mamestraconfigurata's Journal

It's been cold for a couple of weeks, after that warm spell. The usual suspects are still out and about - chickadees, nuthatches, crows, woodpeckers (downy and hairy), squirrels, rabbits, mice etc. They become less visible/audible as the cold comes, and more when it warms up. Yesterday as I walked on the river, saw a branch that had been cut by a beaver. It was frozen in the ice, so I don't know how long it has been there. Also saw a new nesting box up on the bank, probably for wood ducks when they come back. There is another one further south along the river, but I have never seen it used by wood ducks. They do nest in the area, though.

Been a cold couple of days - barely making it to -20 during the day. Sunny, though, which is nice. Again, the usual suspects are out, though not as active as when it is warm. Heard/saw a flock of waxwings a couple of days ago along the Red. They were too far away to make an id, but the most common waxwings around here are Bohemian. Snow forecast for tonight, with some warming promised.

I've been monitoring the Woodpecker hole I saw on the 13th., and there has been no change. I guess the bird was only exploring. The tree is pretty healthy looking (an aspen), so maybe there were no pickings.

Warming up this week - above 0 C for most of the week. I saw a hairy woodpecker across the street as I was opening some drains for puddles. Sounded like a robin. There was a lady beetle crawling up the bathroom window today. With the warmer weather and the longer daylengh they are going to start coming out of diapause, though there is still a lot of winter to go!