Graduation

There are fledglings everywhere.  Some bird fathers are working hard, some are long gone.  But it sounds like all the kids have graduated from the nest.  A juvenile towhee came to kick mulch.  Titmice are back in force.  I guess they quit eating seeds while they have nestlings.  Doves seem to follow the same pattern.  A female hummer got breakfast.  The sky is hazy and it should be hotter today.  The gladiolas are showing red. 

Two pileated woodpeckers just swooped through.  One landed on the feeder post 10 feet from me, but on the back side.  One seemed to be following the other, maybe a graduated offspring trying to cage a last free meal? Then a tiny wren appeared with no eye line and smaller than a Carolina.  At lunch, dragonflies and butterflies passed by, including a tiger swallowtail laying eggs on a cherry tree. 

The wind was very gusty all day, hard on critters with wings.  I saw a dragonfly give up and seek a more sheltered perch.  In the evening, the male towhee showed up to grab a snack. The first quarter moon was very hazy in the west.