Good fishing!

Despite the cold, the creek flowed free beyond a margin of ice and waterfowl returned. Red breasted mergansers started fishing right after breakfast.  There were more females than males and a mad-eyed juvenile. 

Up at the feeders, the red bellied woodpeckers showed up early.  Wind ruffled her stripes.  Yellow rumped warblers were hungry too.  A half dozen doves hoped for water in the birdbath but it kept freezing as fast as we poured in more hot.  The tailless blue jay returned.  Downy woodpeckers waited for their big cousins to leave. 

When we got home, the was a wigeon drake on the creek.  It tried to join a flock of hoodies.  A great blue heron caught a fish bigger than its beak.  I believe I glimpsed an eagle with a fish. 

The sky clouded up during lunch.  Pine warblers joined the butterbutts.  Carolina wrens appeared.  Song and white throated sparrows kicked mulch. 

The fishing went on in waves, heralded by a circus of gulls, till I could not see any more.  The camera had already given up.  But all day I only saw one cormorant. 

Gray sun

The prediction was for a sunny day but a thin layer of cloud blocked or muted the sun throughout the day.  With little warmth from the sun and occasionally icy gusts, I could not stay still outside very long, even though it was not as cold as yesterday.  The birdbath didn't refreeze after I thawed it but the creek retained much of its ice. 

The birds were hungry in the morning.  The bark butter balls attracted pine and yellow rumped warblers, blue jays, red bellied woodpeckers and even Carolina wrens.  Titmice and a persistent squirrel wanted sunflower seeds. Downy woodpeckers insisted on suet.   A white breasted nuthatch paid one visit to the feeder.  Juncos and sparrows, both song and white throat, foraged on the ground. 

 Mallards and one hoodie drake paddled up the narrow line of open water where the current ran.  A great blue heron fished further downstream.  Crows chased a hawk.  And three eagles sailed overhead but soon were screened by trees.

A sizeable flock of robins descended on the yard and then did nothing but pick new perching spots till they all took off again. Sunset painted pink freckles on the sky. 

Frigid!

The creek never fully melted and the birdbath refroze each hour.  The feral cat was waiting below the feeders at dawn.  Red bellied woodpeckers arrived as soon as it was fully light.  Blue jays were right behind.  A Carolina wren was also hungry.  White throats were glad I melted the birdbath. 

A squirrel not only ate the clementines, but also gobbled up the grape jelly that was supposed to lure an oriole. 

The doves were back.  So was the olive-drab warbler which I suppose is just another pine warbler.  The yellow rumped warbler with the odd markings was back too.  And I got a glimpse of a song sparrow.  Downy woodpeckers got up later than their big cousins. 

 Mallards got as far as the dam before they ran out of open water.  A great blue heron watched the ice from the mud flat exposed at low tide. 

Sunset was a brilliant pink as the sky had gotten hazy.  The moon was haloed in mist. 

Flurries

Flakes of snow blew around in the morning but didn't stick to anything.  The birdbath was frozen solid and the creek had a flexible skin of ice. There was sun when I first got up, but the clouds merged and the sky was mostly gray in the morning.  The temperature never rose out of the 20s Fahrenheit all day.  We poured hot water into the birdbath repeatedly throughout the day. 

The cold made the birds hungry and thirsty and brought the shy ones into view.  The red bellied woodpecker pair were after suet and bark butter balls.  A Carolina wren started with bark butter balls but had some of everything.  The white throated sparrows were especially grateful for water.  The downy woodpecker pair also alternated on the suet.  But at least three pine warblers wanted their share of suet and bark butter and tried to share space with the woodpeckers.  A flock of doves foraged with the white throats. 

A yellow bellied sapsucker appeared on a dogwood trunk but didn't stay long.  Three blue jays were really into bark butter balls.  A male towhee put in an appearance for the first time in months.  An industrious butterbutt still retained some summer feathers.  K and I believe we saw an oriole, so I put grape jelly out, just in case.  I got a photo of a female in the camellia.  Titmice were quite late to the party. So were juncos.  A couple of song sparrows joined the white throats, but also got interested in the bark butter balls.  For some reason, the song sparrow preferred to climb the hanger to the feeder instead of flying in like every other bird. 

I saw a bufflehead where the current had kept part of the creek ice-free. I saw pelicans in the afternoon, but got no photos.  A flock of hoodies glittered in the late afternoon sunlight, but again no photo.  Egrets were more cooperative.  There were squirrels around, but they didn't do anything interesting.  Sunset turned the few remaining clouds to coral.  I saw the half moon in the afternoon and meant to get another look after dark, but missed my chance. 

