Still gray

A gleam of sun and a rabbit both disappeared quickly.  I think there is an occluded front just sitting South of here.  I assume the rabbit is nursing and staying up later in the morning to get enough to eat.  The usual feeder birds are out - cardinals, finches, chickadees, and a titmouse.

It cleared at noon then clouded back up.  The street corner where I was campaigning was chilly with the wind.  A mockingbird visited and a bug tried to hitch a ride. 

Another gray morning

Cardinals, finches, chickadees and squirrels.  The newspaper was wet.  A little sunshine and then the clouds close in again.

At lunch, we got some action.  The cardinal couple tried to canoodle on the feeder perch and it dumped them.  The weight of two cardinals was too much for its less-than-a-bluejay setting.  The male was feeding the female right there instead of bringing her a seed.  After that, a hummer appeared.  Then a lone grackle showed up.  They are never alone and they rarely visit except when the flocks are gathering to migrate South.  It is still gray with heavy clouds.

Early evening and the sky is clearing at last.  The money plants have gone to seed. The cardinals have moved their courting to the back of the bench.

More of the same

Clouds and intermittent sun.  I surprised something that I didn't get a good look at - rabbit?

Only today, instead of the clouds clearing, they just got heavier.  Mid-afternoon, the rain began.  After a brief window around 4pm, the clouds boiled back up.  It was a bit scary.  The overcast went from featureless to faintly pleated, to bright spots, to a rolling boil.  Low ragged clouds rushed South but the overcast moved to the Northwest.  There were bits that looked like they were thinking about becoming tornadoes.

Gray, intermittent sun

Much like yesterday, early on.  Roses are blooming.  The clouds cleared off and the day warmed up

I was running around a lot, but I did manage to catch some Club Mallard tourists.  Also a spangled skimmer dragonfly.

Wet

It was raining lightly when I got up.  Now it is just overcast.  An osprey cruised under the cloud layer.  Cardinals, chickadees, finches and squirrels came out despite the rain, which was not enough to do more than dampen the birdbath.  The cardinals were feeding each other.

Around 9, the sun shone briefly, though it is still overcast.  At lunch, the clouds are still hanging heavy.  Robins and mockingbirds are out along the street, but not the back yard.  A jay fussed at a crow but I couldn't see a nest in danger. 

One of the squirrels has a distinguishing mark, as the police call it.  There is a spot of white fur on its left hip.  I first noticed this squirrel last year so I wonder how old it will get. 

Sunny so far

There are high, thin clouds, but the sun is bright.  Cardinals and squirrels are out and about.

The thin haze cleared and cumulus puffs are sailing on an intense blue, as was this heron. It is room temperature.  The skink ventured out and a hummingbird paused, then saw me and left.  Butterflies and dragonflies ignored the wind.  The feeder drew the usual birds.

Chilly with sun

An osprey circled in the early light.  Cardinals visited.  One male kept his crest up the whole time.  The pool was opened yesterday. A couple of squirrels chased each other.

Two chickadees visited the feeder with different intentions.  One was chowing down.  The other did the baby bird feed-me wing shaking, moving progressively closer.  Finally they were both on the perch, one (I assume) courting while the other obliviously kept eating.  Finally the suitor gave up and flew away.

I've no idea how the sexes sort out in terms of courting, if that's what this was.  Usually (I thought) males feed females to get them to mate.  But I doubt it could be a fully fledged offspring this early in the year.  But now I'm remembering that a few days ago I saw a female cardinal feed a male.  Hmmm. 

Gray, with breaks

A rip in the overcast let early sunlight through, but now it has moved on East.  Cardinals, a chickadee, and a squirrel are up and feeding.  The female cardinal fed the male, or so it appeared. Several egrets gathered at the dam outflow.  The mix of fresh and brackish water must make for good fishing. There is always one bird there, but this morning there were four.

Another break in the clouds moved through around 9am.  Finches took advantage, along with cardinals, chickadees, and squirrel.  Dark clouds and blue sky continue to alternate.  The cardinals and finches had a spat over the feeder with the finches winning.  At one point they drove her off.  Later the two birds sat on the perch and brandished their beaks at each other - it looked just like cursing.  The chickadees slipped in when the others left, as did a titmouse. 

