Cloudy & breezy

Windows were fogged early but the wind ended the humidity.  The palamedes swallowtail made it through the night.  Apparently annoyed by the bees, it has moved off the rosemary.  Its wings are still a mess.  An amberwing lurked in the grass.  Sulphurs and the other two swallowtails are around.  Finches and cardinals and hummers are feeding.

I saw a different bee today, honeybee size but with stripes more like a yellowjacket.  I suspect it is a bee mimic and probably a fly.  

A skink crossed the lower patio.  Dragonflies, including a female pondhawk, flew across the yard and over the house without pausing.  Sulphurs headed the other way, crossing the creek.  Chickadees and a nuthatch showed up in the afternoon and wrens lurked under the pea vine. The wind out of the Southwest grounded a lot of fliers and pushed the clouds along quickly. 

As darkness fell, a mantis landed on the door.  It was between me and my camera and I had to make it fly away so we could go in. 

Very quiet

The creek's like glass.  I found one wild blue morning glory flower after all.  The hummer feeder was empty except for a small wasp that somehow got itself inside.  There's seed in the other feeder but no birds visited at breakfast.  Some finches showed up mid-morning.

By noon, there was a breeze.  Skinks, including the one with a short blue tail, hurried about their business.  Lots of cardinals joined the finches.  A Carolina wren hunted in the mulch.  Grasshoppers are flying across the yard.  Small butterflies, and a sulphur, a tiger, and a purple are also flying around.  We put out fresh hummer juice.

The chrysalis I first noticed on the 24th opened today.  I found it empty and tried to remove it to get a better look.  Well, the threads attaching it were stronger than the husk and it came apart.  The bottom was full of a thick beige liquid that I assume was leftover caterpillar unneeded in butterfly form.  As I bemoaned missing the emergence, I went to empty the skimmer.  There was the butterfly!  It was a palamedes swallowtail, alive, but not in great shape.  I was as careful as possible in extracting it, but the wings are a mess.  I put it in the sun to revive and it successfully pumped up one wing.  Thinking some nourishment might help, I've left it on the rosemary where it can walk to flowers, soak up sun, and hide.

Then, a male goldfinch came to the feeder.  A hummer visited the fresh feeder but didn't have any.

More grayness

It rained over night.  Carolina wrens were busy on the ground as cardinals, finches, and chickadees fed.  The one-eyed squirrel is still with us. 

The sun is out but the gray clouds re still lurking.  I rescued another foolish frog from the pool. 

Rain accompanied a titmouse at lunch. But the sun soon returned - it is windy.  Butterflies - sulphur, purple, black swallowtail, and others - are rushing around in between rain spells.  A skink with a very short blue tail scuttled across the steps. 

Wet

The mist turned to rain.  Chickadees were up early.  A hummer peered into the window over the sink, possibly because there was a vase of gladiolas on the sill.

The rain didn't last long and the sky is streaked with clouds and blue.  A cormorant took off running down the creek.  The finch with injuries seems somewhat better today.  The only morning glory that survived weeding is dark blue.  I meant to save some of the wild, light blue too.

Overcast is back and the air is still and oppressively humid, though not hot.  A great egret preened on a piling.  A titmouse joined chickadees at the feeder.  I found a dead frog floating in the pool. A palamedes swallowtail flitted by the window.  Wrens inspected. 

Hazy became cloudy

I was up early enough to see a tinted sunrise.  But most of the morning I was inside.

At lunch, the cardinals, chickadees, and finches were joined by wrens, nuthatches and hummers.  One female finch is either injured or diseased - the left eye and foot appear non-functional and she huddles on the feed slots in a very bad temper. 

Butterflies and dragonflies were around all afternoon.  Something green and hummer-size that flew across the pool turned out to be a grasshopper, like the one I saw in the cherry last year.  A female common whitetail dragonfly hung out near the rosemary and an amberwing hid in the bush. Dogwood leaves are beginning to turn. 

Another beautiful day

Sunny, but neither sticky nor scorching. But not much to photograph.  The creek looked placid despite the light breeze.   I had my coffee outside and finches came anyway.  So did squirrels, but they were very twitchy.  A Carolina wren and a hummer also ignored me.  Bees and wasps and the hummer sipped rosemary flowers.  Other birds chirped and insects buzzed.  The cicadas are quite distinct form the crickets. 