Cold gray sky

The goldfinch was on the feeder hanger when I came out to the kitchen, but it left and never came back. The female red bellied woodpecker decided to keep eating suet.  A Carolina wren hunted bits that had fallen.  A yellow rumped warbler was thirsty.  Blue jays went for more bark butter balls. 

White throats pecked at all sorts of bits.  Downy woodpeckers followed the red bellied on the suet.  And then the male red bellied took a turn.

A song sparrow joined the white throats.  A male brown headed cowbird dropped in on the feeder. A couple of pairs of hooded mergansers paddled upstream.  A titmouse got thirsty. At least seven doves showed up just as the light was going.

Morning was fairly quiet but I thought I saw a few tiny pellets of snow.  The wind kicked up by mid day and the clouds looked like snow.  In the middle of the afternoon there was a short window of sunshine.  And around 4pm the clouds on the Western horizon turned yellow.

Cold sunshine

Patches of fish scale clouds alternated with blue sky.  The birdbath was frozen but there was no ice on the creek.  Instead there was lots of fishing.  I missed the pelicans again. A heron was wading by the dam outfall.  A half dozen hoodies sailed past the heron.  Buffleheads were also out on the water, as was a female ruddy duck - first this winter. 

A downy woodpecker managed to bluff a red bellied woodpecker off the suet.  A blue jay lurked but didn't come close.  White throated sparrows were also shy.  A yellow rumped warbler finally got up.  Then a pine warbler had a staring match with the red bellied woodpecker.  A goldfinch joined the party but had no refreshments. I glimpsed a brown thrasher under the camellia before it spooked. 

In the afternoon, the heron moved to the dock closest to the dam.  The ruddy duck was like a jack-in-the-box, popping up and immediately diving, only to reappear 20' away.  Eventually she stopped diving and bathed and preened, then went to sleep. 

Three blue jays landed in the hackberry and one went for the bark butter balls I'd put out. At sunset the sky was clear except for streaks of gilded cloud right over the sun.  As I pulled into the driveway, a mockingbird dashed into the shrubbery. 

Plenty of birds

 When I came out to the kitchen, a pine warbler was glowing in the early sunshine.  Titmice soon appeared, then yellow rumped warblers and Carolina wrens.  A male red bellied woodpecker ventured out of the trees for some suet. 

 Buffleheads, mostly drakes, came and went all day.   There were pelicans cruising over the creek but I didn't see any on the water. As long as they are flying, they are screened by twigs from the camera. Later, a handful of female red breasted mergansers and one male chased a school of fish.  Cormorants joined the hunt. 

Clouds thickened till the afternoon was overcast.  A goldfinch perched on the feeder hanger but left without any seeds.  A few white throats kicked mulch while a blue jay watched from the trees.  A downy woodpecker came for suet.

Damp

A female red bellied woodpecker had some suet this morning.  A blue jay zipped across the yard and a Carolina wren visited every feeder.  Gulls circled overhead but didn't see anything in the creek.  A squirrel climbed the dish hanger only to find hot pepper bark butter balls instead of mealworms.  The day was colder but less windy, overcast, with intermittent drizzle. I was surprised to see a few bees working on the camellia blossoms.  

Windy

A Carolina wren was up before me.  White throated sparrows searched the mulch for fallen seeds.  A bufflehead drake paddled on the choppy creek.  But the most interesting event was a titmouse attacking the egg sack left by the Argiope spider up in the cherry.  I wonder if the warm temperature caused the spiderlings to hatch. 

A yellow rumped warbler showed up in the afternoon.  A chickadee proposed sharing the suet but the warbler objected.  The chickadee prevailed. 

Later a robin stopped by for a drink.  It had a bent tail feather.  A male downy woodpecker ate suet.  The oak tree caught a grocery bag.  And a hawk perched in a pine across the creek which scared everyone away. 

It was quite warm in between gusts of wind, and fairly sunny, though the sky was never clear.  The wind from the Southwest ruffled altocumulus clouds into ridges and popcorn.

Gray

It was warmer and overcast, with a dribble of rain mid morning.  A female pileated woodpecker showed up today. Between it and a Carolina wren, the suet was down to a nubbin, so K put out a new block. A butterbutt scrounged on the patio. 

