Scoundrelly squirrel

A squirrel has been feasting on the horizontal suet.  Apparently it's easier to reach than vertical was.  Before: a male downy woodpecker feeds on the suet.  After: the squirrel has dragged it over.


In the late morning, a mockingbird soloed in the pecan.  A few buffleheads were out on the windy creek.  Titmice traded with the downy woodpeckers on the suet.  A blue jay found something of interest over by the beautyberry.

It was windy all day and the sky grew increasingly cloudy.  By late afternoon it looked like rain any minute.  Carpenter or miner bees were busy with the blueberries and the rosemary.  A crane fly was frantic to get through the window glass.  A rather hefty wasp also banged on the window.  There was a tent caterpillar web in the cherry. 


The wretched cat stalked along the edge of the spartina.  I wonder if it was hunting crabs? 

More sunshine

A small convoy of buffleheads cruised the creek.  A male downy woodpecker came for suet.

Around noon, I spotted a blue jay and a black swallowtail. A dragonfly and a cabbage white passed through at lunch.  Chickadees appreciated my chasing a squirrel off the suet. 

The oak blossoms were falling and blowing and even getting caught on spider threads.  Azaleas were starting to bloom and there were buds on an iris.  The domestic cherry had scattered flowers.  The coral honeysuckle was covered with flowers - a good thing if a hummingbird arrives early.   There were a few violets in the grass.  An osprey circled. A titmouse posed in the oak.

Toward evening, three egrets sorted themselves out along the bank under the dam according to some rule only they understand.  Titmice and chickadees came for bedtime snacks. 

Windy

I was up before dawn for an early meeting.  The waning moon was descending in the West as the East brightened.  Birds were singing and scurrying around, but I had to leave.  By the time I got home they'd mostly disappeared.  An osprey circled and I saw a bufflehead pair.  Chickadees and downy woodpeckers visited the suet.

It was a beautiful day but I didn't see much wildlife.  Egrets fished.  I saw what might have been a turtle on a log, or just a lumpy log.  The hackberry finally showed some green.

Wet, then sunny

The rain had stopped before I got up but everything dripped.  A male downy woodpecker seemed dubious about the suet but finally ate.  Chickadees had no doubts and also alternated at the seed feeder with cardinals.  A tufted titmouse slipped in too.  A few white throated sparrows looked through the wet mulch.  A slug left a track on the wet screen. 

The sky began to clear around mid morning and the rest of the day was sunny, albeit flickering as passing clouds flipped the light switch.  The day also got quite windy.  Nevertheless, I moved the portulaca and the pepper to the new semi-enclosed patio in front of the house.

A drama unfolded at the dam outfall where a great blue heron battled a long, thin creature, maybe an eel, maybe a snake.  Even after swallowing, the heron seemed to be having some trouble getting it to go down.  Later, an egret fished from the same spot but the water was lower and it seemed to be catching only small stuff.  A cormorant and a pair of buffleheads stayed on the surface of the water. 

The regulars came to lunch and a tufted titmouse worked on the suet, as did a female downy.  A squirrel hung from the suet until I yelled at it. Crows harassed a hawk very high up.  Butterflies took advantage of the warmth.  I saw a black swallowtail, a hairstreak, and several cabbage whites, but none of them lit long enough for the camera.

An egret preened on the neighbor's dock and the wind caught its plumes.  At supper, we could see three egrets jockeying for the best fishing spot below the dam.  After dark,I saw Jupiter rising.

Rain

A great blue heron fished beside the dock. Buffleheads floated on the surface.  White throated sparrows foraged on the ground, cardinals on the seed feeder, downy woodpeckers and titmice on the suet.   But photography was not an option.

In the afternoon there was more light and, though the rain continued, it no longer streaked the North windows.  A squirrel washed its face after nosing the wet mulch.  A downy acted like the suet arrangement was new to him - I think he was a different male from the one this morning.  A pine warbler did not figure out how to get suet, alas.  Chickadees and Carolina wrens did.  The regulars all came for seeds, along with titmice.  Juncos foraged with the white throats.  A bluebird and a blue jay made up for the lack of blue sky.

A pelican flew downstream and a few gulls circled.  I could make out an egret hunched in the fallen tree on the lake bank as the rain became more like mist. 

