El Nino? Yo soy mucho frio. 18-23Jan2016

Sarah Palin has a point, how could the planet be warming when it's so cold outside right now?  And did you see her endorsement of Trump?  Pure genius.

Winter birding is good birding, and when the thermometer dips really low the birds seem to whip up into a frenzy.

Here are some birds from the past week.

Redheads have all the fun.... Seeing Redheads in Wilmington is usually pretty rare, but this year I have already seen them in 3-4 different spots.  The above one has been hanging out at CB Lake for the past week.

Coots are evil, I have seem them really rip into each other for seemingly nothing.  You can almost see this bird planning his next attempted murder.

Northern Pintail drakes are dapper.  I am really racking up the ducks in New Hanover County this year.

Might as well get the House Sparrow out of the way for the year..

Lesser Scaups are truly the lesser of the two.  They are usually more "dirty" in plumage and just don't cut as nice of a profile as a Greater Scaup.  This particular bird almost looks as if he got into some oil.

Although the purple sheen is indicative, it can be a false positive because depending on the light the sheen can change from purple to green on both species.  The best way is to learn the head shape.  The head on a Lesser Scaup is more peaked and less round.

Savannah Sparrows abound at the Fort Fisher area.

This Song Sparrow had some interesting gray patches on his head.  Or maybe one of his buddies pooped on him.  They say its good luck for a bird to poop on you.  Does that mean it would be good luck for a human to poop on a bird?  An interesting question that might never be properly studied.

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker

Bufflehead females are so cute.

Northern Mockingbird

Common Loon

One early morning at Wrightsville Beach it was a super low tide and the breakwall had Purple Sandpipers lined up all the way out to the jetty.   There had to have been 40-50.

Purple Sandpiper

European Starling

Drake Gadwall and female Canvasback - this was the Ft Fisher Aquarium pond this morning.

The spit was gorgeous today.  The strong wind blew out all the tire tracks and the beach looked untouched.  This Brown Pelican was enjoying it too, although I may have ruined his solitude.

Canvasback

Blue-headed Vireo - a good bird no matter what time of year.

This gull at Federal Rocks had me thinking Franklin's Gull for a little while. The hood was so well delineated.

However the bill didn't look right.  Too big.  So Laughing Gull it is.

Red-bellied Woodpecker - At CB State Park I finally ran into a nice flock of birds on the side of the road.

Dark-eyed Junco

Tufted Titmouse

Mrs. Downy Woodpecker

Mr. Downy Woodpecker

The Pine Warblers were everywhere and were not bashful.

White-throated Sparrow

At Ashley High School I found a Redhead pair (two right sided birds) and a Ring-necked Duck.

My card or software continues to stymie my efforts to edit the pictures.  For example the above picture would have benefited from a bit of lightening.

I don't think I will get to go anywhere exciting this weekend.  Kids soccer most of the day tomorrow.

Stay warm!