Dark clouds and bright sun

A variable sort of day.  I didn't have much time in the morning and can only report a towhee.  Just before lunch, a female goldfinch worked on the sunflower.  And, of course, the regulars were out.  We went out for lunch and on the pavement there was a dead Junebug that had turned the copper of a new penny.

In the afternoon, I saw titmice, a white breasted nuthatch, and an adolescent male hummingbird.  A skinny skink saw me and ran for its life.  A black swallowtail butterfly egged the rue while a blue dasher dragonfly patrolled the air from the perch I put out.

Later the sky cleared.  A female towhee and a female hummer showed up.  The moon has passed the first quarter. 

Foxes and more

There is blue sky between the clouds and some sun.  It is very humid.  The morning began with foxes, one adult and one cub.  They moseyed around the perimeter of the yard, stopping to nuzzle affectionately.

The female towhee poked through the mulch.  Skinks ran everywhere.  I saw an orange butterfly and then a hairstreak landed on the portulaca. The male goldfinch was back at the sunflower. A hummer found the fresh juice acceptable now that the vines don't overhang the feeder. 

Titmice visited the feeder in the afternoon.  The sky turned white and, while the sun was visible, it barely glowed until around 7pm when it finally slipped below the cloud layer.

Gray day

Both female and male towhees visited. The female was startled by the fledgling cardinal.  A female goldfinch inspected the sunflowers.  The house finches have dominated the feeder today. A blue jay checked the mulch for food. 

A squirrel went after dogwood berries.  I tried to use the pruning pole to remove the morning glory vines overhanging the hummer feeder, with only partial success. 

Lunch was very late.  The male goldfinch worked on the sunflowers whenever K was inside.  A flock of bold, probably young, titmice swarmed the feeder.  A wren joined in till it was shoved off by the tailless cardinal.  A dove landed and left.  A hummer looked for the feeder which isn't up yet because there are still more vines to come down. A skink ventured out.

Well, now the hummer feeder is back up and the vines look mangled.  Fireflies are out.  It never rained but it never stopped looking like it would rain any minute. 

Wet

Enough rain fell overnight to fill the birdbath.  Unfortunately, the camera wanted to focus on the raindrops on the window instead of the scene beyond.  In addition to cardinals, house finches, and chickadees, this morning's visitors included a Carolina wren, a male towhee, a hummer, and numerous titmice.  A juvenile cardinal's feathers were a mix of male, female, and white.  I need to figure out how to trim the morning glory back from the hummer feeder so the ants can't use the leaves as a bridge. 

Rain fell, off and on, all day.  In the mid-afternoon, a female towhee foraged in the wet mulch.  At one point she seemed to be after a bug, or a very mobile seed.  A blue jay and a mockingbird hung around.  The top branches of the fig trees were full of birds.  Egrets and little green herons were out fishing. 

Gray

Light rain fell briefly.  A titmouse joined the regulars.  There were quite a few chickadees competing for a place on the feeder perch. 

Two hummers appeared in the late morning.  I thought it was going to be the usual chase, but they both flew up into the dogwood and touched beaks.  I guess they must have been mother and child. They rested a while after, then the lower one took off.  I've got to clean the feeder again - it's got ants.

While at physical therapy, I have been amused by the mockingbirds that nest in the holly by the door.  Today there was also a very small bunny on the ground, trimming the grass.  I speculated that the parking lots discourage predators. 

Goodbye, July

The sky is a hazy blue and warmer today.  Early birds included a hummer, titmice, a towhee, a male goldfinch, and the regulars.  The goldfinch has found the other sunflower that successfully made seed, but is hidden behind the morning glory vines.  I discovered another click beetle, this time on the stove.  The link said the larva are "wireworms" and I realized I've seen them and thought they were millipedes. 

While I was shucking corn for lunch, a male towhee landed on the feeder but I apparently made it too anxious to stay.  Then a dragonfly tried to land on the railing and slid off.  Hummers and goldfinches came during lunch.

Later in the afternoon, I saw the male goldfinch singing up in the oak.  Swifts swooped and chattered against a background of cumulus.  By 5pm, the sky was white and the sun glowed rather than shone.  The creek was busy with herons, both little green and yellow crowned.  One green buzzed another and later one perched in the top of the gum.  Kayakers startled an egret.  There were dragonflies zooming but none perched.  It was on the cool side and humid with only a light breeze to keep the bugs off. 

Still cool

The temperature at this end of July is like Fall.  Strange times.  It's bright and sunny and I suspect the cool weather won't last.  A male goldfinch visited the hummer feeder for a drink from the rainwater well that's supposed to keep bugs out of the hummer juice.  Then a hummer came.  It clucked softly on arrival which alerted me.  It looked rumpled and sooty.

At lunch, a slaty skimmer was using one of my perches.  Two hummers chased each other all over.  The male goldfinch came back and investigated the rotten sunflowers. The sky got quite cloudy.

Toward evening, a male towhee and a brown thrasher hunted for food.  The sky cleared.  I heard a woodpecker and a blue jay.  A dragonfly with spotted wings cruised over the yard.