The day dawned clear and cool. There was frost on the ground and very little breeze; what there was came out of the North and was enough to cause my exhaled breath to drift, but even the lightest branches were not moving discernably.
The Northern Flicker was back this morning before 6am. I initially heard it calling in the distance, but it did not seem to be getting closer. However, after a while, I heard it close to the house. It engaged in some drumming on the house before leaving for awhile. Around 6:30am, it came back to do some more drumming. There was also a second flicker that I could hear calling in the distance. It seemed almost as if they were doing a little bit of competititve calling, but it was difficult to say for sure. At this time, I decided to get up and see if I could see it or maybe get a recording.
By the time I got outside (the kids needed a little wrangling), the flickers had gone away again. However, I did hear a winter wren singing from the backyard, so I decided to see about recording it. The wren turned out to be down at the edge of the woods behind the maintenance building and I recorded it singing for a few minutes. I also heard a Steller’s Jay, Crows, and Ravens. After recording the wren, I went over by the spruce tree and heard a Song Sparrow down on Lincoln Street and Gulls from down by the park.
While I was outside, I also heard some chirping from birds flying overhead. They were canopy feeders and I have heard them before, but I do not know what they are. I think they might be Pine Siskins or maybe Crossbills. I have not been able to get a good look at them to confirm, however.