Ridiculously warm

It is supposed to reach 80 today then plunge 40 degrees. The lawn weeds are blooming - dandelion, birdseye, henbit. Mahonia, rosemary, forsythia, and the first daffodil are also in bloom on this last day of February.

A heron was stalking the dock in the early morning. A pelican patrolled the water. I checked the newspaper's "solunar" table which gave 8:15am as the "major" feeding time but didn't see any sign that it mattered to fishing birds.

Cloudy morning

Warmer. A pelican flapped wearily upstream. Geese and cormorants on the creek and a kingfisher on the dock bench struggling with breakfast. It was a yellowish blob and I hope it was food, not plastic!

Peek-a-boo sunshine is bring out more birds. The usual feeder crowd, pelicans and herons patrolling the creek, and more kingfisher sightings.

And the temperature drops again

The morning began with gold cloud streaks and a great blue heron standing on the dock. The heron waited till I was in position with the camera and then flew off. Sometimes I think there's a radiation cameras give off that birds can sense. The chickadees were too wary to land while I stood outside.

A pair of crows were courting as were squirrels. Two titmice on the feeder were definitely not courting each other. Gulls and a pelican patrolled the creek.

At lunch the feeder got busy. It seems the order of precedence is cardinal, finch, junco, titmouse, chickadee, but the chickadees will challenge anyone and the finches are the least territorial. A jay landed in the camellia and a cormorant on the creek. By late afternoon, clouds rolled in from the South.

Wet and warm

Gray sky with gulls. Squirrels. Then more rain.

At lunch, the wind has blown the overcast into lumps that are streaming by, making waves of sun and shadow. Juncos are scurrying around one brave bird landed on the feeder and rode it through a gust that should have made it seasick.

Warmth coming

It is sunny and calm but still cold. Duck on the creek, chickadee on the feeder, gull in the sky.

Fade to overcast. A cormorant makes a hyphenated line of splashes taking off. Finches, a male cardinal and a titmouse join the chickadees at the feeder. A junco prowls below with the squirrels.

Cold, bright and calm

The early sunlight is golden and the water like a mirror. Egrets are sunning below the dam and a heron further along. Wood ducks are hanging out on a boat across the creek. Mergansers are busy diving.

I can hear a lot of birdsong in the trees. Chickadees are working on the feeder. And the most heartening sign, the maple trees are starting to bud! The twigs are turning red.

Chill wind

So much for warmth. It continues overcast but now the temperature is dropping. A pelican flew high going upstream and returned low to the water. Squirrels are out and about. A cormorant is sitting on the end of the dock.

Later a mallard pair occupy the dock and a small flock of geese feed on the far bank. Even later the sun crept out and highlighted diving ducks.

Very warm at midday

Still windy and now cloudy too. I heard chickadees and cardinals, geese and kingfisher.

Still windy

Bah humbug!

Well, the wind has calmed somewhat. Still, mostly gulls, a couple of egrets, some crows in the air. Finches and the female cardinal on the feeder.

Very windy

It is sunny and warm, but the wind is very gusty. A couple of chickadees and a finch couple struggled to the feeder. A half dozen geese landed in the creek. A mallard pair headed downstream. Gulls seem to be playing, not headed anywhere, just sliding across air pressure differentials.

At 8pm a possum crossed the patio and headed down the steps. The wind continued noisy.

Great Backyard Bird Count

The Great Backyard Bird Count http://www.birdsource.org/ begins today.

9-9:30am: sunny with some clouds, 60ish, breezy to gusty, tide falling from full moon high. Male and female house finch (1 each) on feeder, 3 crows, 2 Carolina chickadees. 1 cormorant, 3 buffleheads, male and female mallard (1 each) on dock, 3 ring-billed gulls. Phooey! Was it the wind?

Later when I wasn't counting, the juncos came out and hit the feeder. Later still around sunset, I saw geese, a buzzard, a flock of blackbirds (too high to identify except one was making that rusty hinge noise), an egret, and lots more gulls and crows.