New suet configuration

Morning was cooler with clouds and sun.  The birds discovered the new block of suet and mostly figured it out, but it defeated the starlings which was the point.  Titmice, downy woodpeckers, and Carolina wrens breakfasted on it.  White throated sparrows stuck to the ground.

Meanwhile, an egret fished below the dam and a flock of gulls worked up and down the creek.  A bufflehead pair spent more time preening than fishing. 

A chickadee figured out the suet too. The temperature dropped all afternoon and clouds moved in.  The gulls continued to fish, but I saw neither osprey nor pelican.  A half dozen egrets gathered downstream from the dam.  Geese came visiting like an unwelcome relative.  The same birds came back for more suet while cardinals watched.

Windy

A rain shower passed through after 8am.  Before that, red tempered cardinals and finches argued.  Juncos and white throats scoured the ground for fallen seeds.  A Carolina wren protested the empty suet feeder.  A titmouse got to the seeds.  Down by the dam, an egret and a bufflehead fished.  An osprey soared overhead.

The wind shoved the clouds off to the Northeast.  Late morning through mid day was mostly sunny.  I tried a friend's trick with the suet - leaving the packaging on all but one side and hanging it horizontally with the open side down.  At lunch, nothing had discovered it.  In facts there were no birds at all.  The white butterfly flitted and fat bees bumbled around. The narcissus I think of as fried eggs opened overnight. 

Another shower passed through in the late afternoon while the sun was out low in the West.  Geese and a mallard drake ignored it.  Tiny sassafras flowers opened and sweet gum flower spikes poked up.  Sunset was colorful, tangy orange to the West and pink overhead and North.  The sky seemed to be clearing. 

Nice

Blue sky was back.  The creek surface was quite at first but soon roughened.  Titmice came to breakfast.  A downy checked on the still empty suet feeder.  Later a pair of wrens poked around under the rosemary.  I saw one feed the other but they were screened by rosemary twigs. Bees were flying and a cabbage white butterfly found something to interest it down the slope.

A blue jay flew by in the late morning.  The white narcissis began to bloom.  Dogwood flowers opened and red leaves appeared above the oak blossom strings. 

I got back in the middle of the afternoon and almost immediately saw a tiger swallowtail.  A crane fly battered against the window.   An egret fished below the dam where the wind had again pushed the tide extra low.  Two titmice came for seeds.  White throated sparrows and juncos foraged in the mulch.  Later an egret caught fish just off our bank, in the shallow water by the mudflat.

Warm

An osprey circled and later several cormorants went paddling and diving upstream, but all I got on camera was a female bufflehead.  It was windy and the water was quite rough at low tide. 

The suet was all gone to the dismay of a squirrel and a warbler.  Juncos and white throated sparrows cleaned up below the feeders.  The regulars all came to the seed feeder.  Two Carolina wrens investigated the empty suet cage but were content with the mealworms I'd scattered.

Just before lunch, a couple of very wet, female hooded mergansers fished.  A crane fly fluttered against the glass.  Cabbage whites fluttered everywhere.  The sky turned from hazy to white. 

In the afternoon the tide got extremely low, pushed by a strong wind.  Geese paddled and grazed while a great blue heron preened.  A great egret waded in the middle of the creek.  An osprey hovered over the water, except when the crows chased it.  

As often happens, the sky cleared toward sunset, leaving just enough clouds to make it interesting.

Sunny

Four starlings descended on the suet, but fortunately spent more time fighting over it than eating it.  In between, a titmouse, a warbler, and the downy pair got some.  Cardinals competed with the titmice for seeds.  On the ground I saw a junco and a white throated sparrow.  The  creek was glassy, undisturbed by any birds. 

Lots of bugs were out in the afternoon - flies and bees, a cabbage white, and the first damselfly of the year.  There were a few azalea blossoms, forsythia, and Carolina jessamine, but the bees seemed to prefer deadnettle (Lamium pupureum).  The fig buds were opening.  I hung the new "Tweet Tweet Home" birdhouse. 

Toward evening, I saw a female hooded merganser dive.

Predators!

A dark cloud loomed at dawn, but blue sky appeared in cloud breaks before breakfast was over.  Sunshine was intermittent.  The creek surface was placid despite a breeze.  First a hawk then the feral tux cat interrupted the birds.   A heron flew down to the dam outfall but didn't stay long. 