Two bufflehead drakes paddled downstream on the glass-smooth creek.  Later, a great blue heron perched on the back of the dock bench.  The light was bad all day and birds were scarce.

Solstice

The sun shone in a clear sky but a chilly wind carried its warmth away.  A Carolina wren found the hot pepper bark butter balls and seemed delighted.  A pine warbler glowed like living sunlight.  The female red bellied woodpecker came back and there was no sign of the pileated that scared her off yesterday.  White throats and doves foraged but I saw no juncos.  Titmice, cardinals and chickadees stayed with sunflower seeds.  A butterbutt got up late.  So did a downy woodpecker. 

I was away for a good part of the day doing civic things. At twilight, I looked out and caught the sharp crescent moon descending. An unexpected visitor indoors was a leaf-footed bug. 

Still and gray

A day like a titmouse, with an unexpectedly loud whistle.  Birds prefer days with no wind or shadows.  A mockingbird came for a drink while I was eating my (late) breakfast, but it got away without a photo.  Yellow rumped warblers were busy with the suet.  Blue jays lurked in the bushes and chased each other.  They began eating the hot pepper bark butter balls.

 Down on the dock a crow played fetch with a pine cone.  A squirrel fell off the seed feeder while trying to raid it.  Buffleheads paddled around the creek. 

A Carolina wren foraged, then attacked the suet.  A half dozen doves also poked through the mulch.  A male downy woodpecker followed the wren on the suet, which was getting quite small.  The female then took her turn.  White throated sparrows seemed to be everywhere.  And one of them tried a bark butter ball. The female red bellied woodpecker showed up, seemingly with a flock of pine warbler attendants.

And then, a male pileated woodpecker scattered all the other birds.  Despite his size, he was very shy.  He sneaked up on the suet as though there might be a snake hiding inside.  He was big enough that he could perch on the post, instead of clinging to the suet cage, and still reach his beak inside.  But the lump of suet was so small, it kept sliding to the other side.  Meanwhile a bold pine warbler got tired of waiting and tried to slip in for a beakfull.  The woodpecker flared his crest and looked very imposing. 

A small flock of bluebirds  arrived, hoping for some suet.  A blue jay and a bluebird posed together for me.  Another warbler* got a chance at the suet though a bluebird objected. And then they all went away. 

Toward evening, I saw a buzzard fly over and a bufflehead paddle downstream.  Layers of cloud hung over the Northern horizon. 
__________
*orange crowned?  juvenile black poll?  Or just a female pine warbler?

Morning mist

Oval rafts of leaves floated on the creek, an odd phenomenon I cannot recall seeing before.  Mallards took an interest in something under the dock.  White throats and Carolina wrens visited. 

I was running around most of the day but got in a short walk through the yard to check on the argiope's eggs  and the oversize fungus under the oak.  I found footprints of the robber who upset the mealworm dish, leaving behind the hot pepper bark butter balls.  A pine warbler dropped in after I came inside.  I saw a turtle on the lake log again.

Warm

The cat turned up just as I was wondering what became of the birds.  Doves and cardinals flitted among tree branches, catching early sunlight.  When the cat had been gone for a while, a male downy woodpecker breakfasted on suet.  White throats turned up eventually. 

The creek glittered as a pair of hoodies paddled upstream.  A great blue heron caught the late afternoon sun on the dock next to the dam.  Turtles did the same on a log in the lake. 

The tide was way out at sunset, leaving only a small reflection of the pink streaks in the Northern sky.  A small flock of white birds sped over the dam in the twilight.  I've no idea what they were.  The sky to the Southwest was brushed with gold. 

Lots of birds

Frozen again, birdbath and creek.  I poured boiling water into the birdbath, but left the creek alone.  The camellia blossoms were frostbitten but there were more buds.  I was up early enough that the sky was still pink and there wasn't enough light for bird photos.  Carolina wrens and cardinals were having breakfast.  A song sparrow left after a brief reconnaissance. Then the sun illuminated the feeders. 

A female red bellied woodpecker seemed offended by the camera.  A blue jay lurked in the bushes.  Pine and yellow rumped, and possibly orange crowned, warblers hotly contested possession of the suet, chasing each other across the yard., putting the "war" in warbler.  White throats and juncos foraged in the mulch.  Titmice alternated between seeds and suet. 

