Warmer

Again, a sunny morning was reflected in the placid creek, but later the day turned cloudy.  Blue jays and pine warblers got excited about the barkbutter balls.  White throats pursued breakfast everywhere.  A female oriole tried the suet.  Brown headed nuthatches sneaked past the other seed eaters.  Turkey vultures continued to circle over the creek.  A Carolina wren found crumbs in the barkbutter dish.  Three starlings were disappointed.  

At lunch, the female pileated demolished suet.  A mourning dove roamed the mulch.  A warbler and a wren had a stare-off over the suet.  Pelicans were thick - I saw three in the air at once.  After I refilled the barkbutter dish, a myrtle warbler had some.  Blue jays came back.  Bluebirds also showed up.  The red bellied woodpecker landed on the post but then froze as though sensing a predator.  The house finches on the seed feeder did the same.  

Hungry birds

At breakfast,I saw no evidence that any snow fell overnight, but K said I should have looked in the front yard.   Some fuzzy clouds floated in sunshine, but by 10am we had overcast.  The birds were glad to find all the feeders open.  Bluebirds went after the mealworm barkbutter mix but so did white throats, pine warblers, and Carolina wrens.  The pileated pair were only interested in suet.  The male evicted the female.  A bold (or hungry) downy tried to share with the red belly but the red belly decided on seeds.  Later he scared a warbler off the suet.  A song sparrow came a-foraging with the white throats.  Blue jays picked over the barkbutter balls.  

The great blackback gull was back.  A small flock of buffleheads paddled around the dock most of the day.  I spotted a female hoodie among them.  A handful of vultures kept circling over the water.  Several pelicans fished and one perched on a piling.  A ring bill gull flew by.

At lunch, the birds brightened the dull light.  A myrtle warbler joined its pine cousins.    First a white breasted nuthatch then a brown headed showed up.  Bluebirds, white throats,  and wrens returned.  I missed a shot at a male oriole but two females were more cooperative.  I could tell them apart because one was a darker orange than the other.  A mockingbird watched from across the pool patio but didn't come to eat.  A brown thrasher, however, dug right in.  

 

Real rain

Gusty wind from the North spotted and streaked the windows, making photography difficult.  The rain filled the ant moat to overflowing and gave a surprise shower to the red bellied woodpecker that landed hard on the suet.  A brown thrasher came for barkbutter or mealworms only to find the dish still covered against the rain.  The same happened to a white throat.  Pelicans and gulls passed over the creek.  Some finches hid out by a corner window.  The seed feeder overhang sheltered a downy and a bluebird.  

Bird buffet

Morning began with a pileated woodpecker and blue jays.  Three starlings visited but were unsatisfied and didn't stay.  A white throat pecked at the residue in the barkbutter dish.  A Carolina wren got inside the dish.  Meanwhile a goldfinch landed on the suet with a pine warbler.  The goldfinch must have realized its mistake and joined the house finches for seeds.  House finches are bigger.  

The overcast sky developed blue rents.  A pair of buffleheads drifted on the creek.   Lots of little birds use the azalea by the side window as a launchpad for the feeders, but it is very hard to get photos of them.   White breasted and brown headed nuthatches picked out seeds.  I refilled the glass dish with a mix of mealworms and barkbutter balls.  The pine warbler was pleased.  A downy sampled the suet.  The song sparrow found what I dropped (deliberately).  Bluebirds noticed that the dish was refilled.  The female oriole had jelly and a drink.  

Pelicans and gulls were very busy on the creek but the only ducks I saw were the bufflehead pair and another female.  A great blue heron stalked along our shoreline.  By then the sky had cleared but the light was going.  

Waterfowl

A wren dug into the seeds for breakfast.  So did a downy. I saw a goldfinch, but it got away.   A brown headed nuthatch also collected seeds.  K put our a fresh block of suet and the warblers found it.  The clouds lifted as time passed. At high tide, I spotted the orange cat perched on a stump at the water's edge.  

Pelicans fished along our stretch of the creek.  A variety of gulls fished too - herring, ring bill, and black back.  The sight of a great black back gull with a fish attracted a young pelican still in brown plumage.  A great egret flew upstream.  A cormorant photo-bombed a picture of a gull.  I saw another red breasted merganser.  A great blue heron stood watch below the dam. A mallard pair paddled across the water.  A female bufflehead dived.  

Very gray

Overnight rain continued into the morning and gradually became mist.  The temperature slowly dropped all day.  A flurry of birds arrived early but found nothing but seeds.  Even the suet was gone to the consternation of downy, red bellied and pileated woodpeckers.  I saw pelicans and a bufflehead on the creek.  A white breasted nuthatch was content with seeds.  Three juncos also ate seeds.  So did bluebirds.  Sparrows and warblers foraged on the ground.  A mockingbird gave up.  

At lunch, a Carolina wren settled for seeds.    By late afternoon the mist was becoming fog.  A pair of buffleheads were the lone occupants of the creek.  

Very warm

The day was overcast and windy but the temperature rose into the upper 60s.  That often means that birds have other food besides the feeders.  At breakfast, a pileated woodpecker came to finish off the suet.  A blue jay checked on the barkbutter balls. At lunch, a flurry of birds arrived, including a perky chipping sparrow.  A male oriole found the jelly.  I also saw a Carolina wren, bluebirds, warblers, and a mockingbird.  Then something spooked them and I saw no more birds.