Fishing birds and a surprise guest

I counted eleven egrets and at least four great blue herons under a cloud of gulls as they moved up and down the creek.  They must be following a school of fish.  The tide is high and the light is low and shadowless.

The overcast broke up around 9am and slid out to sea.  The fishing birds were long gone, except for cormorants.  But the sun brought out the feeder birds.  In addition to all the usuals, there were sparrows, titmice, a wren, and a hairy woodpecker.

Around noon, under a mostly blue sky, pelicans, herons, egrets, gulls, and mergansers hunted for fish, but not very successfully.  Geese gathered all along the bulkhead.  Squirrels and white throats gobbled up the peanut hearts. There's a snowy owl irruption this winter but I doubt that treed suburbia will be to their liking.

The fishing continues.  Herons and egrets, pelicans and gulls keep flying over the creek. 

Getting cold again

About 6am I saw Jupiter in the West.  At 7, the whole sky blushed rose.  The clouds gradually became more orange, then soft gray when their undersides were no longer lit.  About a half hour later the sky was crosshatched with contrails that expanded and slid Northeast.  Then a white glaze of cloud came in from the West.

Meanwhile, egrets hunted a good fishing spot.  A couple of pelicans and a few cormorants flew past.  There's no morning cormorant commute as there is in the evening.  A mix of ducks, including mergansers and a ruddy, paddled by.  A white throat scurried and I heard other birds.  A squirrel came to the window and stood up to get a better look at me.  The Carolina wren checked on everything. 

At lunch, great blue herons and great egrets lined the bulkhead while cormorants and hooded mergansers paddled past and pelicans cruised above.  There must be plenty of fish.  The usual suspects, plus sparrows came to the feeder.  The cloud cover was heavier but it had texture, unlike yesterday's uniform gray. A blue jay hung around the edge of the creek and two buzzards soared. 

Gentle rain

The Carolina wren checked the spot where I've been leaving peanuts but found only soggy crumbs.  It sang a bit, then flew to it's favorite perch on the grill hose where it was sheltered from the rain.  Meanwhile, chickadees and cardinals visited the feeder and white throats scurried everywhere.  The creek surface is opaqued with rain and I don't see any fishing birds. 

Around 9:30, six pelicans floated on the creek in a circle fishing.  The group moved upstream, part paddling and part hopping into the air.  I heard gulls scream, unless that was the pelicans?   The rain continues to fall steadily. 

The rain became un-gentle around 11 and the wind fierce.  The clapper on the wind chime across the creek was swinging up past the pipes.  Clouds were driven North as fast as birds fly, but gulls played on the gusts. 

Pelicans continue to fish despite the wind and finches have joined the feeder queue.  At least three squirrels are also hunting a meal in between chasing each other.  I believe I'm seeing a couple of ruddy ducks out on the creek. 

3pm, the rain is pounding and it's quite gloomy. Fortunately that didn't last long.  And now, an hour later, I believe the sky is clearing.  The clouds are moving East where before they were going North.  The sun appeared just in time to set. Despite all the rain, the day has been warm. 

Freeze again

It's just like yesterday morning with frost and ice and sun.  Herons and egrets are scouting for fish.  But this morning some feeder birds are awake.  Sparrows were squabbling before sunrise.  Chickadees and a wren have been to the feeder.

The creek is in sunlight now and a flock of hooded mergansers have joined the egrets and heron. A pelican just soared upstream. Cardinals and finches have arrived. The mystery birds appeared in the afternoon.  Best guess so far is yellow rumped warblers. 

Both the feeder and the creek stayed busy all day.  The temperature climbed up, so rain is predicted though there was no sign of it at sunset. 

Frosty

The frost paints the dock white and outlines each chunk of bark in the mulch.  Ice skins the creek on the near side but the current keeps the water open on the North.  The sky is clear except for a few cloud bars on the horizon.

A pelican flew over the creek and a cormorant paddled in it before the sun came up.  As the sun began to touch the tops of the pines, six egrets flew in. Three picked our pilings for perches and two landed on the branch under the bulkhead across the creek.  Then three hooded mergansers landed by the ones on the branch and paddled around.  A great blue heron swooped in and took possession of the branch.  Eventually all the egrets left.  Then another heron landed on the dock.

It was pretty late in the morning when a pair of house finches appeared.  Eventually white throats and a cardinal visited around noon.  The creek stayed busy with gulls, herons, egrets pelicans, and cormorants.  I also saw some mallards.  A buzzard also took an interest.  Squirrels got to the peanuts first.

A couple of pelicans basked and preened on the boathouse in the late afternoon sun.  Chickadees, doves, a Carolina wren, and a song sparrow made it to the feeder before evening.  The fishing birds kept going past sunset. 

