Rainy day

A wet, dreary, chilly day brought few birds.  A male pileated woodpecker came for a late breakfast.  A Carolina wren joined us at lunch.  The camera fought with the water-spotted window.  

 

Gray

This day wasn't as warm as the last two but just as windy.  I saw bluebirds, blue jays, and not much else.  A squirrel ate "hot pepper" suet that's supposed to be squirrel-proof.  A left-over Cinco de Mayo squirrel, perhaps?

 

Windy

A mockingbird breakfasted on suet.  A squirrel coveted bird food.  Blue jays were thirsty.  I also saw a pine warbler and a bluebird drinking from the pool puddle.  A titmouse looked into barkbutter balls.  Our thermometer showed mid 80s but the wind kept it from seeming hot.  After lunch, I noticed that the hummer feeder seemed to be missing.  Somehow it had come unscrewed from the hook and fallen.  I put it back together and rehung it which may have been unwise.  A couple of hours later I saw a male hummer visit it.  I was too close to move and take a photo but the bird didn't stay long.  Was I too close or the sugar water gone off or the wind too much?  

Despite the wind, I saw a few butterflies, a dragonfly, and wasps.  Butterflies included the ubiquitous cabbage white, some kind of dark swallowtail, and some that were too quickly gone to guess.  Some kind of midge followed me into the house.  

Dragonfly

Today became sunny, quite warm, and very windy.  I was focused on getting photo proof that the white throats were still here and didn't realize I had chopped the head off a brown thrasher - I never saw it was there in the background.  A Carolina wren ate seeds and a bluebird ate what she found in the glass dish.  A blue jay picked at the barkbutter dust.  The bluebirds also ate seeds and the seed feeder perch kept rolling which flustered them.  The catbird was back.  So was the crow.  

A yellow dragonfly with rusty striped wings and matching eyes perched on a garden stake.   It was a painted skimmer, Libellula semifasciata, the first I've ever seen.  A very small butterfly kept circling the yard, never stopping for a photo.  I wasted many pixels.  My best guess would be a spring azure.  Wasps were flying around.  The male red bellied woodpecker ate mealworms while I was outside, a first.  A titmouse picked through the seeds.  

Migration map

Cornell says this week is the migration peak for our area.  Here is their map.  Meanwhile, the white throats have not left yet.  A crow paid several visits to the area where I sometimes spill food.  A mockingbird also joined the feeder crowd.  Blue jays were right behind.  A catbird returned.  Bluebirds were in a hurry.  

A tiger swallowtail flew around the trees, despite the wind.  The sunshine must have compensated for the cool air.   A cabbage white stayed lower in its flight.  

 

Light rain

The rain fell all morning and off-and-on through the afternoon.  I hope it soaked in, even though it was light, because the year has been very dry so far.  At breakfast, the catbird returned with another.  I think this is the second bird.  They didn't seem very fond of each other, at least, I couldn't get them both in one photo.  A mockingbird was next.  It checked out the fresh suet.  I saw a Carolina wren but it was faster than my fingers.  

Mallard drakes paddled on the creek, leaving all the incubation to the females.  Bluebirds visited the seed feeder in the rain.  (K had covered the dishes.)   They hurried to grab a seed and go back to whatever they were doing.  Cardinals continued their courtship.  

 

Catbird!

The catbird chowed down on the aged, desiccated grape jelly.  I had no idea that jelly would interest a catbird.  Then an actual cat sauntered past.  It was the yellow long hair.  After it was gone, a mockingbird fed from the dish of barkbutter & mealworms.  A blue jay, and the male red belly stuck to the barkbutter mealworm mix.  Later the catbird returned and tossed mealworms everywhere.  A squirrel thought about raiding the dish but decided to go elsewhere.  Bluebirds showed up at mid day.  

Something sat in the top of the hackberry and preened.  It turned out to be a freshly bathed blue jay which really fooled me.  Lots of butterflies came out even though it wasn't quite 70°.  I saw a tiger swallowtail, a silver spotted skipper, and some I couldn't identify.  A downy rejoiced in a fresh suet block.