Leap day

Last night many stars were visible with the quarter moon, but this morning all was gray cotton. Finches came to the feeder. It is raining lightly and intermittently.

At lunch, we saw both sparrow species, juncos, chickadees, and cardinals. Then the rain came harder. It rained on and off for the rest of the day.

Sun and wind

An early bird kept an eye on us. Finches were up early too.

The first carpenter bees of the year are visiting the Carolina jessamine. There are several, both big and little. The flowers smell heavenly.

Some yard work got done today.

Very low tide

I can't remember seeing so much of the far bank exposed below the bulkhead. Also, there is frost on the grass and mulch and on the dock. The sun is bright in a blue sky. A merganser did not stay long on the narrow strip of water.

Chickadees, titmice, cardinals and juncos came for breakfast. A squirrel tested the new feeder position and found it still wouldn't feed him (or her). I can hear a blue jay, and crows of course.

By mid-afternoon (when I finally got off my conference call) the sky had clouded over. It didn't feel all that much warmer either. And I didn't see any activity on the creek or around the feeder. There was some intermittent sun, but after dark it rained a bit.

Chilly and sunny

Last night there was a glorious rose-red sunset but I managed to delete all my photos by mistake. The wind has mostly calmed. At first the creek was glassy, then it ruffled for a while. A pelican and an egret flew past.

The new feeder location is popular and even the birdbath is getting more use. Goldfinches were up in the redwood and then checked out the feeder, but all my photos are overexposed. Both the song sparrow and the white throat explored the mulch, along with several juncos. Cardinals, house finches and chickadees used the feeder. The blue jay just came for a drink.

The whole day was sunny and nippy, especially after the heat wave on Friday. The moon and Jupiter are bright in the West at 9pm.

Cooler with sun and wind

It rained overnight and the temperature dropped from the record high yesterday. There are clouds blowing through but it is mainly sunny. The wind is rocking the feeder. The birds found it without trouble but they seem more confused that it is facing the opposite direction. The wind is so high that the feeder is banging the post.

Cardinals, a lot of finches, juncos, chickadees, sparrows and doves all showed up. Mergansers and pelicans are still with us. At lunch two species of sparrow contended for dropped seeds. A song sparrow is near the birdbath and a white throat is closer to the camera. Despite their similar looks and size, the song sparrow repeatedly chased the white throat away. The song sparrow is a mulch kicker - it scratches up the debris with its feet. The white throat is more of a patio pecker.

Geese are lined up on the bulkhead across the creek while gulls and mergansers are in the water. According to the paper, there is a conjunction of the new moon, Jupiter, and Venus this evening.

Damp and warm and windy

The concrete is sweating. It's supposed to get above 70 today. But the wind is strong - crows have been playing with it all morning. The sky was overcast but it is thinning and the sun just broke through. Mergansers and gulls are out fishing and a pelican passed through. See how rough the water is?

Honeybees are busy on the rosemary but the wind is hard on them. One gust blew the bees off the flowers.

Something's got into the songbirds. Two female cardinals had an aerial battle while a male watched. A female house finch chased off a male. A sparrow was out early along with squirrels which are also acting feisty. When the wind gusts pause, the feeder is crowded with cardinals and finches and chickadees. A blue jay, robins, and doves are in the yard. I see a junco but not near the feeder.

Around lunch, this front blew in from the Southwest and now overcast has returned. It has cooled some and the wind is really howling. Kathleen put up a new bracket and moved the feeder so the discarded seeds will fall in the mulch, not on the steps and french drain. We shall see. Now the birdbath needs to be relocated.

Warm and sunny

It is too wet outside to sit, but very warm. Mergansers were out on the creek and I could hear geese. Squirrels were chasing each other, as were crows. Finally a chickadee woke up. Moss is sending up fine green hair as a prelude to making spores.

The whole day has been beautiful. I spent some time on the dock watching gulls fish. They upended just like dabbling ducks. I could not see what they were catching. Mergansers were in the same area. Mallards are starting to court. Jays and chickadees provided background music. Finches were on the feeder and sparrows on the ground.

Late in the afternoon I saw a mockingbird on the fence.

Clear and warming

From winter yesterday morning to summer this afternoon, or so it is predicted. A sparrow peeped over the step. Then a hawk fled West pursued by a crow.

The bees are back despite the wind! Crows are dancing on the wind, doing rolls and even flying backward. Chickadees and finches are visiting the feeder and juncos are still around. Geese and pelicans are our on the creek. Gauzy curtains of cloud are pleating together but blowing away East. A white cabbage butterfly fluttered by.