Stringy clouds streamed across from West to East until after lunch when they filled the sky quite rapidly, thickened, and grew dark.  A bluebird inspected the yard but the camera refused to focus.  Then a robin did the same.  A male red bellied woodpecker hammered on the sweet gum tree.  The wrens returned.  A mockingbird wanted a drink.  A white breasted nuthatch scurried up and down the pine tree trunk. 

I saw a male bufflehead on the creek after the ice melted.  A downy woodpecker finally showed up.  And then, so did the feral cat.  The light was so poor by then that I gave up.  But I had trouble with the focus all day.  The camera kept reacting to the background instead of the bird in the foreground. 

Deep freeze

The creek was iced over when I got up and didn't melt completely till mid afternoon.  Naturally that eliminated waterfowl.   After mid day a great egret fished below the dam where the current had hastened melting.  Later a great blue heron rested on the dock nearest the dam. 

There was not a lot of feeder activity.  The pine warbler brightened the afternoon as he fed on the suet. A downy woodpecker wanted a share. 

The ice i pulled out of the birdbath lay on the mulch with no sign of melting.  Low tide was way out, exposing mud on both sides of the creek.  I don't believe the lake ever thawed.

Running around

The clouds were back with only occasional glimmers of sun.  A sudden flurry of birds came when I was busy and by the time my hands were free, they were gone.  I remember a wren, white throats, and juncos.  I did catch a yellow rumped and a pine warbler, a tufted titmouse, and a downy woodpecker.

A pair of hoodies paddled upstream with the drake doing his strut.  A great blue heron perched up in a pine growing on the dam.  A pelican flew down the creek but behind a screen of trees. 

I had to leave right after lunch and didn't get back till after dark.  Dramatic clouds streamed out of the Southwest at 1:30pm.  As the afternoon continued, the temperature took a nosedive. 

Sunny all day

The birdbath was frozen again.  When I poured hot water in, I was able to pull out the ice with rotting leaves and other debris frozen in.  I also put out some mealworms and half a tangerine that had begun to go bad.

The hoodies were up early and busy fishing.  The creek surface was rumpled, unlike most mornings this time of year.  One female bufflehead zipped past.  A few pelicans flew over the creek along with gulls, including a great black back.  The common mergansers returned in the mid afternoon.  They were all four females. The water grew calmer as the tide went out, and out, until mud flats were exposed.  I saw a great blue heron on the dock next to the dam.

A Carolina wren flung seeds out of the feeder in search of shelled bits, or maybe bugs.  Its beak isn't suitable for hulling seeds.  A yellow rumped warbler made a brief stop on the step but didn't hang around.   Later a male pine warbler dug into the suet.  A downy dropped in but didn't stay.  Juncos were very late but when they arrived, they seemed to be everywhere.

Two squirrels managed to forage under the feeder (mostly) peacefully.  One squirrel chinned itself on the mealworm dish.  And then it carried off the half tangerine I'd stuck on the wire hanger.  The other squirrel found something good and hid up in the dogwood to eat it.

Cold

The sky was clear when I woke up but the air was freezing and the birdbath ice.  I poured in hot water and put out some mealworms which a Carolina wren eventually found. The sick house finch pecked at the birdbath ice. Downy woodpeckers and titmice waited for the sun's warmth. 

Hooded mergansers were out on the water early. Pelicans came at lunch time.  I saw a bufflehead pair at sunset when it was too dim for photos. 

Stratus clouds moved in again, muting the sun and producing streak of color.  The sunset colored half the sky. 

Sun to sleet

A Carolina wren explored every nook of the patio.  A couple of goldfinches visited in their plain winter plumage.  White throats and a few juncos scurried around the patio.  A sick male house finch hung around the feeder and birdbath. 

I saw cormorants and ducks fishing on the creek and a mallard pair that kept getting in the way. Fortunately photos revealed that the ducks were common mergansers. 

Wispy ice clouds became a streaky stratus overcast tat blurred the sun by mid day.  By evening it had thickened enough to block the sunset except for some golden streaks to the North. It began to sprinkle after dark and by 8pm it was sleeting.  A gusty wind made the icy rain sting.

Clear blue sky

There was frost on the dock and ice in the birdbath.  A few white throated sparrows poked around below the feeder.  A mockingbird came for a drink but found only ice, and that's when the camera battery died.  I swapped out the battery and poured hot water in the birdbath but the mockingbird did not return.  The temperature climbed steeply and by noon it was pleasant if a bit cool and damp. Small pollinators flew around the camellia flowers. 

