Friday, September 11, 2015

Orioles and a new warbler!

I would say the storm blew them here but others have been reporting orioles for several days.  I put out some grape jelly but who knows if they will find it?  Also appearing: hummers, titmice, and doves.  When I got up, the overcast made it too dark for the camera.  Fortunately it was a little brighter when the orioles arrived. They looked like a pair - one paler in color than the other. 

It was nearly noon when we got back.  Blue rents appeared in the overcast and then right at noon the Northwest wind cleared the sky.  The gusts made it tough for small birds and insects.  A couple of buzzards rode the wind. 

Chickadees ignored me to get their lunch but the finches were too wary.  The juvenile male cardinal didn't care.  Meanwhile, a hummer investigated everything but the actual feeder holes.  A male downy woodpecker hammered on dogwoods and a hackberry.  Blue jays were up in the oak while a mockingbird in the redwood imitated them.  The first Northern Parula warbler I've ever seen hopped around in the cedar but my photos were disappointing.   

Two black swallowtails, a red spotted purple, and a duskywing fought the wind.  One swallowtail laid eggs on the rosemary as well as the rue.  I also saw an amberwing and assorted bees and wasps including a cicada killer.  I tried to photograph the basilica spider web and the funnel web but they didn't show up.

The sun heated the day and brought out the dragonflies, including a damselfly.  A blue dasher and others I couldn't identify seemed to be using me as bait for mosquitoes.  Hackberry emperors did aerial battle over the pool, apparently for the best sunny oak leaf.  The cast exoskeleton of a leaf-footed bug looked menacing as it floated on the water.  Another funnel weaver had taken over the pool cleaner.  A silver spotted skipper visited the rosemary.  The birds were more heard than seen and I thought I heard a catbird. The wind was chilly in the shade. 


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