Busy 2nd day of the year

A dull dreary day but at least it was dry and the the park was really active with birds when we headed out for our after lunch walk.

the area by the viewing platform was particularly busy with a flock of 12 or so Purple Finch feeding on the pacific crab apples.  Never easy to get photos of these active birds and when it is dark even harder, but did get this female enjoying a meal.  Amazed at how long the fruit has lasted considering how many birds have been eating it.

Further along,

there were American Robins....keep saying it....so unusual to have so many robins here this time of the year.  There were also a number of Northern Flicker....again, so unusual for so many to be here this time of the year and even more amazing, this morning one was drumming on a roof!  That is an activity you don't expect to witness until some time in March!  A male Hairy Woodpecker was busy here too but none of the photos I tried managed to focus on him as he was pretty deep in a cluster of stems.

over at the log bay there was a lot of vocalization....a couple of juvenile Bald Eagles....

as well as an adult.

this juvenile flew down and hauled this salmon remnant out of the water just below us....

then flew up to enjoy what was there to enjoy.  There were Mallard and Green-wing Teal ducks scattered in the very shallow water off of the bay..

in the bushes a small flock of House Finch....one lone Dark eyed Junco in this picture but there were actually lots of them throughout the area, also a few Spotted Towhee.  Interestingly enough, didn't see or hear a Song Sparrow today.

on the way back, a few Varied Thrush....think they were mixed in with the robins.  Normally Varied Thrush are one of our more common birds in the winter, but this year they have been scarce.

also a mixed flock of European Starling and male Red-wing Blackbirds, these were just a few of them.