The results.

Continued warm and sunny

Finches feasting. Squirrels bustling.

It clouded up in the afternoon, then cleared somewhat for a lovely sunset, golden then pink.

Early bird

The wind has died away and the creek is glassy in the early morning light. It is supposed to be warmer today. A male cardinal was on the feeder quite early, in that usual suspicious hunch they get when they are perched there. I don't know if it is fear of predators or rivals. Several small flocks of Canada geese landed on the creek.

Somewhat later, a flock of blackbirds came through, accompanied by robins. I wonder if the robins are actually flocking with the grackles and red-wings? One grackle tried the feeder but was too heavy. Apparently that's enough to warn off the others. Meanwhile, the juncos and sparrows avoid the grackles on the ground. A blue jay checked out the scene and squirrels paid no attention. Chickadees also ignored the bigger birds and kept working the feeder.

Still later, the juncos and the finches battle over the feeder. So much for ground feeding.

Wind chill

It's just as windy as yesterday but 20 degrees colder. Lots of crows for some reason.

Later, chickadees and a male cardinal on the feeder.

And then in the setting sunlight, a grebe!

Warm and windy

It's supposed to get ridiculously warm today. Dawn came with pink clouds very appropriate for Valentines. Pelicans and Canada geese were out early but the feeder was deserted.

At lunch, the chickadees were more interested in drinking at the birdbath than eating at the feeder. Is that the warmth, or the wind, or something else?

By midafternoon it is very gusty. The gulls are playing with the wind but a cormorant was struggling to gain altitude. Then a crow harassing a hawk came by. The camera made nothing but blurs alas. All I can say for sure is that the hawk was twice the size of the crow.

I was sitting outside since it's 67 to see if the feeder would still get business with me right there. Only the chickadees are bold enough. A junco scampered out from under the camellia, noticed me and went into a freeze. Eventually it decided to make a break for the bush.

Sunny Sunday

Mergansers flickering as they dive and surface. Herons and pelicans flying by. One reason I am keeping this record is so I notice the last time I see the winter bird population. Seeing the first merganser or pelican is memorable, but how else can I catch the last time of the season?

Cardinals, chickadee, titmice and the sparrow on the feeder. The female cardinal flew up to the feeder and was surprised by the squirrel sitting on the roof. Chickadees can chirp with their mouths full.

Food fights

Do animals get cranky after too much winter? First the sparrow chased the cardinal out from under the bush where it was hunting over a snow-free patch of ground. Then a squirrel sat on top of the feeder, riding it like a glider swing, and chased off any bird that tried to perch below. But the real star was a male red-bellied woodpecker who was just a feather too heavy for the feeder. He found that by perching on the side his weight did not close the feeder. In between all this drama we had chickadees, titmice, cardinals, and finches. A jay tried but did not succeed in getting a seed.

A heron flew downstream, but it will be a while before the sun melts the creek ice open for fishing. By late afternoon the ice was gone and a mixed flock of hooded mergansers and buffleheads was busy fishing around the dock. A wood duck pair came paddling downstream.

Ice

Ice on the creek, icicles on the feeder. I think the feeder perch is frozen in place. Normally, it is counter-weighted and drops, shutting access to the seeds, if a bird weighs too much. A blue jay took advantage of it to get some seeds and knocked half the snow off the feeder roof. Chickadees and the sparrow replaced the jay. In the photo is the sparrow.

The sun is already melting more of yesterday's snow. The eagle was busy with something by the creek edge behind bushes where I couldn't see more than movement. Phooey. And a mourning dove flew by right afterward.

Snow!

Doesn't this look a bit like Narnia, with feeder instead of lamp post?