Ice on the creek

Frost everywhere and more ice than open water on the creek. A titmouse and a squirrel came to breakfast while a pelican flew over the creek. It is very bright between the sun and the frost.

The sun and a South wind have warmed things quickly and brought clouds. I can hear jays, a wren, a titmouse, robins, doves and of course crows and geese. Something started singing "pretty-bird" and I traced it to the center bird in a flock of five. The bird actually bounced with each trill. The five were silhouetted against the sky and I had to walk around till the light angle changed to see that they were blue jays. Usually jays make a raucous twang, but this was actually melodic!

More mushrooms have popped up despite last night's frost. Something has been leaving shells on the dock. Today I found a mussel, oysters, and a hinged clam. While I was looking at that a hooded merganser male landed behind me then took off when he saw me. A pelican looked very dramatic flying up the creek with the sun highlighting it while the trees behind were in shade. Clouds keep rolling through and then clearing off.

After lunch, a male kingfisher perched in the sweet gum but for some reason the battery in the camera wasn't making contact and none of the pictures came out.

Still gray

The rain has stopped but it is still windy and wet. A flock of crows and a pelican are all I see. It's beginning to clear from the West. Mergansers are out on the creek. Contrary to popular cliche, I don't think ducks like rain.

The crows have found another hawk to harass. It's not much bigger than they are. I was refilling the feeder when all the drama passed overhead.

The first leucojum (snowbell) is blooming - last year I noted this on March 7th. And the red maple started blooming a week earlier than last year as well. The sky is now blue but it is very windy, just like last year. Chickadees and titmice are fighting the wind on the feeder. Juncos are staying on the ground as is a yellow rumped warbler. A pair of pelicans have swooped past repeatedly.

Dreary day

There is some wind and some spattering of rain on the North-facing windows. Most of the wildlife seems to be sleeping in.

The rain has gotten heavier though it's no downpour. I haven't seen anything of note beside gulls. I hear geese or crows occasionally.

It lasted all day.

Overcast again

Clouds started to move back in from the Southwest late yesterday and this morning is gray. I hear crows and geese and doves. The geese flapped upstream, then came back then changed their minds. Then suddenly everyone came to the feeder: house finches and a goldfinch, juncos, cardinals and titmice. The sparrows were out on the patio and then a rabbit joined them. A big black bird with white wings swooped down, passed by and landed on one of the neighbor's pines. That's when I saw it was a pileated woodpecker.

It may be starting to clear now. Mergansers are out on the creek. Coming up on noon the sky is mostly blue and the sun is come-and-go. But later in the afternoon the clouds returned. The sky looked like white corduroy then went to a featureless overcast, thin enough to show the sun. A few pink camellias are still blooming. The rosemary is recovering from the snow and the jessamine has continued to bloom. Another daffodil has blossomed. And down the street a red maple is blooming.

Thick fog

Geese and crows can be heard and squirrels, juncos and finches are finding breakfast. A pelican patrolled the creek.

The fog is slowly lifting but still very gray and drippy. Not an auspicious start for the backyard bird count. But last year there were high winds and that was worse.

Finally, around 11am the cloud cover began to break up with gray fuzz streaming South and higher clouds moving slowly East. Then everyone came out to feed! My one hour count:

Brown Pelican	1
Great Egret	1
Ring-billed Gull	5
Great Black-backed Gull	1
Blue Jay	1
American Crow	4
Carolina Chickadee	3
Tufted Titmouse	2
American Robin	5
White-throated Sparrow	1
Dark-eyed Junco	5
Northern Cardinal	1

Back to gray

Nothing seems to have awakened.

Still gray at noon. Gulls and crows and a pelican. A squirrel on the steps keeps popping up to check on us. I think it's on the FBI payroll. I wonder if the feeder is empty?

Mid-afternoon the rain began. I sure hope it is nicer tomorrow for the backyard bird count.

Titmice at dawn

Finches and chickadees shared the feeder with at least one titmouse. Gulls, including one great blackback, flew over the creek as mergansers dived. Squirrels and sparrows hunted seeds on the ground while juncos were everywhere. Crows provided the soundtrack. The dawn light gilded everything under a clear sky. The creek was disturbed by something fishing, but otherwise smooth. There was a lacewing on the screen.

A little later, a dove came looking for nesting fibers and paused by the birdbath. And a robin also wanted a drink. And then, mid-morning, a wren came to the feeder and posed. Geese paddled downstream on a surface now ruffled and olive green rather than reflective.

