Dueling cardinals

The males chased each other all over the yard.  It appears that the Tailless One is dominant. Dark clouds looked threatening and a thunderstorm was predicted for the afternoon.  Lots of bees are hunting nectar. The sting/bite from yesterday has nearly faded.

The gladiolus is blooming, supported by morning glory vines.  The orange day lilies have joined the yellow.  Lavender is in full bloom now.  The gardenia is nearly finished and the bees seem to think the sakaki buds are about to open.  The oleander has been blooming for a while.  The lilies planted this spring are nearly finished.  The crepe myrtle is gorgeous.  And, of course, the magnolias have been blooming all along. 

Bright day

It was cool over night but it warmed up rapidly.  The male towhees rose up in the air fussing at each other - I think junior is on his own now.  A hummer came but was scared off when I moved.  And the usual suspects were here. 

Arthropods: wasps, a spider, dragonflies, a scarab beetle and a pine borer, a millipede, a biting fly, and some small brownish butterflies.  Tiny black beetles infest the sunflowers and leaf miners have begun to denude the hibiscus.  The skin of a grasshopper nymph also clung to a sunflower leaf.

The day has been breezy with fluffy clouds moving fast, not humid or too hot.  Nevertheless, one of the above bit or stung me in the pool. Because I was outside, only the chickadees were bold enough to visit the feeder. 

Back to sunshine

Only the regulars came this morning.  I may have glimpsed a hummer in the lavender, but I'm not sure.  The crepe myrtle is an explosion of purple by the driveway.  A wren hopped around in the plants, never quite showing itself. 

As we were grilling lunch, a mating pair of saddlebags flew over and landed on a dead dogwood twig. there were other dragonflies and small butterflies, but none I saw clearly.  During lunch a young skink skedaddled across the patio.  Then a male towhee went to the feeder - I'm speculating it's a juvenile.

When I came home around 4pm, I saw a male towhee in the azalea out front and a smaller one on the ground.  The one in the azalea appeared to call the other one in. 

Later, nearly 8pm but still daylight, three titmice came to the feeder.  A cardinal arrived and booted a titmouse who flew up to the feeder hanger and booted a chickadee.  Birds do have feelings.  Meanwhile, the smaller towhee was scratching in the mulch below. 

Good morning for birds

It was overcast this morning, which they seem to prefer.  A gentle rain fell from about 8:30 to 9am.  First a pair of goldfinches came to check on the sunflower progress.  The female is squinting through the rain.  Then a catbird landed on the steps, saw me, and disappeared.  A brown headed nuthatch joined the chickadees.  Meanwhile, the cardinals and finches made continual visits to the feeder.  In the trees I saw a great crested flycatcher, then some other birds (maybe flycatchers) in an aerial duel.  Finally a titmouse appeared. 

It cleared in the afternoon and I glimpsed dragonflies.  But mostly I was away from windows. 

Overnight rain

The solstice was at 6:51am here with a gray sky and predicted thunderstorms.  The red cardinals and finches were joined at the feeder by gray birds:  titmice and white breasted nuthatches. This nuthatch had to contend with a greedy cardinal.  Just beneath, red roses and gladiolas bloom.  On the other side of the steps, bumblebees and smaller pollinators worked on the lavender. 

A tail-wagging skinklet darted around the garden hose at lunch.  Later in the pool, I was buzzed by a dragonfly, most likely a pondhawk.  A black and white wasp loves the rue flowers.  The sun has been come-and-go so it's been a rather cool, slightly dank day and the pool water felt warmer than the air at 82°. 

The titmouse returned in the evening, along with cardinals. 

Morning after

Last night's storm did not bring as much water as it seemed.  The sky was still overcast in the morning but began breaking up after breakfast.  An osprey flew in and perched on our side of the creek.  Other birds flitted through the trees without pausing for identification.  I did see a female towhee. The regulars came to the feeder and K rehung the hummer feeder. I hope I got rid of whatever they didn't like. 

There was sun for a while but overcast returned. Eventually it cleared and the afternoon was sunny, breezy, and cooler.  A golden-winged skimmer alighted briefly.  A brown thrasher and a wren foraged around the edge of the yard.  Wasps are a constant.  A few small butterflies flit through the trees, but so far June has been lacking in lepidoptera. 

