Robin!

Today was the warmest it has been in several weeks....not that it was all that warm, got to 6 or maybe 7 degrees.... took a couple of walks to the log bay area...

the first at my usual time and was there ever a lot of activity...

including the sighting of this American Robin - the first one seen in several months.  Robins are never very far away during the winter but they don't usually start showing up until about mid-February.

another species that hasn't been seen too much....

are House Finch, but today there were a number of them, the above being a male orange coloured variant

while a typical coloured male (foreground) and a female were enjoying a bath.

There were also all the usual suspects....

Like this Song Sparrow (one of many), some Fox Sparrows, Spotted Towhee, Dark eyed Junco and even a Northern Flicker.

No ducks or eagles in sight although...

there was this one lone gull which I think, based on the very pink leg colour, is a Thayer's Gull.  There were a few Mallard, 4 female Common Merganser and a trio of Bufflehead up at the other end of the walk.

During a second, later walk...

it was much quieter with only the flock of Red-wing Blackbirds calling from the trees but the sun did put in a very brief appearance!