Sun has returned

It is brisk outside. Chickadees and titmice on the feeder and juncos on the ground. One titmouse had a drink at the birdbath.

By noon the sun had warmed things up but then the clouds rolled in. The wind was quite harsh.

Mid afternoon looked like rain, but then it cleared somewhat. Cormorants headed home to roost.

Rain

At dawn there were just some pink puffs in the West but clouds moved in and rain started before 9am. Squirrels were out early as were cormorants. A heron took off downstream.

The temperature is dropping swiftly. And then it rained and rained. This was a true November day.

Gray cloud cover

A squirrel and a chickadee sought breakfast. The clouds came in bands. This one retreated to the North around noon, chased by some late leaves. The bees are still making the most of the rosemary. They ignore the camellias and roses and morning glories.

Busy birds

Mallards on the creek and flights of geese, cormorants, a heron and a pelican. On the feeder, a female cardinal, a male red bellied woodpecker, titmice, chickadees, and finches. All before 8am. The sun is bright, the creek shiny, and the sky has cirrus wisps and contrails.

Clouds and wind have built up all morning. Then the sky cleared again. There are thin protoclouds in stationary waves and passing cream puffs. The male cardinal visited during dinner. Doves came over the roof as if chased. Crows harassed something in the pines across the creek. And the bees are still feeding on the rosemary. When full, they fly over the house toward the street.

Sun and clouds

Windy too. A pelican cruised the creek. Finches came to the feeder. I overslept.

Something is schooling in the water. Gulls, cormorants, pelicans, egrets and herons are all fishing right in front of us. There's still too much vegetation for it to be easy to photograph them and the camera lag still messes me up so the bird is on the edge of the photo or behind something.

As evening comes on, the sky has grown grayer with thin clouds.

Bright and still

The creek is a mirror and the trees that still have leaves are glowing above and below.

By lunch, both the temperature and the breeze have come up. A male kingfisher visited the dock. A pelican splashed down beside it, startling the kingfisher off. Clouds of black birds maneuvered overhead. A merganser pair paddled upstream. Bees are still harvesting rosemary nectar. And I think I hear a grasshopper.

Chickadees can't count. As I was sitting on the patio, with no birds stirring, Kathleen came up to me and then walked away. Immediately the chickadees started flying to the feeder as though I had disappeared.

Toward dusk the water was again still. A grebe went diving and popping up all the way up the creek. Great numbers of cormorants were flying to wherever they roost, some over the dam, some upstream, and some down. Crickets got loud as the sun set.

Perfect day for Thanksgiving

Sunny and crisp with bright fall colors. Despite a brisk wind, the creek was smooth and reflective. Mallards and Canada geese sailed past. Once they would have been on the menu. A squirrel strove mightily to unlock the secrets of the bird feeder.

Mistletoe is becoming visible on the trees again.

Waking to the sound of rain

Heavy clouds are blowing out to sea. It's supposed to get very warm and windy. Cormorants were battling their way South. One squirrel was very actively hunting something in the mulch near the feeder post - smell or memory?

And at 10am the sun broke through. It continues to alternate with clouds. The rain swelled a new crop of the bird's nest fungi and this time I was able to get photos that show the "eggs."

The hooded mergansers have arrived! Two pair were diving in the creek. Later two groups of three mergansers came back upstream. Also a great black back gull was paddling on the creek in the same area. A pelican did the plunge for something, but trees were in the way of seeing whether it succeeded.

The juncos are scurrying around along with the squirrels. Bees are still busy with the rosemary. And the waves of clouds continue to bring rain alternating with sun.

Gentle rain

As usual, the rain seems to make birds hungry. Finches were busy on the feeder. Crows were harassing something in the pines across the creek. Whatever it was never appeared but the crows were quite spectacular doing rolls and dives.

I've been using Google images and various websites to identification, but there have been several birds this fall that defeated this strategy. So I went back to Peterson. The ducks were definitely wood ducks. The gulls are still a mystery but I'm leaning toward Bonaparte's gull.

The rain and wind are so soft that big drops accumulate on the twigs. We're getting into the season where the choices are warm, but wet, or bright, but cold. Now the rain is tapering off.