At lunch time there were juncos with the white throats.  Several doves showed up.  A female cardinal joined the male.  A downy woodpecker hung from the suet.  A bufflehead and several cormorants fished.  After lunch I spied a great blue heron preening by the garden across the creek.

Cold!

Outside it was almost freezing and I stayed in trying to defeat a slight head cold.  But at least the sunshine was cheerful after days of grayness.  Buffleheads popped up occasionally, but most of the action was up at the feeders. 

Wet and windy

The creeks were high and there was ponding in the streets from the wind and second day of rain.  The rain has not been heavy, but cold and stinging.  Soggy ground made the post for the bluebird house topple.  Buffleheads were out on the creek.  A great blue heron chased another upstream.  I believe I saw a pelican through the rain-streaked window.

Nevertheless, a parade of birds sought a meal.  A blue jay, a female red bellied woodpecker, downy woodpeckers, titmice and a yellow rumped warbler visited the feeders.  Juncos, white throats and song sparrows, and Carolina wrens foraged on the ground but occasionally flew up to the feeders.  A goldfinch wanted something but the seed feeder was too busy and the suet wasn't suitable for a vegan. 

Cold rain

I had to go across town for an appointment that ate the whole morning.  The female red bellied woodpecker was on the suet when I got home, but she bolted,  So did a blue jay. But a whole flock of mourning doves stayed on the patio hunting spilled seeds.  White throated sparrows mingled with the doves twice their size. 

Eventually, a yellow rumped warbler landed on the suet.  Then the blue jay came back and took over.  Meanwhile a song sparrow went for mealworms.  A Carolina wren finished them off.  A junco poked around under the feeder.  And of course there were titmice, chickadees, house finches, and a cardinal.  A downy woodpecker ignored the rain to reach the suet. 

Gray

Under an overcast sky, leafless branches crisscrossed in shades of gray.  Reflections in the placid creek were sharp but muted. A female red bellied woodpecker feasted on suet.  She was followed by a male pine warbler.  Then a yellow rumped warbler landed on the suet.  A bufflehead popped up on the creek.

After lunch, the cat came back to watch for birds again.  I saw a yellow jacket hunting through the mulch.  White throats foraged and downy woodpeckers ate suet.  A male red bellied woodpecker probed bark all the way up a pine trunk.  It appeared to be listening for movement.  I hoped to see it pluck something out of the tree, but no joy for him or me.

Unleaving

Today trees today had lost half their leaves or more. It called to mind Hopkins' poem Spring and Fall to a young child.  In college the prof told me I had missed the point of the poem.  I thought it was about adults getting preoccupied and failing to see the world around them.  The prof insisted it was about mortality.  I'm still not convinced and changing seasons still make me sad.

Rain and a cold wind discouraged the birds.  Plus, something swooped at a downy woodpecker as she was about to hop onto the suet.  A butterbutt dropped in briefly.  Hoodies were out on the creek.

The cat was prowling through the backyard in the afternoon.  Rain returned after dark and became sleet around 9pm. 

Warm and wet

The air was humid and a little rain fell.  Leaves on the creek were sorted into long lines. Hooded mergansers were fishing today.  A few buffleheads joined them.

Carolina wrens poked around on the seed feeder.  White throats scurried below. Downy woodpeckers claimed the suet. A pine warbler begged to differ. And then rain fell but it didn't last long. 

A female junco took a bath as we were leaving for lunch.  Hoodies were still fishing. in the afternoon.  Mallards were feeding too, but presumably on something different. The heavy cloud cover made the light drop and soon it was too dark for the camera.

Mild

A heavy dew made the feeder appear to be sweating.  The hoodies were out in force on the creek but I didn't see much diving.  A bufflehead preened.  Up on the patio, white throats were busy.  Downy woodpeckers wanted suet. 

At lunch, I saw a mockingbird drinking from the birdbath and a junco in the cherry but both were camera-shy.  A pine warbler was more co-operative.  The morning's placid, reflective water gave way to rough water. 

An egret rested on a log in the lake.  Clouds moved in during the afternoon, just in time to enhance sunset.  Later the moon played its light across the clouds. 

Clearing

The white sky became blue during breakfast.  Geese, hoodies, and buffleheads mized on the shining water.  The tide was up into the grass.  Titmice and downy woodpeckers came to the feeders. A couple of blue jays showed up but spooked before getting anything to eat.

