The temperature dropped and afternoon got gray, then misty.
Since 1/1/11 I have been describing what I see in the back yard. I occasionally digress.
The temperature dropped and afternoon got gray, then misty.
The temperature reached 78°. The pileated swooped in for some suet. I spotted the song sparrow foraging. A brown headed nuthatch slipped away before I had the camera ready.
I saw a brief sprinkle around mid day, right after I had refilled the glass dish. The birds gobbled the barkbutter and mealworms fast enough that I doubt the food got wet. Starlings, blue jays, and a mockingbird argued about it.
A little sun, a short sprinkle, but mainly the day was overcast, and the wind more gusty. More like March. The crow walked around but apparently did not find what it sought. It stomped through the pool puddle for no reason that I could see. I saw but didn't get a picture of the red belly. K hung another block of suet.
A little googling suggested that the proverb owed as much to constellations in the zodiac as to weather prediction. However that may be, the month began with soft, warm air under a sunny sky. Bluebirds made the feeder rounds. White throats did too, and also foraged on the ground. The song sparrow stayed on the ground. A myrtle warbler wanted what was in the dish. Another white throat took a bath in the pool puddle while a dove walked around the edge. Starlings made repeated forays but spooked easily. Blue jays were wary but got their share of barkbutter balls. So did a white breasted nuthatch. I saw a brown headed nuthatch but it was too quick. A crow investigated.
I refilled the glass dish. A mockingbird must have been watching. A couple of bufflehead drakes dived and a couple of pelicans flew over the creek. A Carolina wren finally arrived. Then a brown thrasher showed up. Baltimore orioles visited. Three female brown headed cowbirds picked over the mulch. I think they wanted the stale popcorn. More daffodils bloomed. The temperature cooled as the day went on, there were some wind gusts, and clouds moved in.
The last day of February was quite warm. A Carolina wren worked on the suet while a myrtle warbler picked up crumbs. The song sparrow blended in with the mulch and pine needles. A brown headed nuthatch waited on the feeder hanger. Bluebirds made a late entrance.
A mockingbird arrived for lunch. The myrtle warbler tried to hover like a hummingbird at the suet. This was not a success and it retreated to the barkbutter. When I refilled the dish, I saw a flower on one of the dwarf daffodil clumps. A pine warbler came quickly for the fresh barkbutter balls.
In the late afternoon, a kingfisher landed on a dock post. I think it was a male. It changed posts and then flew off.