The feeders were quiet at breakfast, then I was gone all morning, shopping for bird food. Temperatures fell back to the typical range for this time of year, thanks to the wind shifting around to the Northwest. The sky was the crystalline blue of low humidity but the wind was still fierce. Big green dragonflies didn't care and I still didn't get a picture of one. Or of a wren for that matter. Right after the camera battery ran down, I saw movement by the fence which turned out to be the catbird, again out in the open. It even visited the patio at suppertime, very unusual behavior for a catbird. I saw an orange-brown butterfly, tiger swallowtails, and a red spotted purple.
The pink evening primrose started blooming. I had one sickly-looking stalk last year but a couple dozen sprouted up this Spring. I read that it can be invasive so I hope the spot is confined enough. Nothing else wanted to grow there anyway. I'd rather have the yellow native but no one sells that. I finally got a skink. The odd little black bee with what I assume were yellow pollen packs explored a different expansion joint in the concrete. I hunted for other bugs and found what appeared to be a small tattered roach. A black wasp rafted on a cluster of leaves. An earthworm was out in the sun on the concrete seemingly headed for the water. I dumped it back on the dirt. It did not behave with gratitude.
Blue jays were glad I replenished the barkbutter balls. Bluebirds seemed more interested in the last of the suet block. The pileated woodpecker returned to the suet in the afternoon. She wiped her beak on the post then seemed to rub her cheek there too. The cardinal on the seed feeder was dwarfed by the woodpecker and seemed a little alarmed. After the pileated was gone, the red bellied woodpecker took a turn on the suet. We'll see what they think of the cheaper suet I bought today.
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