Scorching

The morning sky was clear and intensely blue.  Afternoon brought cumulus, some with dark bellies.  The heat brought insects but seemed to discourage birds.  An Eastern pondhawk male guarded the patio door.  Butterflies mostly evaded the camera but I identified a monarch, a tiger and a black swallowtail, a cloudless sulphur, an orange sulphur, and a brown butterfly I suspect was a buckeye.  I rescued a bumblebee and (I hope) killed a green head fly.  Another landed on the window later.

A titmouse came early.  The hummers continued to fight over the feeder.  A goldfinch pair showed up separately to get a drink from the hummer feeder ant moat.  The cardinals also pulled rank on each other and the fledglings were at the bottom.  Nobody messed with the bald headed male.  I wonder if it could get sunburned?

An egret fished under the bulkhead across the creek.  A brief rain shower fell about a quarter till five.