House wren arrived!

The very first bird I saw this morning was a house wren sitting on the feeder post peering nearsightedly at the yard. Then a downy woodpecker came for seeds.  A pair of goldfinches drank from the ant moat. 

A drama unfolded at the dam outfall.  A great blackback gull had something to eat and a great blue heron stood by and watched, which annoyed the gull.  Then a crow arrived and added to the tension.  An egret walked past, staying out of the drama.

As I was getting ready to leave, I saw a black rat snake along the edge of the pool deck but by the time I got to my camera it had disappeared.  I went outside to look for it and instead listened to a brown thrasher, or maybe a mockingbird, singing in the oak.  I never saw it but I glimpsed a towhee that had been whistling.  A huge bee worked on the rue.

When I came back, I saw the bluebirds carrying food to the box.  Meanwhile chattering swallows zipped across the sky.  Lots of dragonflies also zoomed across the yard but I could not get a decent picture.  And the pool was opened in the afternoon!