Another overnight frost

The moon was huge last night and still up this morning.  Chickadees and finches were up too.  A squirrel got a drink - the frost did not freeze the birdbath. It's bright and sunny now.

Around lunch, sparrows showed up, along with a Carolina wren and a few juncos.  Crows chased a hawk across the sky.  

A flock of robins flew over going South.  Cormorants headed North.  A half dozen mallards paddled up to the bank.  A pair of buffleheads started their way when a boat came around the bend and scared them off.  The boat docked where a kingfisher had planned to land and it was quite agitated about finding another perch.   Great blue herons flew past and egrets fished. 

Frost!

When I stepped out to take a photo of the white-frosted dock, a little flock of migrant ducks dived out beyond it.  Only surfaces up in the air are white, proving once again that "bridge freezes before roadway."  Of course, this is only crystallized dew, not a ground freeze.  Chickadees are up and about. 

An hour later, the chickadees have been joined by cardinals and finches and a whole flock of white-throated sparrows.  Geese are out flying and paddling.  An egret flew into a pine across the creek.  A spotted cucumber beetle landed on the window!  More sparrows, this time with juncos came for lunch in the mulch.  A female cardinal guarded the feeder. 

Last fall, the first frost was November 19, so it is ten days later this year. 

They're back

It is still overcast though there was a pink tinge when I got up.  Sunshine is predicted.  Hmmm.  Anyway, the small birds came first: nuthatch, chickadee, and Carolina wren.  Then a flock of juncos and sparrows landed and cardinals appeared.  This cardinal is trying to guard the food.  Squirrels joined in and the birds left.  Finally a finch visited and some of the other birds returned.  Meanwhile in the background, a flock of geese passed in formation headed South.  A pelican and several herons patrolled the creek.

OK, late morning it started to clear from the West.  The wind is cold. By lunch, the sky was blue.  I believe I saw a bufflehead dive on the creek! 

A crisp,clear night with a nearly full moon and a star very close to it.

Overcast

Quite still this morning.  A beam of sunlight leaked through briefly.  No birds - I wonder if the feeder is empty?  No, it's not, so where is everyone? A pair of squirrels rushed in.  One went for the mulch and the other for the watering can.  I couldn't quite see what happened without moving so I startled the squirrel, but apparently he fell in the watering can.  At any rate, he shot across the patio with a sopping tail and took it out on the other squirrel.  I've now added water to the birdbath. 

I decided to see if going down to the dock would be produce any more birds.  A crow I couldn't see was having a hissy and then a great blue heron took off as though it couldn't stand the noise.  Shortly thereafter more crows herded one  through the air into a tree, where I guess they gave it a talking to.

The cloud cover is scudding East and every so often there is a break and sunshine.  Wind comes and goes, cold but not very strong.  The yellow jackets have apparently repaired their nest which is now buried in a leaf drift.  The puffballs are maturing and the final growth on the weeping conks is weeping.  The sunflowers are still blooming. The overcast is thin and the sun makes a circle of glare, but some rain sprinkles appeared after lunch. 

Rain became more definite as the afternoon passed.  Now, at twilight, cardinals and white-throated sparrows appear.   And they're all cranky!  The sparrows are running each other off while two female cardinals rise into the air batting at each other.  A male cardinal drives all other birds off the feeder.  Is it the weather?  Or have the sunflower seeds gone off like ergot in rye? 

Busy feeder

There are at least two red-breasted nuthatches around, though I had only seen one at a time until this morning.  A male cardinal defended his feeder perch against all comers, especially a persistent female finch.  Female cardinals joined white-throated sparrows in the mulch.  Chickadees and titmice were out in force.  A squirrel slipped on the gutter making a noise that scared all the birds. 

The nuthatch was back for lunch.  Three doves pecked along the pool edge.  Then suddenly a huge number of cormorants were flying, running on water, and diving upstream, accompanied by egrets and gulls.  They went by too fast for me to locate the camera.  After a bit, I saw some cormorants flying back downstream.

More sunshine

A cardinal visited, then the nuthatch.  Movement in the rosemary turned out to be a sparrow.  Doves are flying around.  A kingfisher rocketed down the creek. Little clouds have swept through from the North, but it is mostly blue.  The creek begins each morning very reflectively. 

Twilight.  The nuthatch was very busy as the sun went down.  A cardinal also visited.  Two Carolina wrens scuttled around the patio.  As soon as the sun was gone from the treetops and the sky began to go sliver, the evening crew arrived.  More cardinals, doves, and white-throated sparrows scurried around.  Cormorants and other birds headed home. 