Both downy and red bellied woodpeckers were back.  And so was the butterbutt!  At least I think it was the same one, from the way it sat atop the suet.  Nevertheless, chickadees got some and titmice got to the seeds.  The squirrel was back at the suet too. 

I was just about to photograph a soaring osprey when a crow started harassing it.  White throated sparrows scurried about at lunch.  Chickadees were definitely interested in the summer rental.  Clouds covered the sky and then retreated.  At sunset the sky was clear.  A nearly round moon rose. 

Vernal equinox

I noticed yesterday that the time between sunrise and sunset was already 7 minutes longer than 12 hours.  But just after midnight today was when the sun was over the equator according to this.  Not that anyone would notice as today dawned gloomy and wet.  A strong wind pushed the tide high and blew oak blossoms off the tree.  Chickadees, titmice, and house finches visited the feeder and a downy woodpecker came for suet.  I saw sparrows and juncos on the ground.  An osprey and crows were in the air.

A starling came but I think the camera scared it off. A cardinal repeatedly booted a white throat off the feeder. A dove landed by the birdbath.  Chickadees checked out the birdhouse.  A great blue heron flew downstream into a headwind. A pine warbler made a very brief appearance on the suet, but the camera refused to focus.  Something about the pattern of the wire cage for the suet confuses the camera's software, I think.  A juvenile yellow rump also got some suet.  I wonder what became of the butterbutt that drove them off?

A squirrel figured out how to eat suet.  A great blue heron flew downstream to fish at the dam outfall.  The wind had dried things out during the morning but the rain came back in the middle of the afternoon.  It did not stop an egret from hunting along the creek bank. 

Gray and windy

Sunrise was rosy and there was sunshine briefly, but then the sun rose into the overcast.  Birds were scarce, just some titmice and the warbler and they didn't hang around, maybe because of the wind.  Geese once again attempted to move in but K said NO.  I hung the repaired birdhouse.  The dead dogwood limb I was using in previous years broke off, so I moved the feeder over to the cherry.  K and I went back out to look at some holes in the ground.  I heard a kingfisher cussing and saw it flying away.  The light seemed somewhat brighter in the late morning despite the solid cloud cover.

Around noon, the clouds broke apart for moments of sun or sky.  A half dozen chickadees chased each other around the trees. A strong NE wind pushed the clouds back together.  White throated sparrows joined us at lunch.  The chickadees discovered the mealworm dish and proceeded to have a three course meal: sunflower, suet, mealworm.  Titmice were back for seeds, and a cardinal pair came as well.  And the male downy woodpecker finally came back to the suet.  A lone junco foraged in the mulch.  It felt very cold outside. 

I saw a chickadee poke its head out of the birdhouse in the middle of the afternoon.  A sprinkle of rain fell a little after 3pm. A couple of osprey circled but didn't dive. Then real rain began.  After it stopped the wind dried the window quickly. But there was more rain before sunset. 

Cooler

It was still sunny.  Apparently no one told birds about Daylight Savings Time so they have been an hour late for breakfast all week. The dogwood and sweet gum appeared about to pop into flowers.  Forsythia was in bloom along the fence.  The two male cardinals that share the yard had another glaring contest.  A starling looked at the suet and then flew off.  The tuxedo cat was around, as was the warbler.  That may explain the dearth of birds.  I chased the cat off once.

In the afternoon a little flock of juncos combed the slope for seeds.  A squirrel helped.

The sky was cloudless all day, though there was some wind.

2 fer

March 16 - I got distracted and never started a post yesterday.  I usually start early and then I can fill in the following day if I have to.  Therefore this part is about March 16 which was HOT!  The red belly and downy woodpeckers visited to see if the suet was back.  Alas, no.  Two titmice finally got to the seed feeder unmolested. Juncos foraged in the mulch. 

During lunch, I saw some kind of hairstreak around the rosemary. I sat outside after lunch and saw a palamedes swallowtail in addition to cabbage whites.  A mature skink scampered across the patio and under my legs to disappear in the mulch.  As I was pulling up leucojum, I found a strange worm, or possibly millipede under a piece of roofing waste.  A tiny beetle like a ladybug, but black with red spots, was floating in a dish of water. I rescued it and learned it is called the twice-stabbed ladybird beetle.