Another male hummer visited. When the light doesn't catch their throat feathers, they look black.  And a squirrel investigated the hummingbird feeder.  It may have defeated him! 

Rainy Earth Day

An off-shore cold front is rushing clouds out of the East and it is raining steadily.  That does not deter the birds.  Female cardinals and finches are hitting the feeder.  A dove and a squirrel forage underneath.  And a male hummingbird stopped in for a quick drink.

First two female then two male cardinals chased each other across the yard in the rain.

Fog again

This time there is overcast above the mist and no golden light.  A jay passed through, and finches and a cardinal came for breakfast.  Here is the new saucer-style hummingbird feeder.

By 8:30 the overcast was starting to break up.  And by noon it was sunny with cumulus blowing off Northeast.  The hummingbird feeder works!  At least a male ruby throat had a drink.  It did not return though.  Shortly after that a buzzard circled overhead and attracted the attention of a crow.  The two of them danced through the air impressively. 

The yellow, deciduous azalea, or pinxter flower, is in bloom.  The rue is budding, and the tiny caterpillar is still alive.  Both butterflies and dragonflies are flitting around.  Chickadees visited the other feeder.  Several jays gave a pair of crows a taste of harassment.  The jays just gather around the offender and scream - no aerial pursuit. 

Mist in the morning

Mist rose quickly around 7am then dissipated as quickly.  Slug tracks left mysterious messages on the pool cover.  Tiny spiderwebs in the grass caught the mist and became visible.  Birdsong was everywhere, but all that were visible were a sparrow, a jay, and a towhee.

But I am not happy to be confronted with a new Blogger interface.  I wish Google would quit gobbling every other service.

Cardinals showed up with the sun.  Butterflies are out.  There's an orange one I'm not sure of and a palamedes swallowtail.  It's a month early for this northern end of its range.  What I don't see are dragonflies.  The sky is a very crisp blue and the planes are not leaving contrails.  The occasional soft-edged cumulus floats by on the breeze. 

I have a new hummingbird feeder.  We shall see if it is squirrel proof.

Overnight rain, hungry birds

All the usual birds visit the feeder: cardinals, chickadees, finches, and a titmouse. A pair of squirrels playing chase almost bowled over a female cardinal in the mulch.

On the ground a couple of white throat sparrows forage. One has a brilliantly colored face - male? The gray light is good for photography, but in this picture at first I could not even see the sparrow against the wet mulch. If not for the face stripes I would have thought the camera missed him. Click on the photo and look for an asterisk in yellow, white and black.

As evening is coming on, the cloud cover is finally breaking up. The cardinal couple came by for an evening snack.

Chilly

There is a soft overcast with some blue showing. All the usuals showed up this morning - cardinals, chickadees, titmice, finches, and a white throated sparrow. Plus squirrels (note tail in background). After a dry and windy week they are as interested in the birdbath as the feeder. I am beginning to appreciate why the backyard habitat asks about a water source.

Meanwhile, the new red maple has finally leafed out, as have the hackberry trees. Spiders and stray threads are everywhere. A female cardinal is beginning to get that punk look again. Feather mites?

Hot morning

The brown and gold butterfly continues to elude me. A tiny black and white swallowtail caterpillar has hatched on the rue. A spider has a very chaotic web in the East-facing window.

A white throated sparrow was all around the yard singing. A jay visited too. Many other bird songs I didn't recognize. A male cardinal was gloriously red at noon.

Unwelcome visitors

Dawn revealed that something stole the hummingbird feeder. Finally, we saw it about fifty feet away. It's the red bit in the background of the photo.

Then a pair of geese came to the door. When I went outside to shoo them, they moved off with great dignity and plodded across the pool cover. One continued down to the creek but the other very deliberately began eating my flowers. I tried making goose noises which it didn't like but didn't care enough to leave. I had to resort to shaking a pole at it. Then it took off flying and honking like the wolves had come down from the mountains.

At lunch, dragonflies banged on the windows. an osprey circled. And a skink came out to visit the birdbath. I think it is smaller than the one I saw the other day. At any rate, it is a welcome visitor!

The hummingbird feeder is gnawed to ruin. Regular bottles don't fit the other base I have, so I guess I'll shop for a new one. The geese came back but I threatened them with my camera. It is very warm.

