It snowed here all day until sunset.  By lunchtime there was more than an inch of snow.  Over at Pitt the only birds I saw were pigeons and they were doing something unusual.  They were foraging on the sidewalk instead of on the grass.

I pay attention to pigeons because they are the peregrines’ favorite food.  A scared flock of pigeons often alerts me to the presence of the peregrines.  Today it was apparently too snowy for the falcons to hunt so the pigeons were safe out in the open.

But why were they on the sidewalk?  It finally dawned on me. The sidewalk was the only snow-free area where they could see potential food.  Perhaps they were eating the de-icing salt. 

The snow was beautiful, but it’s a pretty quiet birding day when the best bird is a pigeon eating rock salt.