Sun and wind

Someone tossed out food, bread I think, and the crows have been chasing each other over it.  Squirrels were racing around too.  A pelican flew downstream, geese paddled and a cormorant surfaced.  On the feeder, I saw a brilliant cardinal, a suspicious nuthatch, a Carolina wren and an impatient junco.  Beneath, juncos, white throats, and the wren foraged.  Eyeliner is clearly a successful look for small birds. 

Another pelican, this time headed upstream.  An egret tussled with the wind. 

Autumn haze

A light fog misted the trees downstream when we got up.  A few finches were up and at the feeder.  Just before we went out an eagle swooped past.  A great black-backed gull circled.  A yellow jacket took an interest in the hummer feeder.

So we took advantage of the warmth and went to Back Bay.  A noise like little kids playing at Indians turned out to be tundra swans.  Several turtles were sunning on a log.  Warblers and other birds were working on the bayberries.  Wasps were hunting mud.  I saw one cabbage butterfly.  A wild persimmon tree had mushy, sticky fruit. Cat briars were loaded with black berries and trumpet vines with pods.  Many kinds of cottony, wind-dispersed seeds were blowing everywhere.  I thought I saw another eagle over the marsh. 

Thanksgiving

It is sunny and windy.  Three female cardinals are poking in the mulch along with white-throated sparrows. The nuthatch walked down the post that holds the feeders.

It has been a beautiful day.  I heard kingfishers, but didn't see them.  The tide was high again and geese stood on the neighbor's flooded dock.  Cormorants and egrets made the commute home.  

Unleaving

Hopkins' poem came to mind as the leaves fall.  Actually, my favorite phrase from it is "wanwood leafmeal" which is the perfect name for what happens to the fallen leaves.   Anyway, today there are smudgy, soft, edgeless clouds and some sun.  It is windy though when I first got up the creek was glassy.  We are past the fall color peak and the dogwoods are nearly bare.

Today's birds so far have included: crows, geese, and cormorants; on the feeder, chickadees, cardinals, a wren and a nuthatch; underneath, a towhee, sparrows, and a half dozen doves. Sleepyheads showed up around 11am:  mallards, flickers, titmice and juncos. 

There are puffballs where the pecan tree used to be, uphill from the redwood.   The weeping conks on the oak stump seem to be finished.  Something left part of the yellow jacket nest on the stump - just like a honeycomb, only paper.  The nuthatch has been busy.  I saw it under the feeder poking through the mulch and taking a drink.  Later I came upon it doing the nuthatch thing on a pine tree, poking seeds into cracks then hammering them open.  It is only half the size of a junco.  The moon is at first quarter and well up in the afternoon. 

More gray

Juncos, white throats, chickadees, and finches. Doves prospecting on the far side of the pool.  A squirrel up to something in a dogwood.  One of the white-throated sparrows wanted a bath. A flicker passed by. 

The bluebird of frustration

Gray sky, no birds.

 Still gray at lunch, but a pageant of birds.  Chickadees and titmice, then cardinals, juncos, and white throated sparrows, and then...a bluebird stopped in for a drink from the birdbath.  My thrashing around to reach the camera scared it off.  Finally, for dessert, the nuthatch reappeared and had a drink from the hummer feeder.  By this time I had the camera, but I was behind the window screen, and only got a blur. The male house finches are much redder than at the end of summer. 

A rain of leaves

Crow voices, wind, and a white sky. The wind means that most motion that catches my eye is leaves flying or skittering across the patio.  A cardinal and a chickadee made it to the feeder briefly.  A bumblebee struggled to the rosemary - it is warm enough, barely.  A string of geese and a couple of kingfishers headed downstream while a buzzard circled above. Mallards are flying too.  A white throated sparrow is poking through the mulch.

Tide was high at lunch.  The daytime high tides have been over 3' for a couple of weeks - both sides of the new moon.  They're supposed to be lower hereafter, even with the full moon in about ten days.  Rain is spitting around 2pm.  A lot of birds stopped in for lunch, then left as soon as my hands were free to take up the camera.  I could become superstitious.  Anyway, titmice and juncos joined the cardinals and chickadees. Occasional patches of sky clear to the North, but not where the sun presumably is. 

Five mourning doves and a sparrow on the bird feeder

Like a variation on the partridge in a pear tree, the doves bustled around the sunflowers. They gave a bum's rush to a lone junco that had been foraging.  Two are napping now, all puffed out against the cold wind.  The wind is keeping birds off the feeder - only a cardinal has visited.

