Ted’s partial blanket of snow doesn’t appear to be melting. He may have extra thick fur. Based on other bears we have measured, we wrote that snow doesn’t melt on a black bear’s back at temperatures below 19° Fahrenheit. 
Common redpollTed is keeping his snow on this day with temperatures in the mid 20’s F. Today, the wind is around 20 mph with gusts to over 40. A blanket of snow likely helps protect bears from cold wind. Nevertheless, as Lily and Jewel and Juliet have shown us, dens are usually where bears don’t get to have a snow blanket. A mod captured this good 1:13 video. Some of it shows Ted close-up in great detail. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64pum2tMI7M
There is more about bears with snow blankets at https://www.bear.org/website/bear-pages/black-bear/hibernation/50-will-snow-accumulate-on-a-black-bears-back.html and in this old update from November 13, 2011 http://www.bearstudy.org/website/updates/daily-updates/1454-lilys-den-snow-and-a-dilemma-.html
Pine siskinOut the window, a woodchuck popped up from a hole under a wall of the garage. It went around behind the garage before I could grab a camera. There are several holes through the lower walls. It’s okay. It’s an old garage, and the animals are welcome. The woodchuck is apparently spending the winter in or under the garage. We’ll see if it has a litter to watch this spring as one did a few years ago.
ChickadeeA new bird joined the pine siskins today. (Pictured above) It’s a common redpoll (Acanthus flammea). It looks a lot like a siskin but has no yellow, has less streaking on the underside, and has a red cap. The males can become very beautiful in spring mating plumage when they have their pink breasts. They summer in northern Canada and Alaska about 500 to 1,600 miles from here.
Thank you for all you do.
Lynn Rogers, Biologist, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center