Wet and windy

And it's cold.  The usual suspects are on the feeder - chickadees, finches, cardinals - in the rain. An egret sat on a piling for a while. 

The squirrel with the white spot was out foraging.  The rain has mostly stopped but the wind is raw. Some juncos showed up along with cardinals.  A squirrel was chasing another and paused to twirl its tail just like a villain's mustache. 

Nuthatch

Thin cloud cover is admitting weak sunlight.  Birds were busy around the feeder till something hawkish swooped through.  The white-throated sparrows and the juncos disappeared, but the chickadees and the read-breasted nuthatch soon came back.  The nuthatch has put on quite a show but it won't stay on the feeder when a chickadee lands. 

After lunch, a Carolina wren and some cardinals appeared.  A pelican patrolled the creek.  It is quite gray now. Rain began after dark. 

Junco!

The first junco of the season appeared this morning and was run off by a dove.  The feeder attracted chickadees and titmice.  A hawk was chased by smaller birds, too far away to be sure of what kinds.  It is sunny and breezy, unlike yesterday which was pretty still under the overcast.

Two male kingfishers are competing for territory on our dock.  One pursues, forcing the other off its perch.  But the other just moves to another piling, and since there are a dozen to choose from, I think the aggressor will lose.When I opened the door they squawked and flew off.  But I was able to get some pictures through the window screen and tree branches. 

When I got home at noon, they were still at it!  Meanwhile blue jays were squabbling over acorns.  Finches are on the feeder now. It has clouded up, and with the wind, it is really chilly.   But then the clouds disappeared before a golden sunset. 

Cloudy

A titmouse visited, gray bird on a gray day. Then, a male Baltimore oriole perched on the stake holding up the sunflowers.  It spooked as I grabbed the camera.

Mid-morning a flock of yellow-rumped warblers found something to peck at on the pink camellia.  I wonder what?   Other birds were zooming around including, I think, a small flock of bluebirds that landed briefly on top of the redwood. A female cardinal is having a bad feather day with some fluff sticking out below her wing. 

A few drops of rain on the glass and the first pelican of fall cruised down the creek.  

Sunny

A flock of cormorants flapped South past the setting moon. At lunch there were lots of chickadees and cardinals, and clouds. One cardinal seemed oddly colored.  By late afternoon the clouds had cleared off again.
 

Sparrows

Both song and white throat hunted in the mulch this morning, along with doves.  I saw a chickadee poking there too.  On the feeder, the usual: chickadees, finches, cardinals.  A squirrel finally appeared - the first I've seen since before Sandy.  The song sparrow at the birdbath looks like a 19th century politician with muttonchops. The white throat on the steps is more elegant. 

Birds are back to normal

The sky was overcast at dawn but it is breaking up and letting in sunlight.  A Carolina wren perched on the window sill to watch me eat cereal.  Chickadees, finches and cardinals are visiting the feeder and the ground.  I did see a chickadee pursue a seed on the concrete.  Yellow-rumped warblers have arrived. Doves poked through the storm debris for something to eat. 

The sky has not cleared and it remains chilly.