Bright sun is warming things up.  A towhee was riding the top of the feeder but saw me before I got to the camera.  A flock of white throats is busy in the mulch and finches and cardinals are visiting the feeder.  One sparrow got tired of waiting for food to fall.

The sun didn't last.   Apparently we are only having "intervals of sun."  A kingfisher just flew upstream and a lone goose paddled the opposite direction.  At dusk, a Carolina wren came to the feeder.  The cormorants did their evening commute. 

Birds

The birds were out in force: chickadees, titmice, cardinals, finches, a wren, juncos, sparrows, and doves.  A titmouse chased another around the feeder.  The titmice are getting bolder, I think.

A squirrel came to drink at the rain-filled birdbath.  The nuthatch has not appeared for several days so I guess it was a temporary visitor. The sky is gray with occasional breaks letting a trickle of sunlight through.

After lunch, a cold wind has kicked up, keeping the birds and bees at home.   Leaves have buried the pillaged yellow jacket nest.  I hear crows and see cormorants flying. Then, quite suddenly around 3:15 the cloud cover disappeared.

Bright trees, dull day

Juncos were foraging and I heard a cardinal outside the bedroom.  An egret sailed high on the wind.  I'm finding leaf legged bugs that have moved indoors. 

It got quite warm at mid day then chilled right back down.  

Sun's back

The sky is clear for now with a cold breeze.  In the bushes, I saw a tiny patch of white moving, maybe the underside of a leaf?  Then suddenly with more movement a chickadee materialized around its cheek.  Interesting visual illusion.  Three doves showed up early.  I could hear a female cardinal which finally came out from under the vegetation and flew up to the feeder. 

A bank of clouds moved up from the South around 8am.  When I returned at noon, they had broken up.  Some kind of raptor was circling near Mt. Trashmore.  My best guess is a juvenile eagle.

The sky really cleared late in the day but it stayed cold.  Juncos stayed busy under the feeder.  A pelican flew downstream.  I was afraid the wind would strip the trees but so far most are blazing yellow and red.  

A change in the weather

A cold front is predicted, with temperature dropping throughout the day.  The sky went dark as a cloud roared out of the North around 7:20.  Wind picked up leaves and blew them everywhere as fast as birds.  A squirrel galloped down the steps in a furry streak.  And all the birds suddenly needed a snack!  A female finch ruled the feeder, driving off chickadees and titmice.  The darkness made it hard to be sure what birds were in the mulch, sparrows and juncos for certain. The cloud front passed and left rain behind.  This cardinal has a peculiar tail, I think it is still growing feathers. 

Mid afternoon, the rain let up and the feeder birds came back.  On the way back from the library, I came past Witchduck Lake where I saw a flock of a dozen wood ducks.  Behind them are hundreds of cormorants.  More keep flying in all directions. 

Fog didn't last

A layer of fog hung overhead but burned away by 7:30am.  Sparrows, juncos and cardinals on the ground, finches, chickadees and (I think) titmice on the feeder.

Leaves are blowing everywhere and I can smell them.  One leaf turned out to be a sulphur butterfly.   Something (probably a raccoon) has excavated the yellow jacket nest and the yellow jackets are busy with repairs.  Other bees and wasps are still at work. 

More juncos and cardinals at lunchtime.  Again, I hear the kingfisher.  The temperature is lovely but the breeze has picked up.  Cumulus clouds are streaming NNE while much higher cirrus wisps are slowly moving East.  The crows chased another hawk all over the sky.

Towhee returns

A female rufous-sided towhee was poking through the mulch when I got up.  Chickadees and the nuthatch were visiting the feeder.  Sparrows and doves and the squirrel with the white mark were also active. Then they all went away.

I can hear the kingfisher.  The temperature is lovely and the breeze is gentle.  The redwood has become copper.  The maple planted last December is beginning to turn.  The hickory sapling is butter and brown and the dogwoods have been turning since September.  But the oak and sweet gum are still quite green. 

Little birds

Chickadees were joined by the nuthatch and a wren on the feeder.  It is sunny and cold and the creek is a mirror.

Then the cardinals and finches arrived and squabbled over the feeder.  Doves, juncos and a white-throat foraged below while a mockingbird and blue jays worked the berry bushes.  A couple of herons passed by headed upstream.