The sky was still blue at noon. Pelicans and herons flew past. Two wrens visited, one bathed while the other pecked at the patio. One wren perched on the grill tank and an insect flew past. When the wren tried to snatch it out of the air, it slid off the tank and plopped onto the patio.

A cloudless, golden sunset.

Gray morning

The roofers came back to finish. Before they came, juncos and finches were feeding and I saw a sparrow. On the creek, geese, gulls, and ducks were swimming. Mallards were doing their head-bobbing ritual. It is warmer despite the lack of sun. A real murder of crows raised a ruckus across the creek in the bare tree above where the egrets were sunning earlier in the week. I saw a lump that might have been an owl, or a clump of leaves.

Around noon, patches of blue began to appear, and brief moments of sun. This prompted a junco to bathe even though the birdbath is full of shingle grit. Cardinals, chickadees, and juncos competed for the feeder while several sparrows hopped around. One perched on the rosemary while others scurried under it.

By evening the sky was pretty clear except around the edges, which made as interesting sunset. The snow has nearly finished the blooms on the pink camellia and the rosemary, and the daffodil out front disappeared. The indoor orchid has bloomed from Christmas to Valentines Day, though it is beginning to wilt.

Sunny and cold

The egrets are already gathering in the sunny yard across the creek. It is a point between creek and lake that ends in the dam. The white egrets don't show well against the winter-dried grass. One person thought yesterday's photo was of a beach.

A cardinal was on the feeder at dawn.

And then the roofers came and it has been rap, pound, knock, slither ever since. All wildlife has departed. I did see a small hawk fly past at lunch.

Snow and sun

The snow won't last, I'm sure, but at dawn it was beautiful. Not very much snow - the feeder roof shows about how much fell. The wind cleared it off leaves and twigs. The birds are hungry. Cardinals, chickadees, finches, juncos, and a sparrow visited the feeder while a robin tried to get a drink from the birdbath. Cloud puffs are blowing off to the NE.

When we got home, the sky was blue but there was still some snow. A flock of egrets were sunning in the yard above the dam across the creek. A few geese were with them. A pelican flew past. Chickadees, finches, and juncos were still busy at the feeder.

Well, the snow did outlast the sun. A cold wind blew hard all day and much of the snow is now part ice.

Gray turning to snow

Rain drips. Juncos, finches, cardinals and squirrels getting a last snack before the predicted snow. Gulls and cormorants flying home.

And then, after dark, big wet flakes came blowing past. They caught on the grass and leaves, but the pavement was too warm.

Cold and sunny to start

There's a thin haze with contrails. The moon, a little past full, was setting when I got up. Juncos are about, as is a squirrel. Doves were cooing up in the oak. They sound almost like an owl: dooo-it-dooo.

By noon the haze had become overcast. Finches and chickadees ate on the feeder. I haven't seen any titmice in quite a while. Crows were all over, hassling any big bird they could find. The eagle sat for a while across the creek and ignored them. A pelican flew up the creak and back. Geese, mallards, mergansers, cormorants, and possibly woodducks were on the water. A squirrel came and posed for peanuts. Then the one with the white spot on the left hip showed up and the first squirrel chased the second away. The rest of the day was gloomy.

Cold and clearing

Soft, fat clouds, tinted cream or smudge gray, are moving fast on an icy wind. A crow proclaimed from the top of the sweet gum. There are V tracks on the creek, Geese paddled by and a pelican and an egret flew downstream. The osprey circled and hovered.

Juncos and cardinals on the feeder, juncos and white throats on the ground, along with squirrels. One white throat is working on a gumball while the other digs in the mulch under the rosemary. The cardinal pair visit one at a time, first male then female.

The clouds have all blown away. Lots of pelicans are out on patrol. Some chickadees finally showed up. They seem more intimidated by the little juncos than by the bigger finches and cardinals. The first daffodil is blooming and the Carolina jessamine, undeterred by the cold, has buds all over.

Overcast

Finches were on the feeder with doves and juncos on the ground. Mergansers fished the creek and geese flew past. I saw a full orange moon setting behind the trees but now the sky looks like a quilted mattress. I took this photo yesterday, but they are back today.

At lunch a crowd of finches, juncos, chickadees and a male cardinal all jockeyed for a seat at the feeder. Suddenly, down swooped a sharp-shinned hawk. I don't think it caught anything, but the birds have not come back to the feeder. I got a couple of fuzzy photos of the hawk perched on the beauty berry, but the barred tail and small size are unmistakable.

The juncos were first to forget their fright. And then the rain started. It kept up until dark.

Sunny morning

Perky merganser pairs are out on the creek which is not at all smooth this morning. Juncos are hopping on the patio and finches on the feeder. The wind is cold but the sun has attracted four pelicans to the boathouse roof. The first osprey of the year circled and hovered.