A nuthatch showed up after lunch.  The same butterflies - hairstreak, purple, tiger - and some dragonflies zipped around.  In the late afternoon, swifts circled overhead so high I thought they were just the spots in my eyes.  But I could hear their calls very clearly despite the distance.  The hummer feeds right on into twilight. It is mosquito-ee this evening, maybe because there's less wind? A great blue heron landed on the dock and I heard a kingfisher call.

Cool and sunny

The finches are still congesting feeder traffic but chickadees and nuthatches are managing.  A hummer challenged a cardinal and was ignored.  A Carolina wren hunted on the ground, along with squirrels.  It is not as windy as yesterday. Lots of other birds are singing or chattering - I recognize a jay but not the others. 

Butterflies waited till it warmed up.  So far I've seen tiger swallowtail, a red spotted purple, and a gray hairstreak.  I believe I saw a cicada killer target a hummer.  Given the hummer's size and color, a mistake would be understandable, and would also explain why hummers seem more wary of bees than birds.  However, the insect I'm seeing is more orange than the ones in the link.  Whatever it is, it went for the hummer. 

Today's pool rescue was a cicada.  A skink took an interest even though the insect was twice its size.  Meanwhile, crows ganged up on a red tailed hawk across the creek.  I could see the tail clearly but my photo caught only the crows.  The wind has picked up and the rosemary feeders are struggling against it.  A hairstreak tried to hold its wings open and angled to the sun. 

Late in the day, another hawk, this one with a barred tail, flew into the trees, and probably on across the creek to judge by the cawing.  I couldn't tell if it was a Coopers or a Sharp shin.

Sunshine

A goldfinch paused briefly on the way to the neighbors' feeder.  Maybe I should get a thistle sock?  Two brown headed nuthatches joined the usual three species.  The day looks lovely so far, cloudless and breezy.

Titmice had a hard time getting their turn at the feeder.  A hummer chased off a chickadee and another hummer, only to be run off by a bee.  Dragonflies are glittering in the morning sun.  A different squirrel got a sugar fix from the hummer feeder.

At lunch time a Carolina wren showed up.  All three swallowtails - black, tiger, and palamedes - flitted around, and there is a swallowtail chrysalis on the pool ladder.  Other butterflies included a red spotted purple, a cloudless sulphur, and a gray hairstreak.  The hindwings of one hairstreak were nipped around the orange spot, presumably by a bird that mistook them for eyes.  An amazing variety of bees and wasps are enjoying the rosemary, but no honeybees.  A small skink ventured out of its crack. 

Later I found a larger skink in the skimmer which was stuffed full of leaves from the NE wind.  An osprey sailed over and kept going.  Geese paddled upstream and later came flying back. Little skippers joined the bees on the rosemary.  Dragonflies battled the wind.  An amberwing hunkered down in the rosemary.  Thread-waisted wasps have appeared. I think the figs are done. 

Finally a ruby throat

A male hummer appeared but preferred the herbs to the feeder.  A female seems to have a particular dislike of titmice and drove one away twice.  A nuthatch visited briefly.  Other than that it was the usual suspects.  Lots of finch drama as one female claimed the perch.   One finch has a blushing chest which I think means it's an immature male.  The other males are still quite red.  First a great egret, then a great blue heron rested on the dock.

The perplexing bumblebee is still visiting the rosemary.  A blue tailed skink came out at lunch.  A green frog got caught in the skimmer.  There was a fine finch frenzy at lunch, and again in the evening.  Two families have raised too many offspring.  The brown headed nuthatch got caught up in the finch congestion at the feeder in the evening.  Two Carolina wrens arrived in the late afternoon after the rain started.

Drippy again

It rained overnight.  I woke up around 4:30 and the moon was bright in the SW while there was lightning in the North.  Hummers are happy with the fresh juice, but not with each other.  Bees seem interested as well - did I spill some?   A bee chased off a hummer that will stand up to a cardinal.  Go figure.  A cardinal slammed into a side window but staggered off after a minute.  I don't know why it couldn't see the window as they were all fogged over this morning.  Birds have been slow to visit the feeder and only the usuals have shown up.