As I came home after dark, drops of rain fell on the windshield, but when I went outside, I could see clear sky with stars and a half moon.

March 17 - Juncos, a yellow rumped warbler, and white throated sparrows scurried around below the feeder where cardinals and titmice feasted. 

Around noon, a couple of ospreys circled high over the water.  A crow teetered on the topmost twig of pine across the creek.  A tiger swallowtail crossed the yard.  The sun was hot but the breeze kept it cool. The temperature only got up to 70 or so.

In the late afternoon, the butterbutt discovered the suet K hung before lunch.  And a squirrel found the dish of mealworms I hung.  It leaped up in the wire and dangled by one forepaw and one hind foot to get its nose into the dish.  Humpf. In the front yard I discovered a rosette of bracket fungi grown into the azalea beside the spot where the oak died.  The bumblebees were busy around the blueberry flowers, some of which were already open for business. 

The geese appeared to be working out partners, and not amicably.  A few clouds to the NE reflected the sunset light.

Gray

There was more rain over night.  Some fog lingered above the water.  No birds were out for breakfast.  A goose pulled grass along the creek bank.  The fog misted my windshield.

The sky cleared during lunch though the sun blinked as fuzzy clouds blew past headed out to sea.  The patio and seed feeder were still vacant.  I glimpsed a chickadee in the cherry but it didn't fly over.  Still afraid of that warbler, I suppose.  Something big flew over the creek but is was as fuzzy as the clouds in the photo.  A pair of hoodies were fishing.  The female caught a lively one.  And with that, the battery died.

Wet

It rained through the night and turned to mist in the morning.  Titmice and cardinals came to the feeder.  Juncos, white throats, and doves poked through the mulch beneath.  The red bellied woodpecker came to look at the empty suet cage, as did a Carolina wren.  It was really too dim for good photos, but I did get a sharp picture of the brownish female junco.

The sky cleared at lunch and the first quarter moon was visible.  Fish were jumping on the creek but I only saw one duck, maybe a bufflehead.  A downy woodpecker stopped by to see if there was fresh suet. There wasn't.  The titmice got bold enough to visit the feeder behind my back.  A squirrel ate oak blossoms.  By mid afternoon clouds were returning and the sky was white again before 5pm.  Toward evening, a hooded merganser pair fished.

Daylight was saved

It was, however, light when I got up.  Sunshine slipped in sideways under a white sky.  The squirrel that seems to delight in leaping from bending twigs missed and fell at least 15 feet, but scrambled back up.  The cat was back, reducing bird watching opportunities.  However, juncos were back, including the brownish female.  White throated sparrows and doves joined them under the feeder.  Starlings tried to get at the last bits of suet.  And a splash on the creek alerted me to a female wood duck. 

By midday the overcast broke into big cumulus clouds, some white, but some dark.  There was sun for several hours.  A cabbage white fluttered through the yard and carpenter bees fed on the rosemary.  The male downy was bold enough to work on the suet while we ate outside, but disappeared just before a hawk zoomed through the yard.

Later, an osprey plunged into the creek behind a screen of brush so I couldn't tell if it was successful.  It flew off over the lake. A little after 4pm EDT, the rain began. The storm moved East and around 5pm the sun shone intensely on the falling rain.  A faint rainbow formed over the creek.   Titmice were busy at the feeder while the warbler watched.  Cedar waxwings landed briefly in the neighbor's sycamore.  And another hour and back to gray, and another band of rain at 7pm. 

Cloudy again

It was chilly when I unbricked the feeder and the sky looked like rain.  Juncos, wrens, and the warbler foraged on the ground while the suet fed the red bellied female and a starling.  Finches ate seeds and cardinals watched from the trees.  Two Canada geese promenaded across the pool cover.

At lunch, the red belly returned and the downy appeared.  Both white throated and song sparrows kicked mulch around looking for fallen seeds.  Two tufted titmice defied the warbler to get seeds.

The feral cat showed up and almost caught a junco in the mulch.  It then went after a squirrel on the far side of the pool.  It kept coming back and scaring off the birds.  In between, two wrens zipped around the rosemary and the feeders.  The sky began to clear in the late afternoon.  Stringy oak blossoms popped out of the buds.