Booby-trap

The sky was mostly overcast, the East wind blew cold, and I didn't see much.  I thought I saw a house wren but it got away so I was uncertain.  I also glimpsed a bluebird.  Blue jays and mockingbirds made frequent forays for barkbutter and suet crumbs, and later, mealworms.  A blue jay counter rocked on the swinging dish just like a kid on swings.  A crow startled a squirrel.  It may have been laughing as the squirrel ran away. 

The female red bellied woodpecker came around for a seed supper.  The male downy woodpecker wanted suet but K had filled the ant moat and the woodpecker got a bath instead.  He decided to have seeds instead. 

Chilly

I thought I'd have another pool day but in the afternoon the sun vanished and the breeze became an East wind and the temperature went into a decline.  Bluebirds visited but all I got was a blurred tail.  The male pileated was more cooperative.  The two mockingbirds continued to squabble over food.  

I found several more caterpillars on the rue.  A couple were first instars and one was a second.  Sycamore seeds blew everywhere and made drifts on the patio and clogged the pool and photobombed my picture of a caterpillar.  

 

Cold water

It was lunch time when the birds finally got theirs.   Blue jays and mockingbirds were happy.  By afternoon, the sun was hot but the water was only 68.  Still, I got in till a black fly drove me out.  Butterflies continued to tease me.  A wasp worked on the rue.  Skinks went about their business around the steps.   A blue jay sunbathed on an oak limb.  A mockingbird grew bold enough to pretend it didn't see me.  Two downy woodpeckers argued over the suet.  Strange things moved beneath the surface of the creek.  Rings formed with no visible cause.  A line of turbulence moved downstream. 

Blue water!

Another day in the upper 80s with a pleasant breeze, and now the pool is open.  It was slim pickin's for birds in the morning because I hadn't put anything out and the suet was almost gone.  The mockingbirds and bluebirds were not pleased.  The female pileated was determined to get the last morsel of suet.  It was a stretch because the nubbin was lodged on the far side of the suet cage.  

The coral honeysuckle was ready and waiting for a hummingbird.  It looked to me like this year we will get a good crop of blueberries - if the rain gods are well disposed.  I found a black swallowtail caterpillar on the rue.  Tiger swallowtails eluded the camera.  Later I saw a female cardinal in the rue, possibly hunting caterpillars.  

A blue jay and a bluebird finally got some barkbutter balls.  But the female pileated discovered that there was no suet left.  (Tomorrow I will hang the last block.)  She gleaned some fallen crumbs.  And she raised her crest to express her feelings.  Or maybe because a crow showed up?  

Hot

The thermometer showed 88° again but the sky was more hazy.  We ate lunch outside which frustrated birds that wanted their lunch.  I glimpsed several butterflies, a dragonfly, and a persistent carpenter bee.  Skinks hustled across the concrete on important business.  An infant jumping spider rode my finger, but I couldn't get it in focus so I dropped the spider on the concrete. 

The female pileated devoured suet while clinging to the cage.  A blue jay settled for crumbs.  A bluebird stayed in the trees. 

Farewell

I thought I saw some ducklings across the creek but even the photo left me uncertain.  It was low tide with lots of gnarly detritus exposed.  Another butterfly blurred past me.  The  coral honeysuckle bloomed and the first evening primrose.  The temperature rose into the upper 80s.  A blue jay came for barkbutter balls which I put in the lower dish that swings more.  That seems to slow down consumption.  

We said goodbye to the dog today.  He was declining for the last several weeks.  It's hard to feel an animal trusts you when you know what is coming.  Afterward, I sat outside and listened to birdsong.  K went for a walk.  When I came inside, a parade of woodpeckers queued up for suet, first the male pileated, then the male red belly, and last the downy.  They had been complaining from the trees. 

Summer!

The female bluebird hoped for something in the hanging dishes, but I was lazy so she ate seeds instead.   A mockingbird had similar hopes and ate suet instead.  Then, to my surprise, a female goldfinch inspected the dishes despite being a vegetarian.  The female pileated was back. 

One of the mockingbirds flashed for me.  A white breasted nuthatch found a perch on a dead dogwood limb.  I also saw a brown headed nuthatch but didn't want to spook it by moving the camera.  A pine warbler landed on the suet.  A white throat studied its reflection, or so it appeared.

 

A butterfly cost me several blurry photos but one served for identification: red admiral.  A startled a skink basking on the retaining wall.  Another peeked out at me from under a violet.  The temperature climbed to at least 83 but a strong breeze made it feel very pleasant.  Cornell's map says Spring bird migration should peak here May 3-8, but I wonder about this spring's topsy-turvy weather.