car or flown into one. Now a friend who volunteers at Cochran Mill Nature Center, which greatly helped with advice and instructions, told me that she will be kept by Auburn University to use as a 'foster parent' for others - presumably she has a suitable personality, even after being bowled over by a car on the side of the road. You may note I'm also presuming that this bird is a female, since she was good sized, and in raptors, the females are larger than the males. If you've never been to Cochran Mill, I'd encourage you to visit some day - it's a very nice place, with a lot of things to do and see.
As you read this, hopefully you're warm and comfortable, dry and safe - take a moment to be thankful for that, and about how the Internet opens up a world that allows us to lose ourselves, if we're not careful, for hours wandering from one site to another. Think about our real world, too, and say a prayer for those in Haiti and elsewhere, who are dealing with disaster on the grand scale, and those dealing with disaster on a small, personal scale, such as the loss of a job - take time to be thankful every day. OK, I'm off my soapbox...take care.
