We’ve been pelted by just about every type of precipitation over the last couple of days including rain, freezing rain, sleet and snow, and I needed ice skates and a safety helmet to fill the bird feeders the other day. It was raining like an afternoon in June, but the snow and any open grass on the ground was covered in a sheet of ice and divots from old boot tracks quickly filled up with water that also froze and became treacherous.
The birds have been in hiding for the most part. I don’t know if they’re hunkered down because of the bad weather, or if the hawk has been back lurking and hoping to score a meal. My feeders haven’t been this quiet in the middle of winter in years.
There are a few goldfinches and a few juncos, but my cardinal flock is missing in action and my Mourning Dove collection is down to 7 birds.
Maybe once the weather improves they’ll reappear.