I heard crows making a ruckus and sure enough they soon appeared chasing a hawk. I'm learning what various bird noises mean so I can be ready with the camera. The chickadees are now on the feeder.

Mid-afternoon, the robins are out. A wren was delighted with my burnt cookie crumbs and posed beautifully while I took about 40 pictures, NONE of which came out. !#$% camera.

Cold

Long crystals in the birdbath, frost on the feeder. Juncos were out early. Geese flew by and a crow stopped in the oak. A pelican passed by at lunch.

A translucent, nearly full moon showed behind bands of cloud in the East toward evening and now light is leaking through breaks in the cloud cover.

Gray cold rain

Everything drips and the day is dark. Pelicans and egrets flew above the creek. Mergansers and mallards paddled by. Juncos and a white throated sparrow foraged on the patio.

By lunch, the rain stopped and the pavement dried but the sky stayed gray. A crow chased off a hawk and then chickadees appeared. A large flock of cormorants circled briefly.

Frost overnight

It is clear at dawn and the creek is a perfect mirror. The dock has frost where it is in shade. Cormorants are commuting to breakfast.

In the East, there were long streaks of cloud while overhead there was a fractal froth that reminded me of suds left to dry. Now at mid-day heavier clouds are coming down from the North. It has warmed up considerably.

And by late afternoon, the overcast has become a quiet rain. It got heavier after dark.

Clear sky

Juncos are up early and busy at the feeder. I'm being careful to note seasonal birds because otherwise it's impossible to know the last time I see them.

A cold wind is blowing. A heron is lurking in the reeds below the dam. A pelican cruised the creek and one great blackback gull evicted another from its favorite piling. Chickadees are on the feeder now.

At lunch, something desirable in the water attracted two pelicans and a blackback gull. After considerable circling the gull was left in possession. The commotion attracted what I think is an immature eagle.

In the afternoon. finches, chickadees, juncos, and a female cardinal all visit the feeder. The wind is very cold though the sun is warm.

Shadowless morning

We are outside the range of groundhogs and it is illegal to move a Marmota monax here, but if there were a hypothetical woodchuck visiting, it would see nothing but overcast this morning. Originally in Europe other hibernating animals were presumed to emerge on Candlemas or Imbolc. "If Candlemas Day is clear and bright, / winter will have another bite. / If Candlemas Day brings cloud and rain, / winter is gone and will not come again." I'm not aware of any hibernating animals here. It was warm and raining last Groundhog Day.

Everything is dripping though the rain is stopped for now. The usual suspects are on the feeder, primarily finches and chickadees, but I thought I glimpsed a wren. I can hear jays. Robins are on the roof getting a drink from the gutter. A blackbird flock comes and goes. Now robins are all over the yard and birdbath. Lots of chirping between the blackbirds and robins. A pelican checked out the creek and I saw an unidentifiable woodpecker hopping up a tree. Across the creek crows were harassing a larger bird, probably the hawk.

Nasty at noon - wind and rain, and one finch hunkered down on the feeder perch. But after that blew through, patches of sky appeared and glimpses of sunlight. The juncos came out to feed. The sun has been playing peek-a-boo since, same as last year. And by mid-afternoon it has gone all blue! And it stayed that way right through sunset.

After dark, I saw a wolfish face at the window. There's a husky in the neighborhood who gets loose every so often and somehow gets into our back yard. It's friendly, but I don't want it chasing the wildlife.

Busy morning

A very strange cloud was faintly visible above the pines across the creek before it moved off East. It was an arc of radiating streaks, sort of like a crown, but too wispy for a good photo. A crow kept popping up out of the pines, hovering with a great deal of flapping, then plunging back into the trees. I bet that meant there was a hawk, and I was right. Crows finally chased it off West. It is supposed to get very warm today.

Later heavier clouds moved in from the West. An eagle did a fly-by. A pileated woodpecker worked his way up the neighbor's pine tree. Mergansers were diving in the creek which was quite rough surfaced. A cardinal, a blue jay, two robins, and a flock of blackbirds came to the yard. A white-throated sparrow drank from the birdbath and house finches took possession of the feeder. That sounds like Edward Lear.

After lunch, it is shirt-sleeve warm and the sky has cleared. Bees are mobbing the rosemary. It stayed mostly clear with thin streaks of cloud all the way to sunset. Several herons flew across the dam in the early evening before the cormorant commute. The kingfisher flew silently downstream. The sunset makes the pines at the head of the creek appear to be on fire.