Not like a lamb

This was a very windy end to March and then in the afternoon it rained enough to fill the birdbath.  But the South wind was so fierce that surfaces had dried before evening.  The sky stayed overcast. The temperature rose into the mid 70s.  The only "bird" I saw was a swan (or goose?) decoy that had blown into the creek.  Even though the wild cherry leafed out first, the domestic cherry bloomed first.  

Frustrating

The day was mostly cloudy.  At breakfast I had seen the pileated pair, a myrtle warbler, and a bluebird, but just as I had settled in to take pictures a workman showed up.  The birds all disappeared when the man started caulking. Later I was outside just long enough to put up the UV window clings that are supposed to warn birds, and to stick my hand in the caulk.  I meant to go back out with a new block of suet because the suet cage was empty, but I never got to it.  In the afternoon, the wind picked up, again.  The small white gulls were back along with osprey and pelicans so I guess the fish were back to.  I wonder if they were menhaden?.  

 

Fish day

The bright sun didn't warm the air but, at least, it wasn't blowing like the last several days.  All day gulls and osprey were fishing for something too small for me to see.  Occasionally, I could see schools of the fish ruffling the surface of the creek.  I wasted an awful lot of shots on the flying birds - makes me appreciate digital cameras.  The pictures I got look like an all-white bird, but after looking at gull and turn photos, my best guess is that they were Bonaparte's gulls. 

Meanwhile, at the feeders, a brown thrasher visited warily.  Bluebirds were around but also cautious.  Starlings didn't care.  A Carolina wren flitted from feeder to feeder.  A myrtle warbler stayed in the trees.  The brown headed nuthatches were back.  The pileated woodpeckers continued their dating game on the feeder post and around different trees.  She seemed very interested in a spot on the magnolia where a large limb was removed.  He got down in the grass and carefully checked every exposed root. 

Low tide around 4pm exposed mudflats and narrowed the creek.  Except for one loner, turtles crowded their favorite log.  Cormorants, egrets, and a great blue heron rested around bale of the turtles.  A pair of wood ducks paddled past me.  I believe I saw an eagle too.  The great blue heron on the neighbors' dock apparently didn't belong there because another chased it upstream.  The victor returned but didn't stay. 

Sunny

At breakfast the air was still and the creek flat, but it didn't last.  A blue jay meditated on a branch.  A brown thrasher swooped right in for its breakfast.   A white throated sparrow was close behind.  Doves were more interested in getting a drink.  Two brown headed nuthatches made repeat visits but the camera insisted on focusing on the background.  

Then the female pileated arrived.  The nuthatches were braver than larger birds when confronted by such a big woodpecker.  Pretty soon the male pileated landed on the post and traded places with her.  She waited impatiently below and finally got her turn while he tried foraging underneath.  A myrtle warbler dropped in.  Big and little turtles basked in the late morning sun.  

When I got home, after 4pm, I saw ospreys circling, a pelican in the water and a heron on the neighbor's dock.  A crow chased away one osprey.  It was supposed to drop below freezing overnight but I don't think it did. 

Chilly

It was still windy though not as bad as yesterday.  I missed a mockingbird at breakfast.  A brown thrasher was more cooperative than usual.  The pileated woodpeckers, however, were hard to miss.   A cardinal thought so and left in a hurry.  I thought a red bellied woodpecker flew in but it was gone so fast I couldn't be sure. 

White throated sparrows showed up at lunch.  A pine warbler got some suet.  Two brown headed nuthatches tripped up the camera and me.  One tried the suet while the other went for seeds.   I chased a bluebird with the camera but only got a blurred backside.  Juncos found something to eat in the hackberry.  A molting myrtle warbler hoped for suet crumbs.  

Blue jays insisted on barkbutter balls.  The cabbage white butterfly was back.  No turtles, again, but I don't know if it was because of the wind or the clouds.  Of course  the clouds made sunset more interesting.  

Gusty

It wasn't windy at breakfast but by lunch the trees were whipping in all directions.  Old leaves blew up the steps, then back down or off to the side.  The creek surface wrinkled as wavelets ran in different directions.  With fewer obstacles, the clouds moved steadily East. The wind did not seem to bother the pileated woodpeckers, but smaller birds stayed low.  A starling landed on the suet, then a crow landed on the roof and glared at it and they both flew away. 