But, on the dock, I got lucky!  A little green heron perched on the back of the bench was joined by a yellow crowned night heron on a piling.  I rescued a dark flower scarab beetle that was floating on a stick in the pool.  The palamedes flitted through again and a spotted dragonfly was out flying in the evening, as were the swifts. 

Tired of rain

Sunlight leaked in at dawn, but not for long.  Doves, two nuthatches, titmice, Carolina wrens, and a hummer joined the regular trio this morning before a light rain started.  At least four squirrels galloped around and messed with both feeders. White spot has figured out how to tip the hummer feeder away in order to get at the juice. Smart! 

More rain sprinkles and intermittent sun at lunch.  A skinklet ventured out.  Sulphur butterflies and a palemedes swallowtail flitted through.  A slaty skimmer took up watch on one of my dragonfly perches.  Swifts soared against the dark clouds.  And the hummers continued to challenge each other.

When I looked at the photo, I was surprised by a fierce face on the palamedes swallowtail.  I think it may only be apparent when the butterfly is in motion.  It makes me think owl which would scare many birds off.  Now is it my imagination or is it a genuine evolved protection?

I'm cleaning the hummer feeder even though the hummer wasn't rejecting it. 

A new bee

A couple of female finches just sat and sat on the feeder doing nothing.  So I went looking for other lifeforms.  A couple of azalea moth caterpillars are still chowing down.  Lots of mushrooms are popping up. 

A black swallowtail and a red admiral and some little butterflies came around after lunch.  The rosemary was full of bees, including one I have not seen before: the Perplexing Bumble Bee (Bombus perplexus).  It is much yellower than regular bumble bees.  A young skink chased a small bug on the steps.  Hummers continue to fight over the feeder and they curse in little chup-chups.  And they make a zipping sound as they chase each other. 

The Carolina wren is still feeding the cowbird fledgling.  It hurts to watch it work so hard.  A fat, yellow moon rose tonight.  Last night I saw it all fuzzy behind a screen of cloud, but tonight it ruled the sky. 

Still

The sky is featureless white and the occasional raindrop is falling.  The air is still and very humid, but a little cool.  The wren has lured the fledgling cowbird onto the feeder so maybe soon it can stop wearing itself out on its giant foster child.  This is the fledgling.  I got a photo of the two of them but it is very fuzzy.

Two hummers seem more evenly matched than usual.  They argued over the feeder and the rosemary and everything else.

Two millipedes moseyed down the house wall, one atop the other.  Mating?  They have been much more common this summer than I remember from other years.  They're about an inch long and dark brown and seem to fit the description of "common garden millipede."  I've always enjoyed millipedes - I like the way motion flows along their legs.  But the really cool millipedes are the big ones I remember from Ohio. 

Rain strengthened a bit in the late morning.  The nuthatch showed up for lunch.  The cowbird returned along with three Carolina wrens.  It's twice the size of a finch, never mind a wren!  Hummer warz continued.  Cardinals and their offspring competed with finches and their offspring.  Chickadees slipped past all the others.  A squirrel with a very sparse, flat tail  looked like it might have lost the top layer of fur.  Bumblebees are working on the rosemary, but I haven't seen any honeybees on it since Spring. 

The afternoon dried out a bit.  An egret prowled the bulkhead.  And this evening a rabbit appeared!  That must mean the foxes have moved away.  

Soggy

Everything is dripping and everyone is hungry.  In addition to the usual three, I've seen a wren, a nuthatch, a hummer, and a titmouse.  Squirrels are busy too.  The sky is still overcast but not too dark.  An egret flew upstream. 

Sunlight is getting through the clouds though the sky is still white. Titmice took advantage to visit the feeder.  That was mid-morning.  At noon, it rained.

Around 2pm, the clouds broke apart and let the sun through.  Dragonflies and butterflies showed up, along with several skinks. A silver-spotted skipper was all over the lavender.  One dragonfly had a yellow body, another was blue.  The wren is still feeding the cowbird!