Warm

Come-and-go clouds. Cardinals and finches and a sparrow have visited. As has a squirrel. The blue iris is blooming.

Two osprey circled overhead. It looked like there were dead fish floating in the creek. I think I saw a buckeye butterfly from the bedroom window. Definitely lots of dragonflies.

Considerably warmer

But still windy. I was gone all morning. I found the little yellow plastic flowers off the hummingbird feeder. Sigh. The surveyors for the creek dredging have been around again. I don't understand why they are poking at our bank.

Lots of bugs but few good photos. Queen yellow jackets are house hunting. Dragonflies are patrolling. While the rosemary is nearly done with blooming, smallish black bees are still busy on it. Small brown butterflies, maybe skippers, are pollinating the money plant. Something dark with a gold edge went by fast. The swallowtail caterpillar on the rue molted out of the black & white stage into the striped stage, but I still couldn't get a focused photo. Then an hour later, the caterpillar had disappeared.

Squirrel surprise

I thought they didn't like sweets! Well, now I know why the level of liquid went down so fast.

It's another chilly day - it's been chilly all week, on top of the wind. Actually, I guess it is seasonable, but it was so warm before that the contrast bites. There is soft cloud cover and sunshine.

A flock of sparrows came to bathe. I saw a white throat and a chipping sparrow and at least three more sparrows.

Butterflies at lunch, and the skink! The skink nearly had a close encounter with a squirrel, but it ran back to the rosemary where it seems to live. One butterfly was orange, maybe a fritillary? The other looked like a brown swallowtail with a rim of yellow, maybe a palamedes?

More of the same

Again, the evening clouds were gone in the morning. It is sunny and windy. A squirrel came for a looooong drink at the birdbath.

Cardinals, finches and a titmouse came to lunch. So did the wretched husky that gets loose every so often. The choke cherries are blooming and a small brown butterfly was visiting. The ferns are opening their fiddleheads.

Down on the dock, a cold wind came out of the NE, but the clouds were coming from the NW. An osprey, cormorants, egrets and herons, and of course geese passed by. Fish keep jumping and I keep missing. A crab was working on a piling and, I swear, something's nose stuck out of the water until I moved. I suspect a muskrat. See the spot in the middle?

More sun and wind, then more clouds

A squirrel sat atop the feeder and washed its nose at me. What does that mean? I refilled the hummingbird feeder, but got impatient and didn't let the juice cool enough, and now I need to shop for another feeder. I think I'll look for this style.

A dove stood in the birdbath. Finches, chickadees, and cardinals appreciated my refilling the seed feeder. I glimpsed a mockingbird in the dogwood across the pool. The sky turned overcast by lunch and it has grown cold and raw. The blueberries are nearly finished blooming and some bushed are full of hard little green berries. Not only the blue eyed grass is blooming, but also its coral cousin.

Calm and sunny, then windy, then cloudy

A white throat was busy kicking mulch with a little two-step backward scrape. Then a squirrel arrived and the bird left in annoyance. AARP had an interesting bit on a site that tracks seasonal changes: http://www.usanpn.org/

After a quiet dawn, it has become quite windy. The caterpillar is still there and I still can't get it in focus. Cumulus puffs are sailing East. I saw a couple of yellow butterflies that turned out to be maple seeds on the wind. The blue eyed grass is blooming. I can hear a jay and a cardinal but cannot see them. A pair of geese were canoodling in the back yard near the water. Nothing much to see from the dock but a laughing gull.

However, a dark cloud is moving in now toward evening. And sunset was very dramatic with heavy clouds.

Bright and calm

Squirrels were competing for the right to forage under the feeder. A male finch and then a female cardinal visited. The carpenter bees got to work early.

A jumping spider is lurking on the azaleas. The caterpillar is still on the rue and the swallowtail is flitting around. A dove looked for fallen seed.

The day stayed warm right through a lovely sunset with small cloud puffs. Crickets or something are chirping in the dusk.

An Easter junco!

Cardinals, finches, chickadees and a white throat competed with the squirrels. The creek is still under a clear sky. And every photo came out fuzzy. Sigh. Last year my final junco sighting was April 8 also. But I haven't seen any since March 18 this year.