A cabbage white took shelter from the wind behind a clump of narcissus.  The hackberry began leafing out much earlier than usual.  Flower buds appeared on the wild cherry and the sweet gum.  And one of the pines looked about to burst into pollen.  The wind tore flowers off the neighbor's camellia and flung them on the dead leaves and pine cones under our trees. 

In the corner by the hose spigot, a Carolina wren popped up and disappeared.  A white throated sparrow foraged back there.  Then the cardinals shared a tender moment.  A male bluebird watched. A pine warbler got some suet without being bullied.  A female red bellied woodpecker went for the other suet block by the back window. 

Despite the intermittent sunshine, I saw no turtles.  However, I did see a pair of wood ducks land in the creek and paddle upstream.  Another bird in the water looked like the pied bill grebe but it had its back to me.  Four great egrets arranged themselves around the dam.  They were flaunting fancy breeding plumage but appeared more interested in fish.  A big one jumped beyond their reach.    A great blue heron flew in and disturbed their order.  

The clouds had been looking quite stormy and K said they were spitting rain.  Then the sun slipped below the cloud layer and lit up the far trees.  The remaining clouds turned peach, then rose while everything was bathed in a warm red light. 

Damp

While the day was quite cloudy, it didn't rain.  The air was warm but very damp.  A female pileated woodpecker at breakfast called my attention to the empty suet cage so I went outside and refilled both of them.  It didn't take too long for the woodpecker to return.  When it had finished, a flicker landed on the feeder post but spooked so quickly I could get no proof.  I had never seen a flicker come to a feeder before.  I also saw doves wandering around, pine and myrtle warblers, and the cat. 

 At lunch, a female cowbird landed on the seed feeder roof.  I wonder if it planned to follow some hapless bird back to her nest.  A female junco alighted on the seed feeder.  Since the closest place juncos breed is the Appalachian Mountains, it would be a long way for the cowbird to follow!  The female pileated returned.  A female bluebird got a drink and a barkbutter ball.  

Later, I glimpsed a male flicker under the leafless beautyberry bush.  A female red bellied woodpecker also wanted fresh suet, as did a starling.  A Carolina wren hunted for suet crumbs underneath.  Only one twig on the maple made seeds.  The purple iris bloomed.  Some azalea buds opened.  

Rain

I got a glimpse of a pileated woodpecker - that was it.  And the suet was down to a barkbutter ball. 

Gray

The creek was placid, but reflections were muted.  Three kinds of woodpecker visited the suet: pileated, red bellied, and downy.  Myrtle warblers got their turn in between.  There was a starling as well till the pileated scared it away.  Doves foraged on the steps for suet crumbs.  Two osprey circled over the creek.  Light rain began to fall around 4pm.  

Slow day.

Clouds moved in, getting ready for tomorrow.  The feral cat scared a squirrel, but then I let the dog out and the cat surprised me with its speed.  I found buds on the purple iris.  All the birds escaped me except a pelican resting on the channel marker.  It had a brown topknot, the start of breeding plumage. 

Spring

Blue jays flocked to the barkbutter balls on a bright, mild morning.  A Carolina wren devoured suet. Its partner foraged on the steps and the mulch.  So did a myrtle warbler and a bluebird.  

I saw the female pileated woodpecker that came for suet.  A starling tried to insinuate itself onto the feeder, but the woodpecker refused.  Eventually, she got so annoyed, she chased the other bird away.  Later, a red bellied woodpecker flew off when I tried to take his picture. 

The "fried egg" daffodils began blooming.  Some of the dogwood flowers look like little boxes before they fully open.  Violets have been blooming for several days. 

Turtles basked in the sunshine.  A pied bill grebe paddled on the creek.  

Equinox

Morning sunshine welcomed a brown thrasher, the pair of pileated woodpeckers, a red bellied woodpecker, and several blue jays. A female bufflehead paddled and dived.  Later, I saw two drakes with her.  Two starlings quarreled over the suet.  Bluebirds and myrtle warblers showed up at lunch time.  A pair of doves wandered around the birdbath. 