One of the young cardinals smacked into the glass and took some time to recover.  But it finally scuttled into the bushes. The green mantis reappeared, on the window above the azalea under which the cardinal hid.  Now I have predators at both doors, the argiope on the street side and the mantis on the water side. 

Still gray

Rain is still predicted, but the sky is constipated.  Chickadees and finches came for breakfast, along with a squirrel.  The hummer feeder has fresh juice and a hummer has approved. 

It did rain, in Chesapeake and Portsmouth.  Finches and a bald faced female cardinal and this hummer were all the birds I saw in the afternoon.  Oh, and a distant egret, and a pair of crows making romantic coughing sounds.  A dead frog was near the birdbath.  Azalea moth caterpillars are working on one plant out front and several others look pretty chewed.  I noticed because something left a bracket fungus lying loose on the mulch and when I went to see that, there were the caterpillars on the nearby azalea. 

At last, the rain has arrived. So now, of course, all the birds are hungry.  Hummers are zipping around, dodging raindrops, as evening falls. 

Like yesterday, gray

Gray sky, though the sun is currently shining.  Lots of finches.  Cool breeze.

At lunch, I glimpsed a skinklet.  A tiger swallowtail flew around the cherry tree.   Cardinals and chickadees came for lunch and a hummer got into everything. The hummer feeder was dry - here's the bird checking. 

In the afternoon I saw a male widow skimmer looking very silvery, but it didn't stop for a photo.  An egret prowled along the bulkhead.  Rain was predicted, but there has been none thus far. 

A charm of finches

Charm is supposedly the proper collective noun for finches.  At least eight are chattering away and fussing over the feeder.  Some are still begging from parents as well.  It's hard for a chickadee to get in edgewise but the cardinals just shove everyone off the perch.  A hummer has chased some of the birds.  Titmice came early while there was a gleam of sunlight, but now the sky is dull white and it's all finches.

A squirrel tried to get a share of seeds but the feeder defeated it. I've seen white-spot and one-eye and at least two other squirrels this morning.  A squirrel sat in the dogwood eating berries.  Another climbed the garden hose. 

At noon, titmice rejoined the finches, cardinals and chickadees.  The gill-inspecting wren appeared as did the nuthatch and hummers.  A black swallowtail drifted through.  It is still dull and sunless and cool enough to have windows open.  

Some blue sky appeared in the afternoon along with dark cumulus, but by evening it was back to haze.  The setting sun revealed that the haze was marked by thicker lines of cloud in a pattern like drying mud cracks or the edges where bubbles touch.  Very fractal.

Temperature dropped

It is overcast and gusty.  Nevertheless, the hummers were up before me.  Chickadees followed, then squirrels.  The juvenile cardinal appeared, followed by the molting male and female.  Finally, finches.  An osprey circled and geese passed in formation.  I tied up the gladiola since the hummer seems likely to land on it. 

The hummer actually ran the other birds off their feeder.  Amazing!  It also got up in my face when I came too close.  The overcast clumped up and moved off the the East.  A yellow crowned night heron perched on a dock post just before lunch.  A tiny skinklet disappeared into a crack in the top step.  A big brown and yellow butterfly fluttered past the window.  I hope it was a giant swallowtail.  Smaller butterflies and dragonflies defied the wind. 

When I got home this afternoon, a goldfinch was up in a dogwood - I presume it was eating berries. The feeder was busy with finches, a Carolina wren, a brown headed nuthatch, chickadees and cardinals.  Hummers continue to chase other, bigger birds around the yard.  One also chased a black swallowtail.  A grown skink slipped along the hose.  One of the squirrels is blind in its right eye.  It's a male so I suspect it got bit by another squirrel, rather than damaged by a predator. 

Sunset was red with plenty of clouds for drama.  A firefly blinked.  The tree cricket chorus is in full voice though the cicadas have been scarce this summer. 

More humidity

K squeegeed the windows so we could see the birds.  The regulars were joined by titmice and a Carolina wren.  A hummer tried the morning glory blossoms but didn't linger.