Finch festivities

Both house finches and goldfinches showed up for breakfast, along with cardinals.  The female goldfinch checked on the progress of the sunflower plants, which have not yet even produced buds.  I'm impressed at the bird's botanical knowledge.  The male swung on the hummer feeder. 

I chased all the spiders in the pool onto a brick on the top step.  A small iridescent green beetle needed rescuing along with the usual black beetles and tiny bees.  A grasshopper nymph is the reason the sunflower leaves have holes.  It's very well camouflaged but its shadow gave it away.  A titmouse came to the feeder at lunch. I glimpsed a skink but I think the new mulch has distressed them.

The birdhouse is quiet but I can hear wrens everywhere.  I'm guessing the parents have dispersed their fledglings.  I did see one getting fed, albeit in deep shade which is why this is a terrible photo. 

Clouds built up in the SE during the afternoon.  When I got home, the male towhee visited the new mulch.  Then a hummer came and rejected the feeder, so I'm cleaning it again and I'll make fresh juice.  The hummer spent some time with the lavender.

A wall cloud moved out of the NE and then clouds came from every direction with lightning.  Around 6pm the downpour began and the power went out just as I sat to type this.  It came back after a few minutes and I'm trusting it will stay.

More heat

A titmouse joined the regulars at the feeder.  Then a bluebird perched at the very top of the redwood.  I'm glad they've found someplace suitable in the neighborhood so they visit us.  Our yard is not open enough for a bluebird house.  The wrens were still pushing food into the birdhouse. A third-quarter moon hung high in the Southwest facing the rising sun. 


A female Eastern pondhawk patrolled the patio.  A wren was hunting in the same area but the dragonfly was much too big to worry.  I could hear towhees calling, wrens fussing, and something that goes meee-t-t-t-t-t.  It sounds familiar but I cannot place it. A great crested flycatcher briefly posed at the top of the sweet gum down by the creek. 

Hotter

A towhee worked around the edges of the yard.  The parent wrens didn't go in the birdhouse this morning, they just poked food in.  The regulars visited the feeder.  K said a fox came to the birdbath before I got up. 

The yard people said they saw a snake in the garage.  I never saw it.  Lots of dragonflies  cruised around glittering.  Two spiders in the pool gave me a hard time but were eventually rescued.  The wrens cussed everyone out.

The sun went down a deep orange ball that lit up the sky.  Then, lots of fireflies appeared. 

Hot and hazy

I was running around much of the day.  In the course of that, I saw mockingbirds down the street and a squirrel with a blond tail around the corner.  The squirrel with the white spot on her hip visited briefly this evening.  Towhees and brown thrashers were busy over by the fence.  The wrens are still in the birdhouse.  Dragonflies and small butterflies flitted around and I think I heard a cicada. 

Sunny again

The male towhee made several visits.  Chickadees have been all over the feeder.  The wrens are still at home.  The lavender is blooming - maybe it will satisfy any hummers that come before their feeder is rehung.

Dragonflies streamed by and one banged on the window.  A dove appeared in the late morning.  One chickadee refused to allow another to share the feeder - pure meanness as they weigh too little to trip the counterweight.  A little green heron took off squawking from the trees along the creek.

Both male and female towhee came to the feeder while I sat nearby.  They wouldn't let me take a picture.  Skinks ran back and forth through the mulch all afternoon.  This one was thirsty.  The wrens were really loud in the birdhouse.  Two brown thrashers worked in the camellia, picking off bugs I assume. 

Spiders were running on the pool surface.  I rescued a female with an egg sac who'd lost her balance.  Both a male and a female pondhawk were kind enough to perch instead of just zooming past.  I swatted a mosquito that tried to get a meal off me.  I have poison ivy blisters and fly bites and that's enough.

Sun's back

A female towhee kicked mulch under the feeder while chickadees monopolized the perch.  Then the cardinals (including no tail) and finches arrived, along with a titmouse.  The baby wrens were still in the birdhouse.  One hunted bugs around the patio. When the adults bring food and the young cry for it, the adults often go into the "feed me" wing flutter.  I wonder if hearing feed me cries sets them off, or if they are demonstrating it to the youngsters, or what?

