Early Saturday morning I headed out to the folks’ to complete my contribution to this year’s GBBC. With spring approaching, the resident pair of Pileated Woodpeckers become much more vocal and are usually easier to find, and my goal today was to track them down. I found the female low on the trunk of a cedar, which she had been hammering away at for a good twenty minutes before I made my way through enough deep snow and thick brush to reach her location. A few good looks, and then she bounded off through the woods.

It was a quiet day, and several species tallied in past years were noticeably absent (Robins, Waxwings, Downy Woodpeckers, even the normally ubiquitous winter Tree Sparrows). I returned home for the feeder counts, which were largely dominated by redpolls (including a stocky ‘Greenland’ bird).