Gray with sprinkles, changing to blue

Pelicans appeared as soon as there was light and have been fishing steadily.  On strafed some diving ducks.  Cormorants and gulls are fishing too.  Cardinals and chickadees came to the feeder and sparrows foraged below.  A pair of squirrels courted.  Rain made freckles on the concrete.

The wren arrived later.  The gray overcast broke up in the morning and mid-day was blue with clouds sailing East.  Titmice came to the feeder along with one female house finch.  House finches have been notable in their absence the last few weeks. I put peanuts out and before they were discovered, the landscape workers came with the leaf blower and dispersed them into the bushes. 

A buzzard circled over the creek.  Cormorants swam below.  A woodpecker methodically checked out each tree.  Maybe they are too healthy for happy woodpeckers? I think I saw just enough red that it may be a sapsucker, but I can't be sure. 

Almost all the clouds disappeared in the afternoon and the low sun gilded the treetops.   

Bright sun, dark clouds

A Carolina wren flew into the glass before the sun was up and left some down feathers behind.  It had to sit in a patio chair to recover but it flew off seeming OK.  A pelican cruised the creek early and crows gathered on the neighbor's dock.  The birdbath is frozen.  This is how sunrise looked.

The sky cleared but the birdbath didn't thaw.  A crow flew by with sticks in its beak - do they start nests this early?  White throats, cardinals, chickadees, and wrens have been feeding.  Pelicans and a few egrets have been fishing.   A large flotilla of geese was hanging around till a boat went out.

Squirrels gobbled up most of the peanuts I intended for the wren. This one appears to be working on a knothole - is it pushing nuts in? Anyway, the wren, the squirrels and the white throats all let me know they wanted more! 

Overall, a cold, sunny Christmas day and a clear, still night. 

Cloudy and colder

The birds are hungry.  Over the creek, I saw egrets, great blue herons, pelicans, gulls, and cormorants.  The feeder attracted white throated sparrows, a Carolina wren, a male towhee, cardinals, and chickadees.

The sky has cleared except for a few clouds still riding the wind from the West.  The female cardinal has learned that any bird bigger than a chickadee will tip the perch so she drives the others off. 

Something small landed in the oak and sat like a raptor - sharp shinned hawk?  All the other birds were gone at the time. 

Rainbow

I woke to rain slapping the house like a giant broom.  It didn't last long and the clouds are still moving fast on a wind out of the Southwest.  While the clouds kept it dark, the male towhee came for breakfast along with white throats.  The birds I saw yesterday were in the redwood this morning.  They flew out into open air then back to a perch just like dragonflies.  I've got to find out what they are.

Now it has grown lighter and chickadees are coming, but the towhee and the unidentified birds are gone. Bits of blue are showing between clouds and there is a suggestion of shadows, if not actual sunlight. Later in the morning there was real sunshine.  I saw an egret and a flock of mergansers in the lake beyond the dam. A couple of doves stopped for a drink.

Around noon, another period of heavy rain hit.  The clouds to the South looked like a rolling boil and there was a sharp front edge in the East.  After the rain passed, a rainbow appeared in the Northeast.  A cardinal and a finch, both female, came to the feeder along with chickadees.  White throats scarfed up the peanut hearts.  A pelican just passed. 

Hot!

The newspaper says yesterday set a record and today should be even warmer.  Heavy dew has left everything wet but there's a strong breeze.  Clouds are passing through from the Southwest.  Chickadees and sparrows came to breakfast.  Egrets are out on the creek. Bees are busy on the camellia flowers. 

The clouds thickened for a while but now the sun is back. Nothing but sparrows at lunchtime.  They went for some peanut bits.  A pelican just swooped past.  It is quite windy which may explain the lack of birds.

Toward evening dark heavy cumulus clouds promised rain. The wind calmed somewhat near the ground though the clouds didn't slow.  Some birds landed in the sweet gum, from which they would pop out into the air, then return.  I assume they were hunting insects that the warmth had brought out.  But there wasn't enough light to identify them.

The newspaper reports the high was 81 - a record for December, not just the 22d. 

Winter solstice

Interesting clouds are passing West to East.  Pelicans are cruising and mallards and geese are around.  White throats were up early and then the wren made the rounds.  Squirrels are scampering on the roof.  Condensation is running in rivulets across the patio.  It is very warm and bees are flying already.

Chickadees, house finches, and cardinals have visited.  Squirrels keep getting the peanut bits I intended for the wren. The wren is checking whether the squirrel missed any bits.  When I opened the door to toss the bits out, a spider was hiding in the track.  And a little later I found an earwig behind a shoe.  At lunch, the same species came around. 

