Finally Above Freezing!

I heard on the news yesterday that March 6th, was our first day above freezing in 25 days! This winter has run it's course for most by now and I like many people, have rampant Spring Fever. It was already 31 or 32º by early morning but I decided to wait for things to warm up even more before going to the park. A friend of mine wanted to come walking with me today so we met around 10:30am. I knew we would probably spend more time talking and less time bird watching but I brought my camera just in case. You could hardly pay me not to take it along with me to an area where I might see birds. It was sunny with blue skies, but the strong wind actually made it feel much cooler. We did see a number of birds on our hike around the park and the ones seen most often were Black-capped Chickadees. This one posed ever so briefly for a photo against the clear blue sky. We also noticed a good amount of Northern Cardinals, an occasional Dark-eyed Junco and lots of Mallards flying overhead. The duck pond was virtually empty when we got there, making me think they all took off for the river instead. Near the bridge over Shingle Creek on the north side, a White-breasted Nuthatch paused for quite a while on the side of a large tree. I watched him look upward and blink a few times but other than that he appeared glued to the tree. This was one of about 5 WBNH's we saw today. Later we paused briefly to gaze at a nesting Great Horned Owl who was swaying back and forth in the strong wind. I took a few quick photos and when I got home to process them, I noticed something else in the nest with her. A second set of ears were there, only these were not Owl ears. It was in fact a rabbit that the male had likely brought in as a meal. There was no sign yet of any Owlets but it can be hard to tell sometimes until they are larger and crowding the nest. I hope it's not so breezy tomorrow.