The temperature peaked at 69°.  Clouds covered the sky in the afternoon.  A Carolina wren, a white throated sparrow, and a cardinal pair found something to eat in front of the hose spigot, between the camellia and the azalea. The female red bellied woodpecker hiked up the redwood.  A tiger swallowtail alighted on one off the yellow and cream daffodils.  It didn't stay long.  

The sunset was spectacular.  As I looked Northeast, sunlight turned the distant pines orange while leaving the foreground in shade.  I went outside to look West where clouds made layers of gray and fiery rose-red.  . 

March gale

The creek was too disturbed by the Southwest wind to do more than bounce light.  Some dogwood buds had completely opened, others were in the process.  I refilled one dish of barkbutter balls since we seem to be past rain for a few days.  I also put out jelly in the forlorn hope that a passing oriole might partake..  Big bees were very interested in that.  I thought I saw a dragonfly but it may have been a queen bee. 

Bluebirds braved the wind for barkbutter balls. Myrtle warblers seemed more thirsty than hungry.  A skink ran across the patio at lunch, but I got no picture.  By then it was 79°.  I never saw the thermometer get to 80° though.  Leaf holdouts were torn off their twigs and tossed high and low.  Dark clouds raced across the sky without spilling a drop.  But the ant moat sloshed over.  

A black swallowtail flitted around the rue.  Some money plants were already in flower.  I saw the oak tree catch a plastic bag.  The camera was more than usually confused by foreground and background, and managed to miss most of the few birds that weren't hiding from the wind.  The wind dropped by twilight, so the dog and I enjoyed the smells of the night air.  

Wood ducks

At last, the plastic came off the windows in the morning.  Mid day was beautifully warm and sunny.  Something dug lots of little burrows in the front grass.  They look like anthills but I suspect ground nesting bees.  I did see a couple of ants walking up a window. 

The array of flowers had changed a lot in four days.  The early daffodils were nearly done and even the dutch hyacinths were past their prime.  I went around the house to admire the redbuds and upset some birds who thought that was their space.  A myrtle warbler peeked at me over a magnolia branch.  Both the redbuds and a peach sapling were in bloom.  Violets, buttercups, and birdseye bloomed in the grass.  I could see flower buds on azaleas.  Even the moss had sent up spore stalks.  

Fewer turtles were out than yesterday.  A young brown pelican flew upstream and returned not much later.  After I was back inside I notices a pair of wood ducks at the water's edge.  Unfortunately a clump of wild onion kept confusing the camera.  Then I spotted a second pair about ten feet away.  All four ducks were having a spa day, bathing and preening, and also snuggling.  Wood ducks dive quite well I observed.  Eventually the first pair sailed away and the second pair hopped onto the dock for a rest.  A mallard drake was hanging around, probably up to no good.  The wood drake came to the same conclusion.  I'm not so sure about the female, though she got in the last word.  We really need to get a wood duck box! 

I startled pileated woodpeckers that fled too fast for me.  A red bellied woodpecker was also wary, but I managed not to offend.  The sky clouded up as the afternoon grew later so I gave up on greeting the full moon. 

Lucky day

While the day was mostly cloudy, we had some sunshine, and a thunderstorm just when I had to go out to a meeting.  I still couldn't see the feeders, except from the kitchen sink, but I spent time with my back to the computer, looking out that window.  White throated sparrows clustered under the second suet cage by the Northwest corner of the house.  A red bellied woodpecker landed on the suet but decided I was too close.  I spotted a butterbutt up in the cherry, also a horned bird that turned out to be a leaf. 

A beach ball drifted on the creek.  Turtles piled onto a log to catch some rays.  Then at least four pelicans dropped onto the creek where cormorants were making the water turbulent. Two of the pelicans were still in the brown plumage of youth and one was quite small.  One of the adults was transitioning to breeding colors.  

The pair of pileated woodpeckers flounced from trunk to trunk but too many twigs were in the way for the camera to focus.  Two great blue herons were surprisingly close on the creek, but didn't get into a fight.  I first saw one on the neighbors' floating dock.  Then the other came stalking along the shoreline.  That one stopped, perhaps noticing the other, and after a pause, flew to one of the posts on our dock.  A fish, I think, lay on the floating dock beside the first one.  It looked too big for the heron.  