An early bird was on the feeder, too dark to identify, maybe a titmouse? No, it is revealed to be super-sparrow! When the day got a bit lighter, the cardinals moved in, the male feeding while the female stood sentry above. The white throated sparrow, all puffed out to twice its usual size, tried to share the perch. The cardinal shoved it off. The sparrow came back, there was a mid-air battle, and the cardinals flew off to the camellia bush. The sparrow chowed down.

I also saw an early blue jay on the far side of the pool. A pelican flew down the creek through the falling snow, but the creek looks very milky. I suspect the snow is making a slushy surface. The clouds cleared off by 10am and the sun is melting while the wind is making the trees throw snowballs. Juncos appeared at the feeder since the snow has covered the ground.

Egrets at dawn

The day began with pink clouds and an egret flying by. I wonder why I haven't been seeing egrets this winter? Today they congregated on the sunny side of the creek by the dam as they have other years. Some years there would be more than fifty, but today only about seven.

The great blue herons were out but stuck to the shadows while there were any. Pelicans are cruising the creek as well as cormorants. Later after the egrets left, I saw flashes of white suggesting diving ducks, either mergansers of buffleheads in the area that's in shadow in the photo.

Three squirrels were out playing with the feeder and each other. The birdbath was frozen and so was I by the time I took the photo.

Since morning, overcast has been rolling in from the North, replacing the cirrus "mare's tail" ice clouds. Snow is predicted. And a white-throated sparrow was stocking up on the feeder. Around 4pm it was actually a bit more clear, but still with overcast to the North. A flock of robins passed through and I heard a kingfisher.

Blue sky with eagle

Proof, at last! But the pelicans were having much more fishing success.

Meanwhile the feeder has been popular with cardinals and finches. And a couple of jays are hanging around.

Cloudy bright

In the olden days, when cameras had f stops, I'd have called this an f11 morning. The clouds cleared around lunch, then started creeping back and by mid afternoon my camera wanted to flash.

Meanwhile, it appeared the feeder was finally empty, so I took it down and upended it to get the dust and debris out. There was a small paper wasp nest inside! I left the feeder upside down on the patio and when I came back with the seed bucket, the chickadees and titmice were all hopping around the feeder trying to figure out what had happened. I use just black oil sunflower seeds rather than a mix, and set the perch counterweight for just under a blue jay's weight.

Pelicans continue to patrol the creek. Back when we first moved here there were no pelicans but there were black crowned night herons in the winter. I haven't seen them in a long time.

Clear skies

Mallards at dawn, followed by pelicans. Later titmice, chickadees and cardinals and a blue jay. The creek was quite glassy but now the wind has picked up. I'm pretty sure our chickadees are Carolina, not black-capped.

Heavy rain

Pelicans flying close to the water, nothing much else.

After dark, a moth appeared on the window. It was cream colored, maybe an inch across, very plain and, I suppose, doomed. The temperature was not really warm today, only about 50, but apparently enough to fool the moth.

Overcast with pelicans

Gray birds on a gray day. Pelicans really look like pterodactyls, especially when they sight a fish, and fold themselves into diving mode. There were crows earlier too.

Back to winter

The temperature is down to normal for this time of year. There is some sun today, the first day of the lunar new year.

Cardinal, chickadees, and of course squirrels joined us for breakfast. (Maybe this should be Club Squirrel?)

Heat wave with rain

Really dark rain clouds are blowing fast and the wind is making the gulls, crows, and pelicans struggle. Several pelicans are just swimming, facing upstream while the current carries them downstream. Another great black-backed gull roosting on the dock. Geese also passed by paddling upstream.

Despite the rain, squirrels and some feeder birds are active. No shadows cast today, though there are no groundhogs in Tidewater to see their shadows in any case. It is supposed to rise to room temperature!

The juncos are back. A crow was mobbing a hawk, but I couldn't see more than a silhouette against the sky. And yes, there may have been 30 seconds of sun and shadow today.

Fog over the creek

Another misty morning.
The squirrels are busy, chickadees too.







The fog burned off before noon. The pelicans having great success.