More sun and clouds

House finches and white throated sparrows are all I've seen so far.  I've been thinking about how the house finches moved so successfully into purple finch territory.  Of all the songbirds that are sexually dimorphic, they seem to accept the presence of other males most easily.  Two were on the feeder together this morning.  Does that give them a survival or reproductive advantage?  By contrast, the male cardinal spent a lot of effort driving off another male last month. 

The two Carolina wrens are conducting their daily investigation of the grill. After lunch, a skink dashed across the patio.  The oak flowers are beginning to fall and the air is full of writhing brown "caterpillars." It makes me think of Pern. A bumblebee was overloaded with pollen. 

When I got home around 5:30, I went outside and discovered the gnats are awake.  Too bad the gnatcatcher migrated.  Blue jays  were loud and one had a standoff with a crow.  Another crow made a strange sound calling its brethren to help attack an eagle.  The eagle was backlit by the sun but the crows drove it off before I could focus.  Then buzzards appeared and surveyed the same area.

Something has built an nest inside a screen of jessamine on the top of a drainpipe.  The towhees are still hanging out under the azaleas.

The first quarter moon was passing through cirrus clouds.  A cloud moved through the spot where the sun can create a sundog.