Sunny solstice

Frost whitened the dock, mulch, and grass at breakfast.  The birdbath was frozen.  I had to rush off and didn't see anything but unexplained rings in the still creek water.  The temperature rose about 20 degrees while I was away.

When I got home I refilled the empty mealworm and jelly dishes.  An oriole appeared almost before I closed the door. Pine warblers ate everything.  A downy woodpecker wanted only suet.  A goldfinch examined the suet but stayed vegetarian.

Then a red bellied woodpecker landed on the suet.  A blue jay watched.  Titmice and nuthatches joined chickadees and nuthatches for seeds.  White throats and juncos poked through the mulch.  Two Carolina wrens alternated between suet and mealworms.  The oriole got thirsty and so did a bluebird. 

After lunch I watched from my office.   The bluebird reappeared in the hackberry.  White throats foraged in the grass and bushes.  I glimpsed a flicker.  A mockingbird wanted hackberries.  Cormorants fished but hoodies just paddled past.  The great blue heron was at its favorite spot on the dock next to the dam. 

I spent the last of my gift card at Wild Birds Unlimited on a bluebird house and mounting pole.