It was quite windy though the sky was cloudless.  A hummer found the juice to be past its sell-by.  A stream of dragonflies flowed across the patio and were carried up and over the roof by the wind.  Then one clung to a rosemary twig but the sun washed out any details.

In the afternoon, the male towhee perched on the post and whistled.  Then it hopped through the mulch and flew up to the feeder before hightailing it when I moved.  An eagle passed over very high.  The foxes romped on the far side of the fence. 

Persistent nuthatch

As I ate breakfast, a white breasted nuthatch repeatedly visited the feeder despite cardinals and chickadees and a titmouse.  The wrens continue flying too and from the birdhouse.  I hope I don't miss the fledglings this time!  It's the sort of gray day that birds seem to favor - not too wet or windy.

Then the sun came out in the middle of the morning. Cumulus piled up all over the sky.  A hummer visited in early afternoon. then a golden winged skimmer posed on the money plant stake.

Toward late afternoon the clouds were hustling ENE and the weather was hard to guess.  A female towhee prospected in the mulch.  A little brown wren chased a little black bug around the patio and finally ate it.  A flesh-eating fly spent some time sitting outside the window - creepy. 

Breakfast guests

A fox appeared at breakfast, looked at us, walked up the steps, and drank from the birdbath.  K had just refilled the birdbath since the dud storm yesterday didn't even wet it.  Then the fox sauntered off about its business.

The tailless cardinal came for breakfast too, as did the other regulars and a titmouse.  I'm wondering if the missing tail is the result of the ongoing dispute with the other male?  Or maybe a predator?  The house wren went a hunting under the bushes around the patio.  I didn't see it catch anything but it flew to the birdhouse so it must have got something.  All in all, a successful breakfast despite the gloomy sky.

Rain briefly spattered the patio and ruffled the water but dried out by 9am.  The first day lily has bloomed. An hour later, rain pounded the house. It lasted until after noon.  After it stopped, a hummer came by.  Then two foxes came through, one distinctly larger than the other which was too big for a cub.  Different sexes, or a yearling helper?  A wren left the birdhouse with feces to dispose elsewhere so as to keep the nest sweet and fool predators. I've been trying to photograph this. 

The sky looked thunderous all afternoon, but stayed dry.  However, the bugs that want a blood meal before laying eggs in rain puddles were out in force. A skipper flitted around the windows for a while. 

Scorcher!

By 10 am it was miserable.  A female towhee came for breakfast.  The regulars showed up too, with the finches having aerial fights.  While driving around, we saw mockingbirds also having a midair dispute.  And the crows were having some kind of affair up in the pines.  The wrens are still ferrying food to the birdhouse.  A hummer came for lunch.  

The afternoon grew overcast with rumbling thunder and a temperature drop, but very little rain.  The severe weather warning was a dud but it chased me inside.  I saw a cardinal with no tail. A skink ran across the steps.

In the evening, I spent some time trying to photograph fireflies and was rewarded by the sight of a fox bringing supper home to excited cubs. It was way too dark but I tried to photograph them anyway. 

Hot & humid

Tidewater summer has arrived, though there is a pleasant breeze.  During breakfast, a white breasted nuthatch visited the feeder.  The camera was not in reach.  Afterward, I went out to the birdhouse.  I had seen a photo of baby wrens poking out of someone else's birdhouse and I wondered if the babies here would do that.  Instead, I got thoroughly cussed out by an adult wren.  But I did happen to notice a yellow crowned night heron down in the marsh grass.

The gardenias have begun to bloom.  The birdhouse got quiet in the afternoon and I was afraid they'd left, but then food arrived and so did the noise.  One dragonfly perched close to the birdhouse. 

Cloudy morning

The wrens are still frantic and the birdhouse has gotten quite loud.  The male towhee was kicking mulch around.  And the feeder regulars visited.  A few drops of rain fell, nothing much.  

Later the female towhee perched on the railing.  Around noon, a couple of titmice visited the feeder.  A skink maneuvered across the wall. A blue dasher hunted bugs from perches in the rosemary. 

