The blue jays have been providing daily entertainment.  I set a tray feeder on my deck in front of the kitchen window.  It takes about ten minutes after I throw peanuts in the feeder for the jays to begin flying in.  They come from every direction. It appeared that there was some sort of 'pecking' order and if they didn't follow it, there was a lot of loud squawking.  

My favorite part of their antics involved watching them try to fit as many peanuts as possible into their beak before flying off to hide them.  I continue to wonder how they remember where to find the nuts again.

When the jays were not at the feeder, the chickadees, nuthatches and woodpeckers showed up for the sunflower seeds and suet.  They scattered when the aggressive jays came in for a landing.

The blue jays had a taste of what they were doing to the small birds when a pileated woodpecker showed up for a visit.  It kept the jays at bay while it looked for a cake of suet that I had in the tray.  I realized that the cake was missing and set another one out, wondering where the first one had disappeared to.  Shortly after I put the second cake out, a crow flew overhead and looked as if it had full intention of swooping in to grab the treat.

The ground is still brown.  The snow has been limited to some minor flurries that melt when they hit the ground.  The birds are still able to gather seeds in the forest but the feeders remain full to supplement their diet and provide some lively entertainment for me.