When we came out of church, the sky was clouded over again, and again it cleared during lunch.  The hoodies were still strutting more than fishing.  A female paddled with her head under water, looking dead except for her speed.  A few white throats were around.  Two goldfinches dropped in for a quick drink.  Three mourning doves gathered around the birdbath. 

In the late afternoon I walked around the yard.  A great blue heron stood below the dam watching the water.  The black swallowtail caterpillar was still alive, though shrunken and slow to react.  And a male downy squeaked as it probed the dogwood.  By then clouds to the West were picking up sunset tints and the air was chilly despite being nearly still.  The full moon was above the trees by 8:30pm. 

Cloudy

A day that began placid and sunny clouded over by noon.  I did not get much chance to observe, but did see titmice, downy woodpeckers, butterbutts, and juncos.

A brief rain fell in the late afternoon.  The light level fell too.  About a dozen cormorants perched on a log in the lake but there was not enough light.  Hooded mergansers and buffleheads fished on the creek.  After dark, the moon leaked through the clouds and back-lighted them and looked very spooky.

Windy

The creek was rough but I glimpsed a bufflehead twice. Some new birds visited in the morning, along with the ones that have been around.  A downy woodpecker started the parade.  Then a blue jay landed on the mealworm dish.  A titmouse was open to either suet or seeds for breakfast.  Only suet would do for a male pine warbler.  Squirrels were thirsty and white throats wanted a bath.  A brown headed nuthatch appeared briefly on the suet before being jostled aside by bigger birds.

Redwing blackbirds visited along with a robin.  A yellow rumped warbler finally showed up.  A female house finch that appeared to have only one foot had difficulty staying on the feeder perch.   Another house finch examined the suet and didn't like it. 

Cooler

A heavy dew beaded on the step railing and the mealworm dish, and dampened the concrete.  Out on the creek, a hooded merganser slipped out of sight before I could get the camera focused.  A pine warbler attacked the suet.  Titmice wanted sunflower seeds.  So did white throated sparrows, but they were willing to kick the mulch to find fallen seeds.  Then a bluebird landed on the feeder and poked through the seeds!  I had put mealworms out but he ignored them.  He also was rude to other birds like the yellow rumped warbler. 

Juncos joined the white throats foraging and making occasional forays to the feeder perch.  A blue jay arrived and ate mealworms in the suet rather than in the dish.  Two Carolina wrens landed on the feeder which upset a house finch.   A couple of warblers tried to share the suet.  One was a butterbutt and I think the other was an orange crowned warbler.  Later the orange crowned warbler shared with a chickadee. 

Wispy, unraveled threads of cirrus clouds slid East.  Leaves fluttered down without much wind.  A couple of squirrels foraged and one kept shoving the other.  Perhaps they were siblings?  After lunch, I wanted to try the camera in my new phone but no birds were in sight.  Except, across the creek, a red tailed hawk was perched high up in one of the pines.

Sunset seemed to come very early with pink bars of cloud above the Southern horizon.  The moon was nearing full but was haloed with mist. 

Warm and sunny

I guess the birds found plenty to eat away from the feeders.  A couple of doves foraged for sunflower seeds.  Chickadees and house finches came as always.  A butterbutt had a brief snack of suet.

Insects enjoyed the warmth.  I saw honeybees, a cabbage white, and something that might have been a dragonfly.

A turtle soaked up the sun's warmth on a log in the lake. 

Warmer

Leaves fluttered out of trees like snowfall.  The creek was full of reflected color, and leaves. But I saw very little in the way of wildlife.  IA blurred shot of a turtle on one of the snags along the lake, plus an even worse photo of a mallard pair are all I got.  Of course, I was in meetings from dawn to lunch, and then trying to catch up.

Cold sun again

A Carolina wren poked through the seed feeder in hope of finding shelled bits. Or maybe bugs?   One or more blue jays visited the mealworms and the suet.  And then that cat came back.

After the cat had been gone for a while, the birds came back, this time including titmice.  A great blue heron worked along the bulkhead.

At lunch time a couple of song sparrows showed up in the company of white throats.  The blue jays were back.  Titmice too.  Then the pine and yellow rumped warblers resumed fussing over the suet.  Downy woodpeckers got some suet as well. 

The creek was very reflective all day, even when geese and herons passed by. 