  

Nothing

The weather was warm and sunny but workers came and they put plastic over the windows, so it was a wasted day for this blog.  

And the 16th was even more nothing  because the plastic was still there.  

 

Back to Spring

Daylight Saving Time meant that sunlight was still on the patio after lunch.  The buds had burst on the oaks and the wild cherry.  A Carolina wren enjoyed the sunshine from a perch in a dogwood.  Dogwood buds appeared about to pop.  A couple of doves foraged while I was outside.  

A brown thrasher came hopping through the grass.  A myrtle warbler didn't trust my presence.  A bluebird kept its distance. By 4pm, the tide sank very low.  Turtles were out on their logs on the lake, sunning themselves.  

 

Clear and cold

The birdbath was frozen.  I finally caught up with the brown thrasher, both of them, though I never got them in the same frame.  The Carolina wren pair were also loading up on calories.  Interestingly the brown thrashers and the wrens are about the same color, though very different in size.  Starlings also wanted some fat in their diet.  

In the afternoon white throated sparrows scampered around in the grass.  I spotted a myrtle warble up in a tree.  A pair of hooded mergansers fished under the bulkhead at low tide.  The male kingfisher perched on a pole on the neighbors' floating dock.  Surprisingly, four turtles came out to bask in the chilly sunshine. 

Later, a young eagle occupied the same dock where the kngfisher had been, but not up on the skinny pole.   I wonder if it's the same eagle as late last winter?   A daring, or stupid, pair of mallards paddled right around the dock.  Then the eagle hopped down to the lower level where it had a fish, so maybe the mallards knew they were safe.  

Wintry blast

Supposedly the temperature was above 60 in the morning, but I failed to check.  People were installing a new door and glass wall in the morning in the midst of a gale as the temperature plunged and rain blew in.  It's actually kind of amazing that nothing went wrong.  Anyway, circumstances were not conducive to birdwatching.  By afternoon when the workers left, the birds were frantic for calories.  The female pileated woodpecker took over the suet.  

Foraging white throated sparrows were joined by a chickadee and juncos.  A white breasted nuthatch was not intimidated by the pileated.  Dogwood buds had turned distinctly pink while the last few buds on the camellia were still blooming. 

I went back to my computer and found it was a good thing I'd hung fresh suet outside that window.  A mockingbird was making a meal of it.  Juncos were foraging there too.  One shared a perch with a Carolina wren.  A male red bellied woodpecker was next on the suet.  (You see how much work I was not getting done.)  The blowing rain fogged more distant trees.  The wind tore the clouds to lint that went flying South. 

A yellow rumped warbler joined the ground crew.  So did a bluebird.  A pine warbler waited in the hackberry for an opportune moment to get some suet.  A pair of wood ducks paddled downstream.  I finally got the brown thrasher that had been dodging me all afternoon. 

By late afternoon there were some rents in the cloud cover and once a flicker of sunshine escaped.  The clouds picked up tints of sunset color.  

March weather

Morning was lovely.  The song sparrow was up early and looked like it was enjoying the weather.  The creek was in the mood for sunny reflections.  Juncos were more interested in breakfast.  The male bluebird seemed curious.  

The male red bellied woodpecker worked on the suet.  Blue jays preferred carryout, i.e. barkbutter balls.  Then the cat just had to come and spoil my bird watching.  I am afraid that the birds have gotten too used to the cat and will get killed.  The dark faced myrtle warbler arrived to police the feeders.  

Two bufflehead drakes paddled around the creek while two young cormorants sunbathed on a barnacle-coated snag.  A female bufflehead ignored the drakes.  

Meanwhile the pileated pair played a slow chase courting game right in front of my window.  A female red bellied woodpecker was only interested in suet.  A second female bufflehead materialized.  A downy woodpecker followed the red bellied on the suet.  

At lunch, a female bluebird gathered nesting material.  A brown headed nuthatch gathered sunflower seeds.  The male pileated was after suet this time.