And now the sun is playing pee-a-boo, but everything is wet. I hear a kingfisher. Pelicans and cormorants have come out to cruise the creek. The sun has descended into a bank of clouds in the West.

Warm with clouds

Dawn was pretty but now it's gray. The sun tries to burn through, but this is as bright as it gets. Wind out of the Northwest keeps pulling in more clouds and the temperature is supposed to drop throughout the day. But despite the wind, the creek is only a little ruffled.

A boater flushed a pelican on the way out and a kingfisher coming back. I believe I saw an osprey though it is very late in the year. Crows and gulls were plentiful of course. The crows appear to have colonized the top of the water tower. Chickadees were busy on the feeder and doves underneath. Curiously, given yesterday's photo of the crow and the shell heap, today a single oyster shell appeared on our dock. I assume something carried it over to feast on in private.

Crows calling at dawn

I thought maybe they'd cornered an owl, but I didn't see anything, so maybe it was just their celebration of the new day. I could also hear a cardinal fussing. The sky was clear and pink in the East with a crescent moon overhead and a bright planet, apparently Saturn, leading the sun.

Canada geese passed on review, first downstream, then back. Crows are everywhere, playing on the wind, chasing each other and imaginary enemies. It is hard to believe that only a few years ago their demise was predicted from West Nile virus. I wonder if the ones I see have some immunity? This crow is trying to decide whether to hop down into the neighbors' shell midden revealed by low tide. It flew away instead.

The morning glories were burned by the frost but are still blooming. Honeybees are still feasting on the rosemary and I saw a white cabbage butterfly that survived the frost. Lots of squirrels are scurrying around. A flock of robins passed overhead and a flock of ducks hurried downstream.

First frost!

Not only on the roof and dock, but on the mulch and grass. It is still and cold and bright. Cardinals and finches are cleaning out the last of the feeder seed.

The temperature rose though the day and became quite comfortable by late afternoon. Thin cirrus clouds and contrails obscured the blue, making a colorful sunset. I was in a meeting all day so this is all I have.

Clear and cold

At dawn, the third quarter moon was overhead, with the half facing the dawn illuminated. The light was very pink and gold. Suddenly the ground is covered with leaves.

The day has been beautifully sunny but very cold. My fingers froze on the camera and the light breeze made my skin ache. But the creek was glassy and I caught the kingfisher in level sunlight. Then some ducks passed over that I think may be wood ducks. I also saw the usual geese, gulls, herons, crows, and cormorants.

The feeder is empty but it will have to wait till tomorrow.

Checking Peterson, the ducks are definitely wood ducks in their winter "eclipse" drab. The kingfisher is a female.

Downhill temperature

The rain started before midnight. It is much cooler and wet and gray. And the prediction is that the temperature will continue to drop all day. Today the chickadees are hungry enough to come out anyway. The wind is quite strong - I saw leaves flying along level, headed upstream. And the creek is quite high.

There are dark cloud bands again today, but a lot more wind. At the moment, the rain has slacked off. The goose flock is outside the local elementary school today. Bet there will be little kids with goose poop on their shoes and knees. The skies cleared before sunset, leaving only the cold wind.

The rain has softened and opened the tiny cups I saw yesterday and they are clearly some variety of birds' nest fungi. I recognize the pie crust crimping of the edge of the cup and think these are Cyathus striatus. The cup shelters tiny puffballs containing spores that are released by raindrops. These puffballs are the "eggs" in the "nest."

Dull and misty

Here are the tiny cups that might be lichens or fungi, There is a cup lichen but it is greenish. There is a small puffball called the birds' nest but it isn't this small and it has tiny puffballs inside the cup. When I teased some of these up, a stuck-together clump came up, but I didn't see any hyphae.

The sun has come out. Chased by bands of cloud out of the West all afternoon. Some looked very threatening and the wind hissed in the oak leaves, but nothing came of all the drama. The day stayed very warm. Lots of cormorants and a few herons were flying into a wind that must have been stronger aloft.

Down on the creek, it barely disturbed the reflections. When it did push up little wave ridges, there were often finer wrinkle lines on their front faces. And the pilings sent counter waves back through them, like sonar. It is very strange watching how these waves move through each other with little interference.

It's warm as a summer night with crickets chirping. I saw a junco early this morning - I wonder what it thinks of this weather?

