Three cat day

The last day of the year was beautiful, though cold.  I could see ice crystals in the birdbath but not on the creek.  The fishing birds, mostly egrets and cormorants, came back at breakfast.  Shortly thereafter the feral tux cat tried to catch a bird but only succeeded in scaring them all away.  It then made itself at home on the bench, grooming in the sun.  (The dog was busy sleeping off an early night.)  

Warblers were hungry enough to come back to the feeders that were out of the cat's reach.  I believe there was a female blackpoll among the pine and myrtle warblers.  A mockingbird foraged on the ground briefly.  Brown headed nuthatches owned the seed feeder.  Even a cardinal thought twice about arguing.  A white breasted nuthatch made a brief visit.  A song sparrow foraged under the mountain mint then hid in the camellia.  The orange crowned warbler got into the fresh jelly.  The male downy stuck around and traded off with the female for time at the suet.  And the cat, that had pretended to be asleep on the bench, made another dash toward the birds. 

Blue jays got excited about the fresh dish of barkbutter balls.  A red bellied woodpecker worked on one of the dead limbs on a pine tree.  I glimpsed a hoodie drake.  Bluebirds finally heard about the fresh food and came for their share.  The blue jays were not in the mood to share.  A female oriole noticed that there was jelly.  The long haired yellow cat joined the tux cat, but the dog sorted them out.  Then the all-black cat showed up and I gave up.  

I copied yesterday's weather statistics because there was no additional rain today.  The rainfall for December was more than double the average but for the year it was just an inch and a half above average.  I've read that rain in the winter refills aquifers and raises the water table, so that's good. 

Chilly

A flock of birds descended on the feeders while it was still to dim for certain identification.  I think there were warblers.  Soon the sunshine was bright and the long haired yellow cat came to watch, which put an end to birds feeding.  Bluebirds arrived after they were certain the cat was gone.  A flock of pine warblers argued over precedence.  Myrtle warblers scouted around the edges.  A female oriole took over the dish feeders.  She lurked in the sakaki.  A titmouse scolded a pine warbler that refused to leave the barkbutter balls.  A bluebird was willing to share with the warbler. 

Apparently a cold and sunny morning was good for fishing, for birds anyway.  Cormorants, pelicans, and gulls thought so.  Egrets worked the shoreline.  In the afternoon, a great blue heron took up residence on the dock.  Clouds began to float across the sky.  A handful of hoodies appeared hours after the other birds stopped fishing.  A turtle soaked up the sunshine. 

While my back was turned, clouds covered the sky.  Cormorants and gulls and an egret commuted to their roosts.  Five birds that I think were ducks flew together as a group.  Cormorants and gulls don't coordinate their flights.  

Cooling off

Morning was sunny and a sunshine-yellow pine warbler perched on a rock right outside the window.  He may have been looking for more food.  Eventually he flew to the seed feeder.  The orange crowned warbler scraped up some jelly. 

At mid day the sky was crystalline blue.  Hoodies left wakes as they paddled downstream.  Courting squirrels played follow my lead.  A blue jay watched.  A female oriole also lurked in the trees.  A bufflehead drake fished. 

Later, clouds moved in and then cold wind and finally rain.  I dragged the peppers back into the garage.  

Gray and wet

The rain was over but the air was very wet.  Hoodies and buffleheads plied the gray creek.  Every so often a cormorant surfaced.  Up on the lake, a turtle hauled out on the log.  In the late afternoon, a great blue heron huddled on a dock piling.

I dumped out and refilled the barkbutter dish.  A song sparrow hunted for fallen seeds and flecks of barkbutter.  Pine warblers and a Carolina wren had some of everything.  Blue jays focused on the fresh barkbutter balls. I read in Sibley Birds East that Southern blue jays are paler than Northern, and lo, it is true! 

A very red sunset sneaked up on me.

More rain

The high temperature remained above 60° but the weather was not the least inviting.  The rain wasn't heavy and sometimes was more like mist, but it didn't let up.  Hopeful birds visited but the dishes were still covered.  Bluebirds gave up quickly.  Warblers fought over the suet.  A female oriole took a look and left.  White throated sparrows ignored them and stuck to foraging on the ground.  When I got home at lunch time, the birds had outsmarted us and, despite the rock holding it down, had pushed the lid off the barkbutter balls.  

Out on the creek I spotted a hoodie drake and two bufflehead drakes.  A great blue heron flew upstream while I was focusing elsewhere.  There were, of course, mallards.  I saw no life on the lake, neither turtles nor birds.  

Wet

I wonder if this will be a record for the wettest December.  It might be the warmest as well.  The rain created a foggy mist.  The songbirds were unhappy because we did not uncover the dish feeders in the rain. The warblers turned to the suet which distressed the downy woodpeckers.  A bluebird mournfully examined the lid we put over the barkbutter balls.  Nothing bothered the white throats or the song sparrow.  They just kept kicking mulch looking for fallen seeds.  A hoodie drake passed by headed downstream.  

Christmas butterfly!

The sky was not nearly as cloudy as the prediction.  The temperature stuck at 59°, though that was warm enough for a butterfly.  It was only a cabbage white that flitted across the back yard, but it was outdoors, not sheltering in the garage.  It was also gone before I got a photo so you'll have to trust me.  Warblers and bluebirds were more cooperative. 

White throated sparrows were back foraging in the mulch.   A chipping sparrow discovered the barkbutter balls on the ground.  Two mockingbirds had the same idea.  Eventually a female oriole arrived at the jelly dish.  The orange crowned warbler also came back for jelly. 

A squirrel engaged in some energetic tail flapping while carrying a nut.  Higher up in the oak, a female red bellied woodpecker had something in its beak.  I finally saw a male downy on the suet.  Brown headed nuthatches returned to the seed feeder. A heron flew downstream and a few buffleheads fished.  Two female hoodies paddled swiftly upstream.