Insect season

The heatwave persisted and again the temperature was well into the 80s.  We ate outdoors and afterward I saw bees, wasps, butterflies, and an uncooperative dragonfly.  The butterflies were a cabbage white and a tiger swallowtail.  I couldn't identify the dragonfly.  I heard blue jays bud didn't see them.  The long haired yellow cat tried to catch a squirrel.  The squirrel was outraged and I hope I embarrassed the cat.  Azalea buds began opening.  

Windy

March ended with a blast of wind and heat.  At breakfast there was a brown thrasher.  I was away tabling at an event most of the day and came home too tired to think.  I do remember that I saw an egret and a mockingbird at the event.  I think something bit me too because I had a welt next day.  The tide was way out thanks to the wind and nearly full moon.  

While I was recuperating, the red belly came for suet.  A dove wandered around.  White throats, blue jays, and a mockingbird ate barkbutter balls.  The mockingbird had to wait for a cardinal to finish.  Then a bluebird got his  I must still have been tired today because I don't seem to recall seeing anything except the dredge.  The temperature beat the old record by two degrees.  

Black swallowtail

At lunchtime the swallowtail was checking flowers for nectar but I think most of them had already been visited.  The red belly came for suet and sparrows for barkbutter balls.  Fierce-looking clouds passed over but did nothing.  The day was hot and windy.  

Nuthatches

Lots of birds arrived at breakfast while my fingers were sticky.  I think one was a brown thrasher but I didn't see it again.  The first one that I caught on camera was a white breasted nuthatch.  White throats were everywhere, on the ground, on the feeders, in the pool puddle.  A myrtle warbler also looked for a drink there.  Bluebirds defaulted to seeds because starlings emptied the suet and barkbutter.  A titmouse investigated the empty dish feeder.  The male red belly ate seeds.  I put some mealworms out hoping the starlings would be less interested.  A crow didn't see anything worth its time.  

Azalea buds began to open as the day warmed up.   A pine warbler foraged for fallen food.  A chipping sparrow made a brief visit.  The mockingbird pair discussed the menu and decided on jelly.  Cardinals were courting.  A brown headed nuthatch tried to grab a seed.  When I put out more barkbutter balls, blue jays showed up immediately.  Bluebirds and white throats were right behind.  

March wind

A white throat started the day with barkbutter balls.  A blue jay was next, then a Carolina wren.  And then the voracious starlings showed up.  The wren moved over to the suet.  Chilly and gusty wind didn't discourage the starlings, alas.  Eight or ten of them attacked the suet, the barkbutter balls, and each other. White throats ate what fell.  Cardinals courted, doves foraged, and orioles ate jelly.  

Some of the white throats were a molting mess.  The pine warbler was back for more suet.  A downy ate seeds as did bluebirds.  A myrtle warbler also indulged in jelly.  The suet nearly disappeared during the day but a wren found a few bites.  Lots of money plant flowers opened so that's something for hungry nectar feeders.   

 

Downhill weather

Morning was very warm and my car was well dusted with pollen.  A Carolina wren carried off a barkbutter breakfast ball.  Clouds came in and dropped the temperature.  The red belly chose suet this time.  Unfortunately, so did starlings.  A female bluebird ate seeds.  By supper it was chilly and birds seemed frantic to pack in some calories.  But the light was too poor for photos.  Thus a brown thrasher got away without paying for its meal.  

Pairing up

It looked like the cardinals were getting in the mood to nest.  An egret flew upstream and I believe I also glimpsed a great blue heron.  A pine warbler ate suet.  The two doves returned.  I chased off the short haired yellow cat which was trying to hide behind an azalea.  Starlings bathed alongside a white throated sparrow.  The male red belly came for seeds, but still no sign of a female.  The day was sunny and warm though clouds thickened toward evening.