Chilly sunshine

The moon was past the first quarter and not obscured by clouds at bedtime but the sky was clouded when I got up.  During the morning, the clouds broke up but hung around on the horizon.  It got cold enough to ice the birdbath but not the creek.  Pelicans got an early start but most birds didn't appear till late morning. Then, white throats, chickadees, and a woodpecker had brunch.  A couple of ruddy ducks dived their way downstream. 

Lunchtime brought more birds, egrets on the creek and woodpeckers on the feeder.  The female downy got tired of waiting and perched on the post while the male was still on the suet.  Finally he got the hint.  A flock of mostly male hooded mergansers paddled downstream but stayed behind brush so that the camera couldn't focus.  A hawk swooped past the feeder too fast to identify.  Later pintails came paddling by.  Cormorants were out on the water too.

After lunch, I went outside and saw the hawk land in a pine upstream and across the creek.  A crow objected but there was no mobbing.  The hawk almost lost its perch in the wind and that's when I saw it was a red tail.  Then a male red bellied woodpecker came hunting among the pines.  A junco hung out in the redwood, then a blue jay joined him.  Ring bill gulls soared past the contrails that were blowing out to sea.

By this time I was frozen and came inside to watch.  A pine warbler stole the suet feeder from the downy.  A male flicker hopped around in the oak.  House finches were everywhere comparing reds with a cardinal.  A yellow rumped warbler attempted to hide among them.

Dank

That's cold and wet, not thanks in German.  The pelicans fished up and down the creek and I saw a heron and an egret on the wing.  Around the feeders, titmice and downy woodpeckers joined the chickadees, finches, and cardinals.  Below, there were white throats.  The rain that began around 9am did not deter them or the squirrels. This male downy waited in the dogwood while the female ate, then took his turn in the rain.  I wonder if they don't feed together because the one waiting is a sentinel? 

We were joined at lunch by a host of songbirds despite the cold rain.  The woodpeckers, titmice, white throats, and juncos were back.  A little gray bird picked lots of something off the azalea next to the window.  I'm told it was a female orange-crowned warbler, not a blue-gray gnatcatcher.  A fox sparrow poked around under the yellow rose bush where I've seen it before.  Doves and a blue jay dropped in. 

In the late afternoon the sky cleared.  A Carolina wren stayed busy on the seed feeder.  Then white throats, juncos, and even finches settled on the mulch and birdbath while chickadees hit the feeder.  The creek was flat at low tide but there were no ducks.  Flying cormorants and gulls caught the setting sun.

Rain

I could hear the rain last night and it continued on through the day.  We were gone until afternoon.  When we got back, a pine warbler investigated the suet.  Titmice, white throats, juncos and the usual trio ignored the rain to get lunch. 

White throats continued to scurry around in the late afternoon as the rain continued and the temperature dropped. 

Quiet

The day began overcast as predicted but then cleared and the sun was out before noon.  The downy was back at the suet.  Not much else to report from the morning.

The sun came and went for several hours around the middle of the day but eventually the cloud cover won.

Birds began to appear around noon.  On the water, there were pelicans, cormorants, mallards and hooded mergansers. On the patio and feeders, woodpeckers, titmice, doves, white throats, joined the finches and chickadees.  I glimpsed a butterbutt and a male towhee inside the azalea - I heard a towhee yesterday after sunset. 

Toward evening, the mergansers came back, four males and a female. 

Cold and bright

Again, there was frost on the mulch, but no ice.  Pelicans and gulls and some small ducks were up early but the songbirds slept in.  Eventually the regulars were joined by juncos and white throats.  Robins and blue jays showed up too.  And a downy was back.  A finch drinking from the birdbath looked a bit crusty around the eye.  I hope it's not another case of conjunctivitis.

A female bufflehead and several cormorants fished at lunch.  Finches and chickadees came back to the feeders.

The day got quite warm and we went walking at Lake Lawson.  We saw more mushrooms than birds, though we did see a big nest up in a half-dead pine.  Juncos, white throats. and a female cardinal were grabbing last minute supper when we got in.  Sunset was streaky orange and the moon flaunted its craters. 

Frosty and bright

There was no ice on the glassy creek but the bark pieces in the mulch were outlined with frost.  Two pairs of mallards came dabbling up the creek while cormorants flew over.  No songbirds appeared for breakfast.

The temperature rose through the morning, but still no songbirds appeared.  Ruddy ducks and geese were out on the creek which was still a mirror.  Egrets and the shadows of high fliers passed by. 

Finally, at lunch time the songbirds came out of their food stupor and visited.  In addition to the regulars, titmice, white throats, juncos, and a Carolina wren were on the feeder and the ground.  First a titmouse then the wren fiercely defended the feeder.  A female house finch used the birdbath to bathe.  The downy woodpeckers returned.  More ducks showed up including hooded mergansers.

