They didn’t predict accumulation amounts or wind speed or wind direction, but for those watching, feathered prognosticators were definitely calling for a sketchy weekend last Friday (1/28).

The day was cold and raw and cloudy, and the wind had a definite bite to it. It was certainly not the sort of day conducive to thermal-seeking raptors, yet the red-tails were out in force. In the eight or so hours I was out and about in Franklin and Waynesville, I saw a half dozen or so red-tails fighting the wind and cold, heavy air. They seemed to know hunting conditions were going to be even worse over the weekend.

The passerines were busy too and by the time I got home Friday afternoon all the feeders were either empty or nearly so. I stocked everything and Saturday was another busy day at the feeders.

The three black-oil sunflower feeders were filled to capacity. Carolina chickadees, tufted titmice and white-breasted nuthatches were constantly flitting in and out. Eight purple finches (four females and four males) would feed more leisurely, occupying a small platform feeder for up to 10 minutes at a time.

Mourning doves and dark-eyed juncos made up the largest contingent of patrons at the ground-feeding station. They were joined by a couple of song sparrows and one female eastern towhee. A male and female cardinal seemed to split their time between the ground and the hanging sunflower feeders.

A few pine siskins spent most of their time at the thistle feeder and the peanut butter log was a hit with everyone. A couple of woodpeckers – a downy and a red-bellied – appeared to especially enjoy the peanut butter.

My peanut butter log is a feeder made from a section of wood about 15 inches long and three inches in diameter with four inch-and-a-half holes drilled through it. The original version comes commercially filled with suet and with no perches and is advertised as a woodpecker feeder. I added perches by driving small nails in beneath the holes and I substitute a mixture of peanut butter, vegetable shortening, cornmeal and small seeds (millet etc.) plus a few sunflower seeds for the suet.

The downy woodpecker is content to perch for minutes at a time probing in the peanut butter. The red-bellied doesn’t stay as long and always seems to depart with a sunflower seed.

Of course, the red squirrels would never pass up on such a sumptuous spread. I try to mitigate their intrusion by offering corn, sunflower seeds and peanuts at the edge of the woods. Blue jays also frequent these squirrel stations.

Carolina wrens are more eclectic. I think there is a pair here and they visit all the feeding stations. They also enjoy the peanut butter log.

The feeders were quite busy that Saturday. And then as night fell, Denise and I were given a birder’s bonus. Denise had just put Izzy to bed and came into the living room where I was sitting, in the dark, enjoying the fire in the fireplace. I had retrieved the dogs and put them to bed earlier and left one of the outside lights on. There, just outside the large windows about 40 feet away in a small dogwood was a barred owl. It must have been dark enough inside that our presence didn’t bother it. It was clear the owl was hunting. They hunt by perching and watching and listening for prey.

We watched the barred owl for about 15 minutes. Occasionally it would hear or see something interesting, leaning forward or sideways as if prepared to swoop, only to halt and reassume its perched position. Then its head turned down and sideways and its body followed in a fluid motion as the owl did a backwards half-gainer from the dogwood to the ground below. We couldn’t see, in the dark, if the dive was successful, but we watched for a while and the owl never reappeared.

It’s not too early for barred owls to be staking out nesting territory. Maybe we’ll have some new neighbors.

(Don Hendershot can be reached at ddihen@juno.com.)