The afternoon was a bit brighter.  A brown and yellow swallowtail (giant or palamedes?) flitted past the window.  Later, a gray hairstreak visited the morning glory and the sunflower sprouts.

Later, there was a light rain that wet the pavement.  A hummer fed during supper. 

Another bright day gone gray

The regulars were briefly joined by a titmouse, and hummers got some juice, while the wrens continued to hustle bugs. I was mostly away from view during the morning.  Dragonflies and  wasps enjoyed the midday heat. Later a buzzard circled.

When I finally got to the pool, there was the fox.  Crows and jays scolded, but the loudest was the little wren buzzing like a chain saw.  I finally sat down and the fox went on to the neighbors' gazebo.  When I was out in the middle of the deep end of the water, I had a view of three cubs.  Of course, I did not have the camera.

The wrens have babies too - I can hear them.  I assumed so from the adults' frequent trips, but today I heard their cries for food.  A biting fly drove me inside, one of the little ones that's smaller than a housefly.  The sky has clouded up, with breaks, and the sun behind the clouds makes them look threatening.

Warmer

Sheets of white cloud obscure parts of the sky, but not the sun.  The hummer feeder is restored but the hummer only stopped briefly.  Perhaps the bleach smell has to dissipate?  The regulars have been to the seed feeder.  A juvenile towhee landed next to me, but panicked faster than I reacted.  I had been photographing the orchard spiders - there is one on each side of the gardenia. A few dragonflies and one cabbage butterfly were around.

Later a black swallowtail was busy with the parsley.  The fox came through at lunch time again.  Clearly it keeps to a daily round but we haven't seen it return.  A barge supporting an excavator was pushed upstream by a small motorboat at low tide.  It sent a great blue heron and a great egret fleeing downstream.

In the late afternoon, after we went swimming, K was playing the fiddle outside and a fox appeared at the edge of the lower patio.  I could not get it in focus through the hibiscus leaves.  I see wrens carrying something white from the birdhouse.  I assume they are carrying off the youngsters' feces in order to keep the nest sweet.  They are bringing in bugs almost nonstop. The fox came back and ignored me but decided the neighbors were too noisy. 

Cool, clear and bright

The cold front has passed.  It's breezy and, while plenty of wasps were out, I didn't see any dragonflies.  I shooed off a goose that was checking on the pool.  The wrens continue to bustle and sing.  A hummer visited and gave me a good looking over.  It seemed displeased with the juice, so we took the feeder down to clean.  A white breasted nuthatch kept trying to have a turn at the seed feeder, despite the regular birds. 

I identified this spider as a Venusta Orchard Spider. A skink crossed the patio in the late morning.  And I finally saw adregonfly and a cabbage butterfly.  At noon, the fox passed by, ignoring me although I was sitting outside.  Tufted titmice came to the feeder.  And osprey caught fish. 

My only pool rescue today was a honeybee.  K saved a spider,  In the evening, a female towhee foraged under the feeder.  It looked like it was losing tail feathers.  A hummer stopped in around 8pm  and looked all over for the feeder which was inside, drying.  At least it's clear that the hummer is a returning customer. 

Smoky cumulus drifted East above the pines while swifts scoured the sky for bugs.  The setting sun tinted the clouds peach. 

Stormy weather

It rained overnight and storm clouds have been rolling out of the Northwest making sunshine intermittent.  Early, two ospreys flew past - one continued up the creek while the other headed off toward the lakes.  A great blue heron flew downstream and a great egret landed on a piling.  In the pool, I saved many beetles and some spiders, one of which had her children on her back.  As I got out of the pool, I was watched by a wren sitting in the opening of the birdhouse until I had come up enough steps to appear too large and off it flew.  Skinks have been scurrying by and there have been several hummer visits. 

A little rain has fallen, just enough to wet the windows and make photography hard. I keep hearing a woodpecker hammering, but who knows how far the sound is carrying?  The temperature has dropped. 

Sunny again

The blue sky returned in the morning.  So did the geese.  I counted five goslings and more adults.  The creek was still and reflective.  Titmice came to the feeder.  A hummer breakfasted.  One squirrel stalked another who occupied the roof of the feeder to the pursuer's great frustration.  When he finally leaped for the feeder, the other one jumped off underneath and away they both went.