Sunset gilded the Western sky while the crescent moon was just past zenith. 

Counting Christmas birds

Songbirds were plentiful this morning though the creek was empty.  Pelicans cruised over the water but I didn't see any plunge.  On the feeders and the patio (where WBU said to scatter their freebee) it was colorful.  The regulars were joined by titmice, downy woodpeckers, white throated sparrows, juncos, mourning doves, Carolina wrens, and a butterbutt.

Around the edge of the yard, blue jays and a flicker hunted. At one point something I didn't see scared the birds, and those that didn't scatter crouched and froze, a strategy that worked better in the mulch than on the patio.  This white throat wasn't as hidden as it hoped.

At first, dark clouds blew out of the West under the overcast.  Around 10:30am blue sky appeared on the Northern horizon and it cleared entirely within an hour..  Meanwhile the temperature steadily dropped. 

The sun brought the waterfowl out.  Hooded mergansers, buffleheads, ruddy ducks, and a cormorant fished from the surface while pelicans flew.  One ruddy took a major bath. 

The rest of the afternoon was beautiful. An egret flew over but no other new birds appeared. The regulars, the woodpeckers, and the juncos came back for afters.  The squirrels just ate the Christmas bird seed all day long.

Wet

It was not raining at breakfast and there wasn't much wind either.  But thunderous-looking clouds passed overhead.  White throats were joined by a fox sparrow, maybe the one who hit the front window.  The male downy woodpecker returned to the suet and a squirrel tried to get some but gave up.  Maybe the overnight rain dampened the pepper smell until the squirrel got close?

Geese were joined on the creek by a male hooded merganser and a smaller duck, maybe a ruddy?  Cormorants, a great blue heron, and several egrets flew above. A blue jay hung out in a dogwood across the yard. 

By late morning, the South wind had grown much stronger.  Dark clouds moved fast across the overcast sky while the last leaves blew down.  White throats kicked wet mulch while finches headed for the feeder.  A pelican flew upstream, then mallards paddled the same direction.  The temperature reached the 60s though the wind and rain prevented it being pleasant. 

There was an interval without rain around 4pm.  White throats, woodpeckers, and squirrels came out, as did some kids in shorts down on the dam.  I think I glimpsed a butterbutt and a flock of cedar waxwings (I think) landed in the redwood.  A pelican circled.  All were sent scurrying by the next wave of rain. 

Foggy

A thick, heavy, wet mist obscured everything beyond the creek.  Egrets flew upstream, white on white, but I only caught the trailing feet of one on camera.  A few squirrels were out having breakfast.

The mist turned into overcast and the birds came out.  There were white throats and juncos on the ground, titmice and the regulars at the feeder, and woodpeckers on the suet.  I also saw a goldfinch and what I think was a male oriole.  So I went out and bought grape jelly.

Toward the end of daylight, a junco poked through the mulch while a male downy woodpecker worked on the suet.  Then the gray sky darkened to night.  All day it was windless and the creek glassy, but it had nothing to reflect and only geese disturbed the water. 

Rain

At breakfast, a white throated sparrow poked through the mulch.

Later, a few finches came to the seed feeder.  Then a red tailed hawk swooped through.  It came back a few minutes later, but both times I was not ready to take a photo.  Several egrets and a great blue heron flew over the creek.  A male hooded merganser put in a very brief appearance.  The windows were too streaked with rain for the camera.

By mid-afternoon, the birds and squirrels began to ignore the rain and wind.  Chickadees went for both feeders while finches stuck to the sunflower seeds.  Then the woodpeckers came for the suet.  Meanwhile squirrels seemed to be everywhere.

Winter solstice

The actual solstice occurs at 6:03pm EST here.  This year, the shortest day coincided with the dark of the moon.  And dawn was overcast.  A very brief beam of sunlight gilded the top of the pines.  A pelican and some egrets flew high over the creek.

After a late start, all sorts of birds showed up.  Chickadees, titmice, woodpeckers, and a pine warbler took an interest in the new feeder.  A Carolina wren, juncos, white throats, and a blue jay foraged on the ground.  The regulars visited the feeder and a cardinal snacked on beauty berries.  More pine warblers* ate something in the camellia. 

The sky finally began to clear after noon.  Ducks, including mallards, pintails, and ruddys, paddled on the creek while egrets hung out above the bulkhead.  A hawk circled and a flicker landed on the oak. 

*News flash!  The birds in the camellia this morning were female Baltimore Orioles!  They were the very first orioles I ever saw in the yard.