Cloudy but warm

There is a breeze and the sun is muted by a veil of stratus cloud haze but it is very mild.  The bees are busy on the camellia.  Chickadees have been to the feeder and I glimpsed a white throat and a wren.  Cormorants, hooded mergansers, and a male bufflehead have passed by on the creek and a pelican and a heron flew past.

I put peanut bits out for the wren but the squirrel scarfed them up.  Nothing touched the sesame seeds off yesterday's bagel.  The haze must have been ice crystals because I saw several sundogs.  

When I returned in the late afternoon, pelicans and gulls were fishing, but every photo is out of focus..  I put out a few more peanuts and this time a white throat got them.  At twilight,  a male towhee came to kick mulch while cardinals got their evening meal and sparrows scurried. Multitudes of cormorants and quite a few egrets commuted home. 

Ice and sun

It's cloudless.  The moon was just sinking into the pink-tinted West when I got up.  Open water is flowing past skins of ice on the creek.  A heron, an egret, and a pelican have flown downstream while a flock of ducks and a cormorant went the other way.  But no one's actually in the water yet.  The birdbath is frozen.  Cardinals, chickadees, titmice and a wren have visited the feeder and a squirrel tried.  I tossed out the sesame seeds that fell off my bagel.  The wren seemed interested. 

The white throats are up now.  One was pushed off the feeder by the Carolina wren.  The birdbath has melted. A male house finch showed up, the first in several days.

Twilight was a very intense blue.  The day warmed so much that there's a moth on the window tonight. 

Beautiful, chilly day

Clouds moved in last night and everything is wet but the sky is now cloudless.  The creek is mirroring the sunlit trees as it often does in the early morning.  I've noticed the water is most likely to be calm around sunrise and sunset, and very rarely in the middle of the day.  Is it slack tide?  No birds yet, but I hear crows calling.

Some clouds have appeared and the sun is occasionally blocked.  I glimpsed a titmouse on the feeder. A pelican just swooped over the house (and me) scaring my ancestral genes.

At least six pelicans have been working the creek along with gulls and cormorants.  A mallard and the little duck I saw yesterday and a female bufflehead paddled around.  I heard a heron and a kingfisher.  A cardinal and a sparrow are all the feeder birds that came at lunchtime. The pelicans are roosting on the boathouse again this winter.

A very cold afternoon on the dock brought sight of pelicans, herons, egrets, buffleheads, mergansers, kingfishers, a possible eagle and a possible ruddy duck.  The kingfisher is on the pole's crosspiece and a flock of hooded mergansers are in the water. People on the Hampton Roads Wildlife Enthusiasts Facebook group agree it is probably a ruddy duck I've been seeing. 

Haze

There was sun earlier but now it has hazed over.  A mallard drake and the white domestic duck were out padding on the glassy creek. I learned on the GBBC Facebook page that the domestic is a Pekin duck which has been bred from mallard stock.  Clearly size and color don't matter to the ducks.

The sun is coming and going but the sky to the North remains murky.  The creek is now ruffled.  Chickadees are up and breakfasting, as is a squirrel.  The Carolina jessamine is blooming like Spring was here.

At lunch a very small, tan bird floated off the dock, maybe a ruddy duck?  A pelican took the plunge and got its reward.  Chickadees ignored us to get at the feeder. 

The late afternoon brought a song sparrow to the feeder.  Egrets and cormorants flew home and a flock of geese floated downstream, slow and stately.  A great blue heron flew West, then East. 

Sunshine and sparrows

Bright reflections on the creek.  Sparrows hopping in the mulch.  It is chillier today. 

Chickadees and cardinals joined in at lunch.  Gulls were fishing as were a bufflehead pair and a kingfisher.  This white throat had its back to me showing off its field marks.

The cloudless twilight brought back the cardinals and sparrows for a bedtime snack.  A fat, golden moon is rising behind the trees. 

Wet, overcast morning

White throats and the usual suspects came to breakfast.  Geese paddled on the creek.  Later, a "V" appeared in the creek surface and up popped a female hooded merganser.  A large branch lodged near the dock, pretending to be an alligator.  A pelican cruised downstream.  I put some peanut bits out and they disappeared when I wasn't looking. 

On the stroke of noon the sun came out.  More white throats, cardinals, and chickadees came for lunch.  Squirrels and white-throats scarfed up a second serving of peanut bits.  A few shreds of cumulus are blowing Southeast.  Gulls are fishing on the creek and I saw something I've never seen before: a flying great blue heron plunged into belly-deep water as though it were a pelican. 

Heavy clouds blew through, cleared, and then more came through the afternoon.  They made a spectacular sunset, but I don't know the cause of the lurid white patches.  The moon, waxing toward full, rose through the clouds opposite the sunset.  By 9pm the sky was clear again. 