A black swallowtail fluttered around the rue.  More than a dozen turtles basked on the lake.  The female bufflehead rolled over on her back on the water.  I was busy on the computer all afternoon while clouds moved in and the wind picked up.  Finally I dropped everything and hurried outside with another block of suet since it will be bad weather tomorrow.  The cat was lurking again and I was able to hustle it off on my way to the suet cage.  

Gloomy

The sky was dull and overcast, the creek gray and rough, and then it rained.  Yesterday's rain had already filled the ant moat and the birdbath and expanded the pool puddle. I was gloomy because I missed getting a picture of a mockingbird.  Plus the feral cat was hanging around, birdwatching.  That did not deter the male pileated woodpecker from eating suet.  Bluebirds cautiously snatched an occasional barkbutter ball.  A female bluebird dared to seize fallen suet crumbs while I worried that the cat would pounce.

When the cat finally gave up, a blue jay came for a barkbutter ball, or three.  Juncos came to forage under the seed feeder.  A very colorless pine warbler hoped for some suet.  House finches continued their romance.  At least one myrtle warbler zipped around the trees.  A brown headed nuthatch attempted a foray for a seed but ran into a house finch.  

I'm pretty sure there were diving ducks on the creek, but they didn't cooperate with the camera.  An egret below the dam was a much easier subject.  And the photo revealed two drakes in the water above the dam - a mallard and a wood duck.  No turtles were out on the logs.  I heard crows and rushed to get the camera ready but was too slow to catch them chasing a hawk downstream.  

Rain

There was a mid day break, but we got a thorough soaking before and after.  Nevertheless, birds came for food only to find it flooded.  The suet shed water but the barkbutter balls turned to mush and the jelly to juice.  A female oriole and a mockingbird were disappointed by the lack of jelly.  The rain dampened house finch ardor.  Starlings came for suet.  Then the feral cat appeared.  

In the afternoon, the pileated male returned to the suet.  When the pileated woodpecker left, the male red bellied woodpecker moved in.  A mockingbird perched on the shepherd's crook.  A myrtle warbler perched on the seed feeder hanger.  A junco perched on the back of the bench. A Carolina wren hammered at the suet.  A song sparrow foraged for seeds and a drink.  Then the cat came back. 

A pink hyacinth bloomed.  The rain misted distances like thin fog.  The creek was mirror-still but its reflections were muted.  

Much cooler

It was about 25 degrees colder than the same time yesterday.  At breakfast, I saw a brown thrasher, a blue jay, and a red bellied woodpecker, quite a palette, but my camera missed them all.  At lunch, I caught a white throated sparrow getting a drink. 

I spent much of the day in back listening to court cases.  At least that allowed me to look out the window.   The usual egret was on the dam.  A pair of hoodies came by.  I counted a dozen turtles in the sun on the lake.  I think there may have been a wood duck or two.  LBJs flitted around the saltbush.  A herring gull perched on a dock piling.  

Still hot

I knew I hadn't taken many pictures, but there weren't any at all on the camera.  K put out a fresh block of suet too.  I guess it was just too hot for the birds to be hungry.  I saw 79 on the thermometer at lunch and it probably went higher.  Tomorrow is supposed to be back to normal.  

Hot wind

Since yesterday, the wind's been roaring from the Southwest, pushing clouds and heat and making waves run down the creek.  I believe the temperature rose above 80° but I forgot to look after I saw it had hit 79°.  The sky cycled between blue and white but distinct cumulus clouds made up the white.  It had a very March look.  Unfortunately, the wind was hard on birds, and my timing was bad.  I saw the pair of pileated woodpeckers and a brown thrasher but got no pictures.  The pair of wrens also visited but were never close enough to get in one frame.  A junco flitted around in the trees, as did myrtle warblers.  Bluebirds and house finches were thirsty.  

I went down to the dock to look at the repairs.  On the way I found a periwinkle shell in the grass.  A few mallards were out feeding on the creek.  Seaweed draped the mud bank because the wind had pushed the water out.  Barnacles were shut up tight.  Some kind of bivalve was interspersed among them, maybe a clam or scallop.  They looked too symmetrical for oysters or mussels.  On the way back I found a couple of violets in bloom.  Then I found an ebony spleenwort fern poking through the fence clear across the yard from where I'd planted it years ago.  I need to mark it before someone comes through with a weedeater.  