New suet feeder

The peppered suet was as unattractive to squirrels as advertised.  Chickadees and titmice tested the new feeder but didn't seem to like it as much as the seed feeder.  Lots of other songbirds came by: a Carolina wren, a flock of juncos, several white throated sparrows, and a mockingbird in the beauty berry.  A yellow rumped warbler hopped around in the azalea by the window.

The lake fishing frenzy recurred at breakfast but tapered off mid-morning.  This time pelicans joined the gulls, cormorants, and egrets.  Geese and ruddy ducks were down on the creek.

At lunch a couple of downy woodpeckers discovered the suet feeder.  The male checked it out first, then the female.  A chickadee wasn't sure if it was safe to join in, but gave it a try.  Meanwhile a mockingbird alighted in the cherry, then dropped to the mulch. The sweet gum was full of birds that were just silhouettes under the gray sky.  A great blue heron flew by. 

The male downy woodpecker returned in the late afternoon.  The clouds congealed into thick and thin areas and picked up a bit of tint during the cormorant commute. 

Fishing frenzy

Something good attracted gulls and egrets to the lake.  The gulls circled in the air just above the dam while egrets lined the shore and filled the trees. But I never saw any of them actually catch anything.  Photos revealed there were cormorants in the lake.  Meanwhile the creek and the feeder were deserted.  The sun was bright and the water placid but the air was bitter.

Finally at lunch songbirds appeared.  In addition to chickadees and finches, there were titmice, white throats and a Carolina wren.  The birds seemed skittish and I may have seen a hawk among the gulls earlier. I glimpsed one small duck on the creek and lots of geese. 

Ducks were starting to appear as I left to go shopping.  I wanted to look at birdhouses.  Nothing appealed, but I did get a suet feeder and a brick of suet with bugs and hot peppers.  We shall see if the birds like it and the squirrels do not, as advertised.  The sun had just set as I started home.  This time the smoky clouds were in the West while the rest of the sky was clear. 

Hawk scare

There were titmice on the feeder when I sat down at the breakfast table, but they left as I reached for the camera.  A squirrel foraged under the feeder, then ran for its life and hid under a chair.  A red tailed hawk had landed up in the trees.  The hawk was being pestered by a crow and more were on the way so it departed.

Then the white throats came out to forage and one hopped up onto the feeder.  The regulars came out too.  A male towhee hopped around the garden hose then flew up into the camellia where I lost sight of it.  Eventually the titmice reappeared.  The creek was empty, though glittering with sun and reflections, but I glimpsed hooded mergansers down by the dam.

At lunch the action was up in the sky.  A turkey vulture circled and a couple of egrets passed over.  So did some little ducks I couldn't identify. 

As I drove to my meeting around 3:30, there were long pleats of cloud in the East.  I got out just after sunset.  The East was very dark, in the South clouds were rose and smoke, and the West was clear with a golden afterglow.  

Sunshine

There was a light fog early but it dissipated and the sun gilded the trees and water.  A few hooded mergansers were out diving.  Downstream, an egret waited by the dam.  A hopeful squirrel stopped by.  The mulch was still wet and the birdbath full. A dove got a drink while a white throat hopped around it. 

At noon, a titmouse was on the feeder till I tried to photograph it.  Ruddy ducks showed up, along with pintails and a bufflehead. Several leaves floated downstream, pretending to be ducks. 

In the twilight, more white throats scurried while a female cardinal sat above on the feeder. The whole day was quite warm, but damp. 

Cloudy

The sky at breakfast was more white than blue and the sunshine was muted.  The only bird I saw was a fishing cormorant. The mulch was wet and drips hung from the feeder - dew or rain?

In the late morning there was some sun.  Finches, chickadees, and a titmouse visited the feeder.  I put peanut bits out on the patio but only squirrels found them.  Canada geese were all over the yard across the creek.  A buzzard circled over the creek, as did numerous gulls.

The clouds moved in from the West and congealed in the afternoon.  Pintails and ruddy ducks appeared.  Then the rain started.

Sometime after 4pm, the sky began to clear and looked very dramatic.  Then a thunderstorm swept in.  A cardinal and some other birds, possibly finches, visited as the sky was going dark, but cleared out before the lightening.  The sky cleared again for twilight. This picture was just before the thunderstorm. 

More sun

Today was a bit warmer but still sunny.  I saw some white throated sparrows as I hurried off to be important.  A transparent half moon hung overhead.  As I returned, I passed through a convention of crows just North of the Municipal Center on both sides of the road.  Closer to home an egret flew over. 

At lunch there were titmice along with the regulars on the feeder and a dove on the ground.  I waited too long to take photos of the titmice so all I have is this dove.  The creek seemed empty every time I looked. 