It has been a very bright and pleasant day. I filled the birdbath and a squirrel drank most of it. A black swallowtail visited the rue. I've seen at least one caterpillar on it. Lots of dragonflies and damselflies and crane flies as well as the usual pollinators.

Here's and Easter colored portrait of three bachelor mallards. From the dock, I watched them and egrets, osprey, geese, and buzzards. The buzzards were circling over the creek and one got too close to the water tower that the crows claim as their own. A crow chased that buzzard down the creek while the other two ignored it.

Sun and wind

And an early squirrel. Finches on the feeder. Robin and dove out front.

At noon, more finches were on the feeder. The pollinators were busy, both flies and bees, but none of the photos are in focus. A dragonfly and a damselfly were out. Later a tiger swallowtail flitted past.

And in the late afternoon, an osprey came circling intently over the creek.

Heavy clouds

Gray and windy, but no rain. The wind is pushing the full moon tide even higher. Finches and chickadees are visiting the feeder between gusts and the squirrel forages below. Occasional patches of sky appear, but no sunshine thus far. Somehow I have managed to get into poison ivy or else I'm having a reaction to gnat bites. Ugh.

The tide and the clouds are finally in retreat after lunch. Wind from the North is pushing the wall of clouds, but of course the sun's in the South. Finches were driven off the feeder by a cardinal. Then he was chased away by another cardinal. A pause, then a pair of cardinals appeared, she on the feeder and he on the ground. They left and a puffed out chickadee took possession. The wind is fierce and the chickadee looks like a perfect egg with black on top and a tail pasted on the bottom. Meanwhile, a white-throated sparrow wandered around the patio briefly.

Later it became clear and sunny but still windy. A titmouse was hammering hard on the feeder perch - usually they take the seed to a branch inistead of staying in the open.

Gray and gusty

Titmice and finches on the feeder. It rained overnight enough to fill the birdbath and wash away much of the egret splat. Gusts of wind are blowing an oak leaf around the patio as though it is alive. When the direction of the wind is just right, the L-shaped corner of the house pushes it into a spiral dust devil. The sun appeared briefly but now it's gray again.

It stayed chilly and now, mid afternoon, it is drizzling. The laughing gulls have definitely gone to summer plumage.

Gorgeous dawn, squirrel antics

Lovely cream puffs at dawn have now dissipated.

Meanwhile two squirrels came to forage. One decided to investigate the source of the seeds. He climbed the pole, prowled all over the feeder, and even checked out the hanger. But to no avail - human ingenuity prevailed.

Lots of butterflies are out. A black swallowtail is laying eggs on the rue. Several queen yellow-jackets are house hunting in the mulch below the pool. Other wasps of all sizes have joined the bees.

After 3pm it clouded up and rained lightly. Now the sun is back and the birdbath is dry. The hummingbird feeder developed mildew which I believe I've eradicated with bleach. I hope it doesn't offend or poison hummers when they arrive.

Beautiful morning

The sky is clear and the sun bright, The creek is smooth as glass and it is not windy. The squirrel is up, hunting for breakfast seeds.

A breeze has disturbed the water enough to make reflections waver. Dragonflies and damselflies are busy. An osprey circled overhead and a little green heron rested on a piling.

Wind and rain, then wind and sun

The rain may be over now, though new clouds are smoking out of the North. The paper calls this breezy, but petals are whipping off the dogwoods and birds' feathers are sticking up. The feeder is very popular and the finches are battling over it. Two couples are not sharing. A handful of blackbirds landed on the post and set off a food fight. Meanwhile, a titmouse and a chickadee slipped in.

A sparrow and a squirrel fed on the ground. I think the new feeder hanger spills more seed, or else it is easier to find in the mulch. Or else I didn't realize how much seed was falling below the steps where I can't see the birds.

The sun is out now but the wind is roaring. A cardinal contested with the finches for the feeder.

Gray sky turns blue

Clouds sat like a cap overhead. Light leaked in sideways at dawn. A cardinal and titmice came to the feeder.

It continues breezy and the gray is beginning to break into distinct clouds. Now, as the clock strikes 10, the clouds are mostly gone.

Toward evening, a big dark bird circled over the creek. At first I thought it was a buzzard, but now I wonder if it could have been a young eagle?