White sky

I missed a day.  Actually, I took so many pictures that I didn't want to deal with them.  But Friday began with the cat birdwatching.  A brown headed nuthatch ignored the feral feline and eventually it gave up.  The sun was out by lunchtime.  It lit up a bluebird and a pine warbler, neither of which looked at the camera.  A starling came for suet.  A mockingbird looked surprised.  Then a male oriole arrived.  (The camera kept focusing on the background instead of the bright orange bird.)

The male pileated woodpecker was next.  I got some nice closeups.  A bluebird and a house finch watched.  The smaller birds act very intimidated by the pileateds but the pileated woodpeckers are far more wary of me.  As soon as the pileated left, a downy moved in.  A female oriole found the jelly on the table.  The brown headed nuthatch came back.  

                                                    *     *     *

On Saturday, wind from the South brought cloud cover.  The creek was calmer in the morning.  A myrtle warbler wanted breakfast.  So did an unusual looking junco that had tan sides.  All About Birds says that's either an immature or female of the slate colored variety.  (There are many varieties of dark eyed junco but only one in the Eastern US)  

The male pileated woodpecker returned followed by the female.  For a while she picked up crumbs he'd dropped but she clearly was not content.  He pretended to be oblivious.  Eventually she started climbing the post and he started down.  They stared at each other, then he went back up to the suet.  She flashed her wings and flew away. 

While all this was going on, a white throated sparrow kicked over mulch.  A bluebird checked to see if any crumbs were left.  A blue jay got word that I'd put out barkbutter balls.  A mockingbird investigated the jelly.  

After lunch, I saw a female bufflehead on the creek.  A female oriole remembered the jelly.  A bluebird watched from the dogwood while a male gathered nesting material.  The pileateds returned and this time she got the suet.  Then the wretched cat came back.  

There have been lots of gulls fishing in the last couple of weeks, but fewer pelicans.  I spotted a blue jay in a tree with its back to me.  A brown thrasher perched at the top of a pine.  A couple of cedar waxwings waited on bare cherry twigs, for what I wonder.  A bluebird posed on the ornamental feeder hanger.  A mockingbird landed on the shepherd's crook that holds the barkbutter.  A white throated sparrow rested in the dogwood.  The brown headed nuthatch made a foray to the sunflower seeds. 

Cloudy

The pair of Carolina wrens visited.  I saw a pileated woodpecker from the kitchen but didn't get a good enough look to know which one.  But mostly I missed the birds till after lunch.  Juncos and white throats, a mockingbird and a brown thrasher, blue Jays and bluebirds, a brown headed nuthatch, and of course myrtle warblers all wanted handouts. The usual egret prowled the shoreline below the dam. 

Sunlit water

I remember that at breakfast the sunlight was lovely, but lunchtime was really my first chance to pay attention to the outdoors.  A Carolina wren enjoyed suet while its partner flitted around sampling other foods.  The blue jays continued to mess up the camera.  A bluebird found a worm and remembered being first cousin to a robin.  The male pileated woodpecker visited.  I saw myrtle warblers up in the trees and on the suet.  A white throated sparrow dropped in beside my window. 

A great egret fished below the dam and a great blue heron rested by the lake.  Turtles were piled up to catch some rays.  Lots of gulls have recently been fishing on the creek.  Pelicans joined them.  

Warmer

An egret caught the early sun and reflected it.   Myrtle warblers were getting breakfast at the barkbutter dish.  They were soon followed by bluebirds.  Blue jays tried to frustrate my camera.  The red bellied woodpeckers ventured out to the suet.  White throated sparrows danced on the mulch.  And then the cat scared them all off.

A female kingfisher rested briefly on a dock post downstream.  I saw no sign of the male. Further downstream, a pelican perched on the channel marker.  A hoodie drake paddled back and forth and fed like a dabbling duck.  Turtles basked.  And a great blue heron stalked through the water.  A young ring bill gull watched the creek. 

I saw a beetle and a butterfly!  A buzzard circled low over the creek.