At breakfast time, the creek was quite rumpled under a hazy blue sky. The day began chilly but warmed enough to bring out insects. The camellia attracted the bees, but I also saw a paper wasp and large moth or small butterfly. The little jumping spider was still on the railing, but definitely alive.
When we got home, several titmice were crowding the chickadees at the feeder. But by the time my hands were free house finches had taken over. Two butterbutts got into a fuss. They were the only migrants. A pine warbler found the bark butter balls, but I think it is a permanent resident.
Though I kept an eye out for migrant ducks, I only saw mallards. A great blue heron occupied the channel marker. The male kingfisher perched on a neighbor's dock piling.
I moved the suet back to its usual winter location which flummoxed a downy woodpecker that had tracked it down to the new spot. The suet looked like it was getting moldy from lack of sunlight or maybe air circulation. I also cut away most of the damaged mountain mint that got infested with spider mites. I wish I had figured out that they were what was plaguing the rosemary all those years but it wasn't till they moved over to the mountain mint that I could see what it was. Ironically, rosemary oil is supposed to deter them.
At dusk, the song sparrow reappeared to forage under the seed feeder. When a squirrel startled it, the bird took refuge in the thorny rose canes. The camera struggled with the low light.
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