Still warm, clouding up

Squirrels were busy on the patio. The honeybees are still working on the rosemary. I am so glad to see them return and to be able to feed them. I wonder where their hive is? A very tiny wasp was also on a rosemary flower bigger than itself.

Just when I think the stinkhorns are finished another pops up. And another part of the mulch is growing very tiny brown cups. I cannot be sure if they are fungi or lichens as both have cup forms. Some of these have a seal over the cup which makes me suspect they are a kind of puffball.

Morning glories, camellias and the rosemary are blooming, plus the confused forsythia. The oak in front is gorgeous in red and orange, but the sweet gum looks more yellow than in other years. The wind in the trees rustles loudly, and there are no reflections on the creek today. The fig has lost all its leaves and one, caught on a dogwood branch, looked very spooky. The indoor orchid from last Valentine's Day is now blooming again - not by my green thumb!

Warmth predicted

The sky was covered with a quilt of broken clouds that is now blowing away to the East. A great blue heron flew downstream. A squirrel visited - we are running a bed-and-breakfast for them, I guess. Our neighbor has a little roof over his outdoor grill and a pair of squirrels were on its peak just now, with their arms around each other! Unbelievably cute, but they were gone before I returned with the camera.

It has gotten up to 75! A pelican circled downstream. The cormorants are busy moving to night quarters. Most headed over the dam but this one went Southwest. A thin cloud cover has moved in and muted the setting sunlight. But it did make a very pink sunset. Even well after dark it is still very warm.

Wispy clouds become overcast

The creek is again glassy except when mallards go by. The moon was still quite high in the sky this morning and distinctly lopsided. Last night it was very bright. In the past, merganser ducks would show up around now, migrating South, but for the last several years I have not seen them before Thanksgiving. Mary Reid Barrow reports a merganser sighting in Thalia this week.

By lunch time cloud cover had blown in from the West and it was warm, windy, and dull. A pelican hurried downstream and an egret battled upstream. A buzzard circled. A finch and some chickadees visited the feeder. The trees shed color.

Blue sky, still water

The waning moon was just setting over the trees at the head of the creek this morning. Chickadees and titmice were very busy on the sunlit feeder. This titmouse was startled by an arriving chickadee. A cormorant disturbed the reflection on the creek and it was fascinating to see its path return to stillness as the disturbance rippled away. The redwood tree has gone copper and is shedding.

Very early, it looked like there was frost on the roof.

Sunshine with doves

The wind roared overnight and blew the clouds away. It brought a chill despite the sun. The sky is nearly cloudless. Doves were out early, then chickadees. But a cold wind makes it tempting to stay inside to observe.

In the parking lot of the doctor's office I saw the same kind of gulls I saw at Cape May. They were mixed with ring bill gulls and were a little smaller. There were both juveniles and adults of both species. I am now leaning toward thinking that these are Bonaparte's gulls in winter plumage. Crows were pecking in the same area but staying in a distinctly separate group from the gulls. On the way home I saw the goose flock farther up the street.

The stinkhorns seem to be finished for now. No new ones have popped up and the old are flat and limp. There is a lot of fall color now but the wind keeps peeling it away.

Overcast and still

No sun, little wind. A squirrel inspected us at breakfast. Doves and finches stopped in for some seeds.

The other day an infant spider rode into the house on my hair. I gave it the job of protecting the budding moth orchid where it is now busily building a tiny web.

Convoys of geese have gone by, headed downstream on glassy water under a dull sky.

Chill and still

Another reflective morning. Jays, doves, chickadees and finches were out looking for breakfast. I noticed the doves feeding on the fallen beauty berries. The phragmites behind the dock in the photo are where the red wing blackbirds hang out.

The afternoon brought more clouds and warmth. The moon is nearly full and very bright with a nearby planet.

Bright and glassy creek

A chickadee is on the feeder. Many, many egrets and other water birds all flew over the dam to the lake that borders Witchduck. Why, I don't know, nor do I have any idea what called them there. They were silent and they kept coming for maybe 20 minutes. Then, in the opposite direction came a red tailed hawk that was being mobbed. Finally many of the egrets returned and by the time I got over to the head end of the lake, there was nothing to see. Lots of drama even before I went to vote.