Crisp and cold

Ice in the birdbath and frost on the mulch.  Lots of ducks on the water.  First the hooded mergansers passed through.  Then a ruddy duck began to fish. A pelican flew downstream.   A great blue heron stood post downstream while a crow gave voice from the gum tree.  Pintails arrived and later joined Canada geese.  I glimpsed what might have been an eagle high up. 

Then the red tailed hawk came which may explain why the feeder was deserted. At first a crow chased the hawk all over the sky and finally off North.  A bit later, the hawk came back and circled over the creek. 

At dinner, more pintails and ruddy ducks paddled about.  The feeder remained untouched. The sky stayed clear through sunset which turned it salmon colored.  In the twilight, a small flock of white throated sparrows descended on the mulch under the feeder and one hopped onto the perch.  It was too dark for the camera, though I tried anyway. 

Frosty

Dawn was shell pink in the West.  The dock was white and the birdbath full of ice.  A flock of red wing blackbirds, and maybe starlings, foraged on the lawn across the creek where a guy had run a leaf blower yesterday.  A blue jay dug up and ate acorns the squirrels had buried under the red cedar.  A female hooded merganser and a convoy of geese paddled by.  Then the two great blue herons went chasing up the creek.  This time one landed in the pines and rested for a while. The usual suspects came to the feeder for breakfast.

At lunch, a song sparrow, a couple of white throated sparrows, several juncos, and a blue jay poked through the mulch while the chickadees, finches, and cardinals ate at the feeder.  Across the creek, crows harassed a hawk.

Ducky day

The sun was often obscured by streaks of cloud that occasionally covered the sky.  Then the clouds would pleat into wispy lines or thick bands.  Sometimes a thin glaze just dimmed the warmth of the sun.  The wind was cold and froze the side of me not toasting in the sunshine. 

Lots of ducks were out on the creek beginning with a sleepy male ruddy.  I really like their Moe Howard look with the dark inverted bowl atop the head.  Then a flock of robins flew over and a few paused in the oak.  Northern pintails arrived on the creek and the ruddy disappeared.  I later saw him again upstream from the busy pintails.  Then a female hooded merganser showed up with her head feathers all puffed.  More followed. 

Great blue herons and brown pelicans flew over the creek but behind the brush on my side.  I'm not sure why I've been seeing so many more herons than egrets this week.  Two Carolina wrens flew into the sakaki bush and twittered at me from there.  I also heard jays, a woodpecker, and a dove. 

In the afternoon, I finally saw birds on the feeder.   I also glimpsed what might have been an eagle.  Chickadees feasted on the gum balls, something I've never seen before.  A downy woodpecker joined them.  A blue jay flitted around the yard.  A song sparrow poked the mulch. 

Still sunny

During breakfast, two great blue herons erupted from below out line of sight along the bank.  One chased the other downstream where they circled a couple of times and finally split up.  A pelican fished and geese passed in formation on the water.  Squirrels were out and about, and one had a problem with its tail that required a good chewing out.

While I was in the water at the rec center, two egrets flew over followed by two Navy jets in the same formation.  At lunch, more herons flew by along with pelicans.  Lots of ducks were out on the creek but no birds on the feeder. I saw female pintails and a male ruddy. 

The cormorant commute commenced in late afternoon.  The sky remained clear as it faded to a pale pink sunset. 

The sun is back

The wind may be why no birds came to the feeder or patio at breakfast.  Out on the creek, geese and mallards paddled among the reflections while cormorants and diving ducks made the glassy surface ripple.  The sun glare made identification difficult but a photo revealed a merganser. 

Ducks, herons, and pelicans were out fishing at lunch time.  One of the ducks was a redhead, a first for me!  Chickadees and house finches visited the feeder and a dove landed on the ground.  Squirrels madly chased around the yard.

The sky clouded over during the afternoon and sunset peeked through streaks in the West.  The wind was very cold. As I headed over to the library, I saw a titmouse on a tree trunk behaving like a nuthatch. 

Dreary weather

Fall has been so wet, it called to mind the nursery rhyme.  A squirrel poked through the mulch and a fat drop from the feeder landed on its head.  The squirrel scrubbed its face like I would if I walked into a spiderweb.  A white throated sparrow foraged a bit later.  I thought I saw a diving duck but there was enough trash floating on the swollen creek to make me unsure.  Geese flew upstream and an egret passed over headed North.

And overcast again

A pair of juncos were up early, foraging by the birdbath.  A few hooded mergansers paddled on the creek, then took off.  Some other birds sailed overhead but I only identified an egret.  The morning was gray and cold and windy.

It misted a bit but never quite turned to rain.  Pelicans cruised past at lunch.  Mallards joined the mergansers on the creek.  The day stayed dark and gloomy.