At lunch, crows pursued a raptor - not sure what, but very creamy on the underside.  At least one kingfisher was working the creek.  I was just thinking how greatly reduced the insect population was post-Sandy when a cabbage butterfly appeared.  Of course bees and wasps are still around but spiders have disappeared. 

The day warmed up nicely and stayed blue.  Sunset gilded wisps of cirrus cloud.

Bright and windy

A junco was poking around the mulch. Later, a white throat took over mulch duty.  A pelican patrolled the creek.  On the feeder, house finches and chickadees were joined by the nuthatch and a goldfinch in winter drab. 

The nuthatch came back for lunch.  It seems to have settled here for the winter.  Of course, today was considerably warmer.  

Waiting for sunshine

Cardinals and chickadees and a titmouse on the feeder and a sparrow in the mulch. Sunshine is visible thought the sky to the North is gray.  The nuthatch reappeared and joined a cardinal on the feeder.

The sky cleared all but some thin clouds like eraser smudges.  I went out on the dock and got cut off by the rising tide.  We're just past third quarter so I don't know why the tide is so high.  It is windy, but switching direction constantly, though that may be because of the trees lining the creek.

But while I was out there, I saw a great blue heron, kingfishers, many Canada geese, two female mergansers, and many cormorants.  The water is all dusty from the blowing seeds. 

No sooner had I waded back and climbed up to the house than a whole flock of cormorants came diving and splashing upstream, around and even under the dock.  

Wet and windy

And it's cold.  The usual suspects are on the feeder - chickadees, finches, cardinals - in the rain. An egret sat on a piling for a while. 

The squirrel with the white spot was out foraging.  The rain has mostly stopped but the wind is raw. Some juncos showed up along with cardinals.  A squirrel was chasing another and paused to twirl its tail just like a villain's mustache. 

Nuthatch

Thin cloud cover is admitting weak sunlight.  Birds were busy around the feeder till something hawkish swooped through.  The white-throated sparrows and the juncos disappeared, but the chickadees and the read-breasted nuthatch soon came back.  The nuthatch has put on quite a show but it won't stay on the feeder when a chickadee lands. 

After lunch, a Carolina wren and some cardinals appeared.  A pelican patrolled the creek.  It is quite gray now. Rain began after dark. 

Junco!

The first junco of the season appeared this morning and was run off by a dove.  The feeder attracted chickadees and titmice.  A hawk was chased by smaller birds, too far away to be sure of what kinds.  It is sunny and breezy, unlike yesterday which was pretty still under the overcast.

Two male kingfishers are competing for territory on our dock.  One pursues, forcing the other off its perch.  But the other just moves to another piling, and since there are a dozen to choose from, I think the aggressor will lose.When I opened the door they squawked and flew off.  But I was able to get some pictures through the window screen and tree branches. 

When I got home at noon, they were still at it!  Meanwhile blue jays were squabbling over acorns.  Finches are on the feeder now. It has clouded up, and with the wind, it is really chilly.   But then the clouds disappeared before a golden sunset. 

Cloudy

A titmouse visited, gray bird on a gray day. Then, a male Baltimore oriole perched on the stake holding up the sunflowers.  It spooked as I grabbed the camera.

Mid-morning a flock of yellow-rumped warblers found something to peck at on the pink camellia.  I wonder what?   Other birds were zooming around including, I think, a small flock of bluebirds that landed briefly on top of the redwood. A female cardinal is having a bad feather day with some fluff sticking out below her wing. 

A few drops of rain on the glass and the first pelican of fall cruised down the creek.  

Sunny

A flock of cormorants flapped South past the setting moon. At lunch there were lots of chickadees and cardinals, and clouds. One cardinal seemed oddly colored.  By late afternoon the clouds had cleared off again.
 

Sparrows

Both song and white throat hunted in the mulch this morning, along with doves.  I saw a chickadee poking there too.  On the feeder, the usual: chickadees, finches, cardinals.  A squirrel finally appeared - the first I've seen since before Sandy.  The song sparrow at the birdbath looks like a 19th century politician with muttonchops. The white throat on the steps is more elegant. 

Birds are back to normal

The sky was overcast at dawn but it is breaking up and letting in sunlight.  A Carolina wren perched on the window sill to watch me eat cereal.  Chickadees, finches and cardinals are visiting the feeder and the ground.  I did see a chickadee pursue a seed on the concrete.  Yellow-rumped warblers have arrived. Doves poked through the storm debris for something to eat. 

The sky has not cleared and it remains chilly.