A January thaw is always welcome.  On Saturday, January 17, 2015, the daytime high was 58 degrees.  It was sunny and warmish, a very good day to clean and refresh the bubbler pond.  Birds responded during the day and another came after sunset.  It was our first Barred Owl of the year who was apparently looking for fish.  Perhaps he thought the floating heater might give him a better perch, but that it did not!  He flew up to a perch beside the bubbler rock and after he looked up and to the left, a bat swooped in and out of the background.  The owl was there for seven minutes or so. It's always so interesting to see them in an active state.  The next morning around 4 am, two opossums came through, followed by a raccoon who deemed it warm enough to paddle around. 

January 17, 2015 Barred Owl, Bat, Two Opossum and Raccoon