Wood[ecker trio

The pileated woodpecker was back.  Sp were a red belly and a downy.  The temperature again reached into the 80s. 

 

Humid

Under an overcast sky the temperature rose into the low 80s.  The forecast for the next three days is about the same.  A bright crescent moon penetrated the clouds but was very fuzzy.

Petal snow

The female pileated woodpecker showed up to have some suet.  A white breasted nuthatch went to the seed feeder.  Blue jays hit the barkbutter balls.  A pair of bluebirds also wanted seeds.  

White petals blew like snowflakes.  I'm not sure where they came from.  The day was mostly sunny but I was tied up with the computer.  

Cooler

The temperature dropped over night and rain fell at some point.  More clouds than sun kept the day a seasonable temperature.  Although I put out barkbutter balls the birds did not show a lot of enthusiasm.  I missed getting a picture of a brown headed nuthatch.  Blue jays, a myrtle warbler, and a bluebird ate some barkbutter balls.  White throats stayed busy.  The pines were covered with male flowers, gilding everything with pollen.  The oak flower strings began to brown and rosy miniature leaves poked out above.

Hot wind

So much for old folk weather sayings -- March went out roaring.  It was another hot day but so windy It didn't feel any warmer outside than in.  The showers failed to materialize so it was a mostly dry month.  Hickory buds swelled.  Azaleas began to bloom.  A black swallowtail joined the cabbage whites, bees and wasps.  A Carolina wren chattered.  I heard other birds I didn't recognize.  The mid day blue sky got covered by clouds in the afternoon.  I saw one turtle on the bank of the lake but with the log gone there's nowhere for them to gather.  

Another hot day

Not quite as warm as yesterday -- the sky was overcast, the wind blew hard, and the thermometer only reached 80°.  A bluebird escaped my camera.  White throats continued their foraging.  A very molty myrtle warbler ate suet.  A Carolina wren studied the suet.  A female red bellied woodpecker visited the barkbutter balls.  A blue jay followed.  I snapped an LBJ and it turned out to be a ruby crowned kinglet! 

The volunteer domestic cherry bloomed.  Leaves emerged above the oak catkins.  The maple  flowers had gone to seed.  Several cabbage whites pollinated the money plant flowers and I thought I saw a swallowtail on the jonquils.  Bees and wasps bustled around.  

Pileated woodpecker

A brown headed nuthatch started the day.  A myrtle warbler came for suet.  The dove was back foraging with the white throats.  A pair of bluebirds made repeated forays for seeds.  They also sought water from the pool cover so I suspect the ant moat was dry.  The money plants started to bloom.  The temperature climbed into the 80s and was still in the mid 70s at 8pm. 

Clearly the pileateds did not like us leaving the plastic on the suet because they have not visited since we did that to discourage the starlings.  Today the male gave us another chance.  He seemed brighter red than we remembered.  Perhaps he was trying to get the female to forgive him for being rude all Winter?