The male cardinal who has been fascinated with the pool took a plunge today.  I saw it shaking off water.  I assume it sees a rival in its reflection.  When the pool pump started and sent a little wave out toward the bird, it jumped up and back in shock.  I guess the water movement broke up the image because the cardinal then left.

The lantana is blooming out front and the magnolia trees are perfuming the air. A buzzard circled low over us.  A blue tailed skink made a dash across the patio when it thought no one was looking.  A yellow crowned night heron prowled the spartina while the geese made another attempt on the pool.  Lots of dragonflies had lots to hunt.  Big dark cumulus boiled up out of the West and dripped a few drops. 

After the cloud moved on, I went back to the pool. As I was getting in, I saw a little green heron.  It was using the metal loop that the floating dock has to slide up and down the piling as a fishing platform.  I was just thinking it was too high when the heron's head darted, neck lengthened, and it caught a fish.  It moved around the piling but stayed fishing all the while I was in the pool. 

Getting hot

It is both breezier and warmer than yesterday.  The sky is blue for now, but hazy.  The towhees have been loud as they feed their offspring.  A brown thrasher worked the mulch on the far side of the pool.  The crow fledgling continues to lead its family around by the beak.  A hummer showed up and fed. And the regulars came to the feeder.  A female cardinal tolerated my presence. And a yellow crowned night heron flew low overhead.

In the late morning, I saw another hummer.  The wrens stayed busy.  Lots of wasps and a few dragonflies hunted.  One dragonfly has spotted wings and another may have been a darner.  I saw a skink catch a bug!  But none of the photos came out except this one of before.

Several blue jays flew calling from tree to tree.  The crescent moon was faintly visible rising behind the trees.  In the late afternoon, while swimming, I saw a tufted titmouse cross the creek.  It was shocked to discover humans in water.  Then, after we got out, a hummer came but seemed muddled by K's fiddling.  A Carolina wren foraged at the base of the oak.  Finally, a white breasted nuthatch perched on the post and stared at me as I reached for the camera.  But it didn't wait long enough.  Around that time the sky finally clouded over as it had been predicted to do in the morning. 

Fireflies have been rising at dusk when I brick the feeder shut.

Warm, still morning

So I sat outside with the second cup of coffee.  A hummer came, as did chickadees.  A squirrel got to the steps before its nerve failed.  Both towhees were around but not too close.  A blue jay looked me over from the roof.  I could hear the juvie crow and saw an adult ferrying a mouthfull of something white.  The wrens bustled and sang.  A swift chattered as it flew overhead.  An osprey was silent on its way upstream.  I think I glimpsed a red bellied woodpecker crossing the creek, something with a red head anyway, and there had been hammering.  The creek was smooth and reflective and light airs barely moved leaves.  The sky was hatched with contrails that crept East.

At lunch time, a swamp darner dragonfly clung to the wall till I got close.  Then I saw a skink on the wall, but it stayed behind the furniture. A skipper landed on a sunflower leaf.  A tiger and then a black swallowtail passed through the yard.  At the top of the redwood, a brown thrasher serenaded with its back to me.  I whistled to get it to turn around, and it left.  Then the towhee pair danced around the patio.  It appeared he was courting her, unless that was a juvenile?   

The wind picked up in the afternoon and it cooled off.  Another hummer came by but didn't stay.  The sunset under streaky pink clouds with the sickle moon following it down.

Early birds

The female towhee was foraging beside the birdbath at breakfast.  After it left, a female hummer arrived but was scared off when a house wren showed up.  Why the house wren visits the feeders, I do not know - it doesn't eat seeds.  K says it's just nosy.

Finally a female slaty skimmer perched for me. An orange butterfly took an interest in the rosemary but never settled.   A couple of skinks hurried to cover. And another dragonfly perched that was new to me, a Little Blue Dragonlet (Erythrodiplax minuscula).

When K got home and was taking care of my injured toe, the fox appeared and stared at the two of us.  I grabbed the camera, but not quickly enough.  Then an osprey streaked upstream and again I missed.  My reaction time is terrible.

For the last two nights the crescent moon has trailed sunset around bedtime.