Bright sun dispelled the gray chill of the last few days. Mallards have been more visible recently. And snowy egrets continued to hang out at the dam. Titmice came for seeds, as did the white breasted nuthatch and, of course, cardinals, chickadees, and house finches. Carolina wrens foraged under the vegetation. Jose delivered a couple of migrating guests. The first was a red eyed vireo in the cherry.
Several butterflies flitted through, a cloudless sulphur, a black swallowtail, and something orange. I think there might have been a red spotted purple as well. There were lots of crickets, including one that tried to ride in my hair. I saw something fly across the yard and thought it was a hummer, but it was a bird grasshopper. The orb weavers were still with us.
The pool was again clogged with leaves and acorns. I found a small green frog riding a piece of bark round and round in the skimmer. Later I spotted a skink frantically swimming toward me. But it didn't want to be rescued by me. The second time I fished it out, it hiked up to my elbow and stayed put till I got to the side of the pool. The skink was oddly marked - there was a spot just behind the front legs where the stripes were bent and blurred, as though it had been wounded there and healed. But it was still a young blue tail.
I finally caught up with the kingfisher She was perched on a piling across the creek. A real hummingbird did visit. And the other surprise bird appeared to be a yellow breasted chat, a kind of warbler. It had a taste for purple beautyberries and is certainly was a vivid yellow. A larger gray bird was also eating beautyberries and may have scared the chat away. I'm guessing it was a catbird, but the light was fading toward a moonless night.
No comments:
Post a Comment