At lunch time, the sky looked threatening.  A half grown praying mantis stalked the rue.  It blended with the morning glory vines.  Two Carolina wrens shared the feeder.  The hummer feeder has been busy.  I don't know what the juvenile cardinal did, but a hummer chased it across the yard and apparently goosed it.  Speaking of which, the Canada geese are beginning to flock.  A dozen or two were cropping the grass along the street.

The brown headed nuthatch is still hanging about.  The Carolina wren is still feeding the fledgling cowbird.  Butterflies (a tattered red spotted purple) and dragonflies (a slaty skimmer) showed up along with bees and wasps.  At least one hummer is fond of the rosemary and lavender and keeps trying to get into a gladiola bud.  In addition to not sharing with each other, the hummers are harassing bigger birds.  Dark clouds sailed past all afternoon without actually doing anything. I found the first frog of the season in the pool. Two great blue herons and a yellow crowned night heron took off when I was stalking the butterfly.  (It was so damaged I didn't recognize it at first.)

A fuzzy first quarter moon is overhead. 

Hazy, hot, and humid

Kind of quiet - just finches and doves.  I thought the seed feeder might be empty, but it isn't quite.  A black swallowtail passed through. A morning glory is blooming.  I cut most of them back where they were crowding the other plants. 

A large flock of geese sailed overhead.  A bluejay stayed in the trees.  A Carolina wren made a brief visit.  A tiny skink and a full grown one went up the wall of the house.

It is still very humid and the birdbath has not evaporated at all.  Mosquitoes are thick around the figs which are getting eaten by birds.  The argiope still guards the door and a different spider has hatchlings up under the overhang.  The paper wasps are still hanging around their nest.  Nothing seems to be interested in the lantana.

Rain fell around 5:30 even though the sun was shining.  It made a lovely rainbow to the East.  Afterward, a yellow crowned night heron preened on a piling. 

Humidity

Fogged windows obscured lots of activity at the feeder.  I think I saw wrens, titmice and the nuthatch in addition to the regulars.  I cleaned the hummer feeder overnight and need to get it back out. The sky is mostly gray cloud, soft and wet looking.  Some butterflies, skippers, and dragonflies are out. I put the hummer feeder back up and it was much appreciated.

The afternoon is sunnier, but raindrops fell anyway.  There was no cloud overhead at the time.  The nuthatch and a wren visited during lunch.  At least two red spotted purple butterflies laid eggs on the cherry trees.  A black swallowtail rejected a rose and  I think I saw  a palamedes swallowtail. One small skink ventured across the patio. 

A couple of crows explored the "restructured sweet gum.  Rain drove us inside at 5:30 but a Carolina wren and a hummer continued to feed. 

Nuthatch returns

Birds were busy at breakfast, till I got the camera.  Grrrr.  A hummer and a brown headed nuthatch joined the usual crowd.  A cardinal kept poking the nuthatch who was undeterred.  It perched on the hummer feeder and the post while trying to sneak onto the feeder.   Meanwhile, the hummer was distressed by all the carrying on in its vicinity.  It is still breezy today, cloudy too. 
 
I glimpsed a blue dragonfly and the same tattered black swallowtail from yesterday.  The grill inspector wren visited. The squirrel with the white spot showed up today - I hadn't seen it since last month. A slaty skimmer posed on one of the perches I put out. 

Around 4pm a big thunderstorm rolled through.  In its wake, titmice, chickadees, and finches showed up hungry.  There are lots of parents feeding fledglings - cardinals, chickadees, and finches.  I suspect the titmice are also this year's.  The rain left the air saturated and not all that cooler. 

Windy

Clouds are flying out of the West.  The wind seems to be discouraging activity.  I saw a heron fly downstream, with the wind.

At lunchtime it got more lively.  I saw my first ever brown-headed nuthatch, though all the pictures are blurry.  Titmice joined cardinals and chickadees at the feeder.  Some of the cardinals are molting badly.  Sulphurs, black swallowtails, and a little orange butterfly ignored the wind gusts, as did a few dragonflies.  The tree trimming is finished and they look awful, for now. 

I rescued a caterpillar from the pool that turns out to be a pest of azaleas: Datana major.  It is certainly striking, but the moth is apparently a dull brown. Finches finally appeared and the nuthatch returned.  I originally saw it yesterday but not to recognize. 