More sun, more cold

Great blue herons prowled the banks of the creek in the early light.  I saw a duck, dark with a black bill, that wasn't one I recognized, but the photo was blurry.  Pretty soon a male downy woodpecker arrived for suet.  Yellow rumped warblers got into everything.  Then juncos foraged all over the patio.  A pine warbler scared a yellow rumped warbler off the suet.  A song sparrow wanted a drink. 

White throats finally showed up at lunch.  Carolina wrens came along, then doves.  A female bluebird checked out the menu, but alas, squirrels had eaten all the mealworms.  Titmice were torn between the seeds and the suet.  The pine warbler came back.  A female downy replaced the male.  The one that got away (with a sunflower seed) was a white breasted nuthatch.

Toward evening, a crow perched atop a pine across the creek.  It was buzzed by homeward bound cormorants.  Above the dam, other cormorants perched on dead tree limbs to dry their wings.

Still cold

The creek was glassy again and made fantastic patterns out of the sunlight on the trees.  A titmouse wanted to start the day with sunflower seeds.  So did a male cardinal.  White throats seemed skittish and poked around under bushes in stead of the feeder. 

In the afternoon, a male downy woodpecker took over the suet.  House finches and chickadees never stopped feeding.  A robin came for a drink from the birdbath.

 

Frosty

The dock was white and the birdbath iced at breakfast, but the creek was a mirror of color and light.  The still air over the water was a bit misty. The feral cat came for breakfast, but left without any, as far as I know.

I was outside in the afternoon when some kind of raptor flew over.  I think it may have been a juvenile eagle. The wind had gotten strong by then.  I believe I glimpsed a kingfisher zooming upstream.  Because of the wind, I took a lot f pictures of fall foliage before it blew away.

The songbirds stayed out of sight for a while, but eventually a junco returned in the company of white throats.  I found the caterpillar next to the parsley, but it was not moving.  I also located the argiope egg cluster which seemed to be precariously attached to now-dead leaves. 

Thanks giving

I am thankful I live where I can enjoy the natural world.  The wildlife slept in this morning.  A male bufflehead popped to the creek surface occasionally and several pelicans cruised over the water.  Around noon the feeders got attention.  In addition to chickadees, house finches, and titmice, I saw one male pine warbler and one yellow rumped warbler and a male downy woodpecker.

On the ground among the white throated sparrows was a song sparrow and the first junco of the season.  Squirrels were not grateful for the hot pepper flakes in the suet, or the squirrel-proof seed feeder, and they quickly cleaned out the mealworms, bending the shepherd's crook hanger in the process.

As we were leaving for the communal church dinner, I saw a male hooded merganser on the creek.  The sky was streaky with stratus clouds that dimmed the sunlight.  In Norfolk there were gulls and mallards. 

And, as I came out of the church, up in a hackberry tree was a cat with striped extremities and spotted flanks like an ocelot. Some Googling revealed there is a breed called an ocicat.  In any case, it was in the tree (eye level to me at the top of the steps) because a flock of birds was gobbling hackberries.  I couldn't identify the birds because they were back-lighted by the sky.  By the time we returned, the light was dropping too low for a clear photo, but I could identify a Carolina wren among the white throats.  The male cardinal was back.  Sunset was very pink in every direction, even Northeast.

Changeable weather

Surfaces were wet when we got up, though no water had accumulated in the birdbath.  Then around 8:30am rain fell, but by 10:30am the sky was clearing.  The day stayed sunny till close to evening when streaky stratus clouds made a sundog before blocking the sunset light.  The temperature went from damp warmth to a chill wind. 

A Carolina wren checked out the suet but went to the seeds instead.  Then it dropped to the ground to forage with the white throats as the rain began.  A male cardinal came for seeds.  A male bufflehead frustrated my attempt to get a photo. 

At lunch, a downy woodpecker worked on the bottom of the suet.  More white throats kicked the mulch around.  Titmice joined the chickadees.  A mallard drake kept company with a female whose bill made me think shoveler. 

The sun was still shining when I got home around 4pm, but it didn't last.  There was not enough light to capture the egrets on the lake, just the ones flying home silhouetted against the sky. 

Blue bird and yellow

The day started out sunny but a haze became thicker and after lunch there were cumulus clouds building on the Southwest that met the sun by mid afternoon.

After breakfast, however, when the day was still bright, a male bluebird landed on the suet.  He didn't eat it but just sat there, looking at the creek then back at me.  Soon a male pine warbler landed on the suet but soon flew up to the wrought iron vine from which the suet hung.  He clearly would have liked to eat more, but the bluebird was bigger and he didn't quite dare.  Eventually the warbler gave up and then the bluebird left as well.

