Birdhouse

I didn't see anything at breakfast.  At lunch, the male red belly took an interest in barkbuter balls but I missed it, twice.  A mockingbird and a blue jay followed.  White throats ran around the patio.  The house finches got very passionate.  A Carolina wren sampled this and that.  A titmouse had seeds.  A female bluebird had a bath.  And I finally got the red belly.  

The first night heron of the year landed on the dock and promenaded up to the grass where it stepped off to stalk along the spartina.  And I was without the camera because we were hanging the birdhouse.  Later, I saw a heron behind the bushes later but I think it was a great blue heron.  A cabbage white flitted past.  The blue eyed grass bloomed.  

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Brown thrasher

The air was still cool and the wind gusty but the sun was bright.  Carolina wrens returned.  White throats lingered.  A mockingbird considered the menu.  A brown thrasher went directly to the barkbutter balls.  Then a blue jay took over.  Chickadees, house finches, and cardinals ate seeds, just as they do every day.  

Chilly

Wind gusts felt colder than the actual temperature.  Carolina wrens and blue jays came for suet and barkbutter balls. They were all I noticed.  Clouds fought with the sun throughout the day.  

Pileated woodpecker

The sky was gray all day and quite dark at one point, but there were only a couple of brief showers.  However, the temperature, which was comfortable at breakfast, dropped steadily down into the 50s.  Wind gusts made it even colder.  A bluebird showed up at breakfast and returned throughout the day.  Yellow flag iris opened.  

White throats dallied but arrived for lunch.  Carolina wrens also visited then.  I saw the pair flirting under a chair.  The cardinals were courting too.  After lunch, the female pileated woodpecker came for suet.  She dropped lots of crumbs to the delight of little birds.  

Not as hot

I was tired last night and skipped posting even though I had photos.  The mockingbird was back.  Bluebirds visited.  I was unable to catch a tiger swallowtail on camera.  Blue jays wanted barkbutter balls.  White throats continued to forage and bathe.  Cardinals courted.  A Carolina wren was thirsty and hungry.  A squirrel was itchy but crept close to me.  

A mockingbird started off the morning and visited on and off all day.  A male red bellied woodpecker came for breakfast.  The creek was sunlit and placid in the morning.  A Carolina wren came for lunch.  White throats were still packing for the trip North.  Titmice were hungry today, thirsty too, and in need of a bath.  A female brown headed cowbird got a drink.  Blue jays got a share of mealworms since there weren't barkbutter balls.  Bluebirds were very late arriving.  

The blue-eyed grass and the coral lily bloomed.  I think this is very early in the year for these lilies.  Blue flag irises were also flowering.  Wild cherry trees were done blooming.  The butterfly milkweed got a head start on the mountain mint.  I glimpsed a skink but it was faster than the camera.  Dragonflies also defeated me.  A silver-spotted skipper posed with its silver spots hidden.  I saw tiger and dark swallowtails and a medium-sized butterfly that was too fast to identify.  

Squirrels were very active, chasing, drinking, and eating.  One dived headfirst into the mealworms.  The mealworms are not peppered to discourage squirrels but they were resting on a bed of barkbutter dust that was.  The squirrel frantically brushed its face.  It was much more careful after that.  One squirrel was nursing.  Clouds spread across the sky in the late afternoon and sunset was fiery red.  

Even hotter!

The mockingbird came early, followed by blue jays.  Then a rumpled dove visited.  Despite it being 92° we ate lunch outside and I saw a silver spotted skipper.  I think a couple of swallowtails were flitting around the trees but I couldn't get a good look.  The sky was hazy and brushed with thicker clouds.  There were berries already on the hackberry.  A Carolina wren sampled the suet.  

Hot

What with one thing and another I didn't see much yesterday except a mockingbird that posed nicely and a blue jay that didn't.  Today I saw an osprey while driving to Ocean View and an egret on my way back.  I heard a mockingbird in a street tree.  

At home there were white throats, a red bellied woodpecker, blue jays, and a mockingbird.  The mockingbird ate the barkbutter balls K had scattered for a crow.  A white throat took a bath.  The day was very hot -- 88° at lunch.  I forgot to check later but wouldn't be surprised if it was a record.  The National Weather Service reported 90° which tied the record.  The dogwoods finished blooming and there were buds on the roses.