Gray and warming

 The winter formula - cold and bright, warm and wet - has begun.  Chickadees were up first, followed by cardinals and sparrows.  A wren just perched on the grill's gas tank and sang, so I guess it passed inspection.   It is pretty still but with no ice.  A couple of egrets are out fishing.

Buzzards circled and a pelican and a great blue heron fished.  Geese paddling sedately downstream were buzzed by a bufflehead.  A squirrel came to forage.  A kingfisher landed on the dock but moved on quickly.  Sprinkles of rain began around 2pm. 

Rain continued light but steady.  Around dusk, the wren, sparrows, cardinals, and a junco got hungry.  The cormorants did their usual evening commute while a great blue heron sailed past and a pelican tried for one last fish. 

Frozen creek

It was still and cold last night so the ice is not surprising.  No birds are up yet except an egret at the dam outflow.  I poured hot water into the ice in the birdbath. 

By lunch, the far side of the creek had melted where the current flows.  Pelicans, great blue herons, gulls, crows, ducks and geese all got the message that there was open water.  Chickadees, titmice, finches, and sparrows came to the feeder while the squirrel with the white spot foraged underneath.  A breeze had come up and most of the birdbath was ice again.   Brrrrr!

 In the afternoon, the sky was so clear that high altitude jets only left faint scratches that healed quickly - no contrails. 

The pelicans continued past sundown.  Cormorants and other birds commuted home.  When it was almost too dark to see, a cardinal pair and a sparrow argued over the feeder. 

Cold

Fuzzy-edged, fluffy clouds are sailing South on a cold wind.  The dawn sun lit up the pines but now the clouds have masked it.  There's blue sky, just not where the sun is.  Gulls and crows played on the wind.  Pelicans stayed low over the creek.  Cormorants and diving ducks are fishing too.  A small flock of geese passed over.  But up by the feeder - nothing.

Chickadees, sparrows, and finches have taken advantage of the intermittent sunshine. Both white throats and at least one song sparrow have been on the feeder.  The pelicans are having success fishing.  I've seen three at a time but there may be more.

During lunch the pelicans continued to fish.  A pair of towhees foraged on the patio and in the mulch. A female cardinal visited the feeder, along with the finches, chickadees, and sparrows. 

At twilight, the male towhee returned, along with a female cardinal and sparrows.  The moon was overhead and the sky was clear.  Waterfowl were flying home for the night.

Crisp and cold

Frost is outlining shapes on the ground and ice is floating in skins on the creek.  The sun is making bright reflections on the still water.  K refilled the bird feeder but no one is up yet.  A couple of squirrels circled the patio, one following the other close, in hope of mating I presume. yesterday's raindrops on the nandina leaves have turned to ice, as has the birdbath.

A heron flew over the dam and a small flock of birds went past without pausing. The frost is disappearing wherever the sun can reach.  Chickadees, titmice, and white throats are busy on the feeder with squirrels underneath.

At lunch a kingfisher hung out on pilings.  Two buzzards circled overhead.  A lone male hooded merganser paddled around.  A great blue heron passed by.  House finches and chickadees occupied the feeder.  The squirrel with the raw side and elbow is healing.  I wonder if it was mange or an insect bite?

Venus looked big in the West and little clouds descended in steps above the twilight glow.  The first quarter moon was bright overhead. Then after several hours, broken clouds covered the night sky, but a couple hours later the moon was back. 

The rains continue

K saw a couple of towhees but I missed them - too much rain on the window.  The sparrows are busy, as are the usual visitors - cardinals, finches, and chickadees.

Pelicans are plunging into our stretch of the creek.  Meanwhile titmice, three doves, and a pair of juncos have joined the feeder crowd.  The squirrel with the white spot showed up - I'd begun to worry about her.  She was thirsty despite the rain. 

At mid-day, chickadees and sparrows were still braving the cold rain.  A house finch tried to get on the perch and a white throat joined it in aerial battle while a chickadee slipped behind and stuffed itself.  A female cardinal visited briefly. 

The sky was clear by 11pm when a very bright half a moon cast shadows through the West windows. 

Back to fog

The creek is still but there's nothing to reflect but gray.  Pelicans are flying low to the water, for visibility I suppose.  Blue jays have been working in the mulch and up in the trees.  A female cardinal shoved a sparrow and a chickadee off the feeder.  There are two female cardinals and they are not friends. The wren picked at the nut bits I scattered yesterday and poked through the mulch.  The squirrel that is nesting in the pine was out and about. A mockingbird dropped in for some beautyberries. 

I startled a titmouse off the feeder when I went to photograph pelicans. A great blue heron took up post on the neighbors' dock.

It rained on our lunch.  But that didn't stop the titmice, cardinals, sparrows, wrens and chickadees.  The pelicans also continued to cruise.