Still chilly

The wind wasn't as strong but there was very little sun.  A yellow iris joined the blue.   A brown headed nuthatch worked on the suet before taking a seed home.  The male red bellied woodpecker carried off a beak-full.  

A crow picked something out of a red cedar, maybe oak blossoms for nest lining. The bird was very intent on getting whatever it was. 

Bluebirds ate suet and everything else.  A blue jay and a mockingbird also got some suet.  The female red bellied woodpecker eventually came for some suet.  An army of five starlings fought over the suet.  I glimpsed a yellow colored warbler, probably a pine warbler on the suet before it spooked.  Titmice and all the regulars were back for seeds. 

I rescued a rafting beetle.  A drowned crab spider rested on the bottom pool step. 

Mockingbird love?

Two mockingbirds kept fighting, or courting, or playing, or...?  I saw them carrying on around the feeders but they appeared to keep it up as the flew away.  When one was on a feeder, the other would pounce and try to dislodge it.  Then they would fly up together, flapping at each other.  Various online sources suggest it's territorial defense, not romance.  

Meanwhile the bluebirds just wanted food, although at least two pairs are visiting the feeders.  A brown headed nuthatch squeaked in for suet and seeds.  Blue jays stuck with their favorite barkbutter balls. 

It was hard to see the lake past the construction equipment and rubble but the turtles ignored it all while they soaked up sunshine.  A great blue heron pretended to be a stump.  Crows harassed osprey.  

Another email reminded me, Journey North maps Spring migration of various species.  I reported a sighting on Signs of Spring and on Hummingbird, Ruby-Throated, First.  Thus far, that was the first-and-only.  I haven't seen any newcomers since.  

Goslings

The day was sunny with a chilly wind.  While eating breakfast, I saw a brown headed nuthatch and a brown thrasher.  Bluebirds, starlings, and a Carolina wren also showed up early.  Something made rings in the creek, maybe a fish catching bugs on the surface?  The back yard across the creek looked wrecked where they're rebuilding the storm-damaged bulkhead.  In the late afternoon a goose led a line of six goslings upstream.  I was surprised to see just one parent when the other came paddling fast and herding an errant gosling.  

Blue water

The mockingbird pair returned but they were rarely close enough to get in one frame.  Perhaps that's a survival strategy, but I finally caught them.  The starlings and bluebirds were very hungry. A dove wandered around the pool cover puddle.  A blue jay tackled the suet. 

The fern fiddleheads multiplied and stretched taller. Roses were blooming.   Turtles basked despite the demolition across the creek.  The rust infection on the red cedar looked really bad.  A few wisps of cloud interrupted the blue sky.  The blue water was in the pool that was opened while I was away at a lunch meeting.  I wonder what became of the skinks that were hiding under the cover?  I did see one on the upper patio.  Also, the plants we brought home Saturday are now in the ground.  

In the late afternoon, I patiently watched the bluebird house and finally caught the male with a beak full of spider, I think. I saw a goose pair with two goslings.  

Cold front

It seemed like the birds knew the weather was changing, the way they attacked the food.  Of course the bluebirds and probably others have hatchlings to feed.  A brown thrasher and a mockingbird paused for a photo.  I also saw a pileated woodpecker and starlings.  The temperature topped 91° before it plunged to 60°.  I don't think we got much rain, unfortunately. I was busy and didn't get many photos.  

Tiny praying mantises

The pink evening primroses were blooming in the morning.   Mama bluebird got a quick barkbutter snack.  Canada geese parents escorted their four goslings downstream.  A pair of mockingbirds picked up suet crumbs. 

Kayackers paddled upstream and I went out hoping to photograph them coming back.  I never saw them but I did see chickadees dangling from pine branches.  Unfortunately they were right-side up in the photos.  Birds were not very cooperative today.  The blue irises had also begun to bloom.  Skinks dashed about their business under the pool cover.  

I went out front to see if I could see the bluebirds.  One gloriously red strawberry was almost ready to pick.  I found a centimeter-long praying mantis on the wall and moved it to the strawberries only to discover another had already begun guarding them.  I did get to see the bluebirds ferrying bugs to their chicks.  

90° Fahrenheit

A very hot day.  I refused to refill the suet cages till sundown.  The package says "no melt" but the contents were soft.  Meanwhile, birds kept checking just in case I'd relented. A brown thrasher managed to get by on crumbs and barkbutter powder.  A cardinal tried some, or maybe he was looking for a present for his lady love?  Starlings just gave up.  The bluebirds couldn't afford to be picky with a family to feed.  The male pileated woodpecker hunted all over the post as though the suet might be hiding.  He ate some crumbs then gave me a piece of his mind.  When I finally did refill the feeders, a couple of geese honked as they floated away.