The creek was so much clearer that I could see minnows swimming. Larger fish keep jumping but there is nothing I can see that is chasing them underwater.

Heavy dew

It's calm and warm and all the surfaces are wet. A breeze ruffles the creek then it goes glassy again. Cormorants flew downstream and kingfishers disputed over fishing grounds. The "handkerchief" spiders have been busy making sheet webs. The creek water is much less murky - I assume that means it is colder. The sky is again that perfect blue that won't even accept contrails.

Now that there are no fledglings to feed, and possibly because of all the seeds and berries, the feeder is lonely. I startled some sunbathing doves and heard chickadees, but that's about it. Most of the trees are now turning though the colored leaves blow off quickly. The stinkhorns are still with us. The forsythia is blooming away even as its leaves turn red. I wonder if it is using up spring blossoms?

Standard time

I won't be seeing dawn for a few weeks now that we are back to standard time. But the progression toward the solstice will bring it back soon enough.

A pelican was floating on the creek this morning. Hopefully it caught a good breakfast. The sky was a fluffy sort of overcast, individual cloud puffs crowding together with a hint of blue in the corners. Now the clouds have broken up enough for intermittent sun. The wind is ruffling the creek.

Blue sky after noon. Geese rushing downstream. The saltbush has lost most of its fluff. All the trees are starting to turn, except the wild cherries. I think that's because they had to start over after the storm in May.

Dark so soon.

A torrent of wind

It roared all night. The tide is quite high and the sky overcast. The sun started to appear by mid morning but the day remained blustery. The tide never receded much.

Forty or more geese staged another occupation on our street. There are goose turds everywhere on the sidewalk and in the street as well as in the grass.

Light rain

But I see dry spots under trees and some blue sky to the West. The blue arrived with sun, only to be chased by more clouds from the West. Now there is a harsh wind out of the North driving the lowest clouds very fast.

The oaks are beginning to show color, gold in the back yard and red in front. They are the same species but quite individual.

I've noticed that something has left lines of eggs on the stucco on the front porch. It may have been that blinded sphinx moth that I photographed there. I hope the eggs are viable and that I see the caterpillars in time to relocate them to something edible.

There are still more stinkhorn eggs and the aroma is pretty strong, sort of nasty-mushroomy.

Blue sky with contrails

Yesterday's blue was unmarred, but today the planes are leaving streaks that persist. And there's a mist rising from the creek. The dew was heavy on the rose leaves and petals.

Whatever the condition aloft that creates contrails, it changed by afternoon and there were no longer stripes all over the sky. It was warm and mostly calm.

Honey bees are feeding on the rosemary, yellow jackets on the camellia, and flies on the stinkhorns. I now see that the pinkish egg-shaped fungi pushing up through the mulch each contain a stinkhorn and disappear as it emerges. So, there are more to come.

Sunny morning

The creek is very reflective this morning and the sky pure blue.

An early jay patrolled the patio. A whole flock of juncos and some white throat sparrows were feeding in the back yard. A flock of crows has been harassing something up and down the creek. A kingfisher twice fled the racket. A lone buzzard sailed in circles downstream and a couple of great blue herons flew upstream. The geese are on the far bank today. A flock of red wing blackbirds landed in the neighbor's phragmites. The mallards are pairing off.

The forsythia is confused - the leaves are turning red but it is also blooming. The goldenrod is mostly gone. Large clumps of fluff are coming off the saltbush. The beauty berry is still loaded.

A praying mantis appeared on the porch ceiling near where the argiope used to hang out. The stinkhorns are attracting flies and I wonder if that attracted the mantis? The photo is right side up, the mantis is upside down.

November rains in

A flock of about ten pelicans soared past us while we were having breakfast. It looks like the rain may be over now.

It has cleared nicely but there's a cold wind. The huge flock of Canada geese is still hanging out on the street. There are over forty. I saw the first junco of the season below the feeder. And a kingfisher flew downstream. Fluff continues to blow off the saltbush. Bees are still hungrily working on the rosemary.

It looks like there may be two varieties of stinkhorn coming up out of the mulch. The second is pinkish, rounder and looks like diseased guts. It makes the phallic stinkhorn almost attractive. I don't see any other mushrooms despite the rain.