Wednesday, December 29, 2021

Mystery bird

I woke up to a spectacular sunrise and a crescent moon. And then the sky turned heavy gray for the rest of the day.   It was very warm, over 70°, and humid with a light breeze from the Southwest.  The creek was rough at dawn but calmed later.  I think all the waterbirds were out in the bay since the day was so mild.  

A goldfinch visited for a drink from the icky ant moat.  In winter drab, it wasn't nearly as gold as the pine warbler that followed.  

Then a turkey vulture landed on a branch and the song birds decamped.  Three more vultures arrived and they all sat on posts and branches, waiting for what?  Most of them flew away but one lingered for a long time on a downstream dock.  

Later, there was some conflict over the suet between pine warblers and a downy woodpecker.  A butterbutt stayed out of it and just watched.  Bluebirds cleaned me out of barkbutter balls.  I got very frustrated trying to photograph the brown headed nuthatches.  A red bellied woodpecker stayed in the trees.  A Carolina wren popped up amid the camellia blossoms.  

I got a photo of a bird I didn't recognize in the cherry tree.   It appeared to have a solid brown head and breast and two white wing bars.  Nothing matched that description but if the brown look was caused by bad lighting, it could have been a female Baltimore oriole or a male pine warbler.  I thought it was more warbler sized but there wasn't anything to compare the size against. 

After dark, a lacewing landed on the window.  I guess the warmth brought it out, but I doubt it will last very long.  Although with climate change, who knows?  




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