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.