There was a colorful, streaky sunset this evening. 

Warmer

A brown thrasher poked through the mulch.  Carolina wrens visited the feeder.

Hummers, skinks, and black swallowtails showed up during lunch.  The tree surgeon is remodeling the sweet gum in the front yard and sawdust is snowing  everywhere.  The sky looks threatening.

Empty threats, thus far.  The figs are coming in nicely.   I've picked over a dozen so far. I finally captured two hummingbirds in one photo!  Warz, indeed. Three young titmice made repeated forays to the feeder. 

I'm still trying to catch the big orange insect that buzzes through occasionally.  There are dragonflies and butterflies around, including a large orange one that may be a fritillary. 

Gray sky, intermittent sun

A hummer came early.  Other than that, not much is happening.

The sun is playing peek-a-boo.  The usual suspects are up now.  The lovelorn squirrel is still pursuing hope.  The hummers continue to drive each other off the feeder.

I think I saw a cicada-killer but it didn't pause to let me be sure.  Black swallowtails continue to lay eggs, more easily now that I cleared the morning glory vines off the rue.  A full grown skink and a tiny blue tail were active at the same time.  The hummer warz continue. 

The poor little wren is still feeding its foster cowbird.  Two ospreys circled, and a buzzard, and possibly an eagle. The sky got clearer in the afternoon and no thunderstorm materialized.  I got bit by a fishing spider as I cleared leaves from the pool.  It stung and there was some prickly numbness but the cool water may have helped.  The spider was certainly justified as I probably came close to squashing it. 

Dark morning

Rain was not predicted, but the sky is very dark to the North.  That's the direction taken by a large flock of geese that passed noisily overhead.  A hummer popped up to watch.  Meanwhile a squirrel followed another around the patio and up on a chair.  Very romantic, he appeared to have his eyes half closed. It's raining now at 8am.

By 10 the rain was down to drips but everything is wet.  The argiope had a moth for breakfast.  A hummer sat in the rain to keep an eye on the feeder.  A Carolina wren and a cardinal found the tipping point of the feeder perch. Wet squirrels have been nosing through the mulch. 

And still it rains at 1pm.  The male cardinal is not deterred.  And a hummer visited the feeder even though you'd think the rain would knock it right out of the air. 

Cool!

Just 65 degrees this morning.  Windows open in August!  Cardinals and finches are enjoying it.  Chickadees finally got up.  A hummer flitted all around the feeder but didn't feed - time to change it?  A jumping spider hiked across the window.  And an osprey landed briefly in the pines across the creek.

A tiny skink crossed the steps at lunch and a full grown one mid-afternoon. A black swallowtail left eggs on the rue and a little pearl crescent butterfly fed on the rosemary.  I cleaned the hummer feeder and refilled it.

I've identified a new insect, a broad-headed sharpshooter.  I've seen them before and just said "leafhopper" in my head, but I wanted to label the photo better than that.  Apparently "sharpshooters" are cousins of leafhoppers and cicadas. 

A cloud of birds

Everybody woke up hungry!  In addition to the cardinals, house finches, and chickadees, titmice mobbed the feeder.  The poor wrens are still feeding their monster fledgling.  A brown thrasher poked through the mulch.  Both the wren and a titmouse sampled the parsley seeds.  One or more female hummers has been at the juice nearly constantly this morning.  The windows were fogged again, but the clouds are broken.  An osprey soared over the lake. 

There are two male cardinals, one glowing with health, the other molting, I think.  They chased each other around.  Two female hummers also spent a lot of energy chasing each other.  One fed on the rosemary flowers.  A brief moment of sun brought a pair of goldfinches to the parsley. And, for the first time since we got home, there is action at the birdhouse - is the wren thinking about a second brood? 

After a gray morning, the afternoon became glorious - intense blue sky (almost violet), warm and not at all sticky.  I rescued a very young skink from the pool, also an iridescent green tiger beetle.  Black swallowtails showed up to lay eggs in the late afternoon.  The only dragonfly I saw was an amberwing on the rosemary.  Hummers keep coming, but one seemed to have trouble with the feeder.  A youngster?