After lunch, a titmouse joined chickadees at the sunflower feeder.  But when the sun disappeared, so did they.  Curiously, I saw no white throats. Mallards were out on the creek, but I did not say any winter migrants. Egrets and cormorants hung around the dead snags on the lake. 

Soon the light dropped lower than the camera could handle.  Then the feral cat showed up.  K let it know it was not welcome.  And then I left for a meeting. 

Fall colors

The redwood and the domestic cherry turned overnight, it seemed.  Dogwood leaves were red, but sparse on some trees.  The hackberry and the wild cherry lost their leaves as fast as they turned yellow.  One oak and the sweet gum were red while the bigger oak was partly yellow.  One hickory was butter and toast while the more sheltered tree was green and light yellow.  And the sky was sapphire. Two male buffleheads sailed upstream at breakfast.  A male cardinal came to the feeder and I realized it had been a while since I saw the female. 

 I checked on the caterpillar after lunch and found it eating again.  A flock of little birds zipped through the trees before I could be sure what they were.  At the same time, a pair of squirrels canoodled in the redwood. 

A cormorant caught a fish and, magically, three egrets appeared.  Earlier a great blue heron had rested on the same dock. 

Chill

The day started wet and ended cold.  In between, I was busy, but did see a downy woodpecker and a half dozen white throats. A large flock of cormorants pursued a school of fish.  A dove was thirsty and chickadees were hungry.  A female bufflehead showed up later in the morning. 

Mostly gray

Breakfast was enlivened by a bluebird that was soon scared off and a red bellied woodpecker that I only got one lousy photo of.  There were titmice, white throated sparrows, chickadees and house finches as well.  The sky was gray but around mid morning it began to clear. 

When I got out of my meeting the gray had returned. During lunch, a couple of turkey vultures made repeated passes overhead.  When I went outside later I saw why.  Something meaty-looking was draped over a dead branch exposed by low tide.  But the buzzard would have had to risk landing on the mud to reach whatever it was, and the bird decided against it.  Wisely, I think.  Two male buffleheads were out on the creek along with the mallards.  The water was rough from the wind. 

One white throated sparrow looked like it had a song sparrow somewhere in its family tree.  It had a dark spot on its chest and black stripes through its white throat.  But it also had the yellow lores of a white throat. The beauty berries were no longer magenta, just red and brown.  The caterpillar was still beside the parsley but I didn't see it move. 

Cold sunshine

The suet attracted downy woodpeckers.  I spotted a white throated sparrow eating beauty berries.  A song sparrow joined the white throats briefly under the seed feeder.  Hoodies and geese were out on the water early. 

At lunchtime a flock of cormorants chased fish upstream.  I didn't see any other birds join the hunt today.  I spent too long trying to figure out what the cormorants have been catching this week.  My best guess is Eucinostomus argenteus, spotfin or silver mojarra.  A few have been found in Buchanan Creek by scientists collecting for ecological evaluation.  They have little commercial or sport use, so information was sparse. 

 Despite the chilly breeze, there were insects flying, mostly yellow jackets, I think.  One caterpillar was still hanging around the parsley.  Squirrels got into everything and ate up all the mealworms.  Mallards sucked something from the creek surface and the drake appeared to be after a barnacle.  


Some clouds appeared around sunset and turned beautiful colors, so I had to capture their reflection, preferably with cormorants  or egrets flying to roost. 

Warm sun

It was a good day to fish apparently, for both human and ducks. In addition to the hoodies, I saw a male bufflehead.  (And a surprising number of leaves pretending to be ducks.)

A couple of titmice came to the feeder which K had refilled with fresh seed.  White throats scurried around below.

As I drove to my lunch meeting, an insect landed on my windshield that looked like a love bug from underneath.  Unlikely this far North, and especially in November, but the day was warm, the insect was clearly attracted to cars, and it could have arrived in a plant shipment or something.  If that's what it was, I doubt it will find love. 

The temperature began to drop in the afternoon and by sunset it was chilly.  There were no clouds, just a gradual brightness and color change from the Western horizon around to the Eastern.

Dull day.

A downy and a titmouse joined the regulars but didn't stay.  White throats ans squirrels foraged beneath.  Out on the creek, a small flock of hoodies glided.  The sky went from hazy to white to gray with a stormy look.

A fishing commotion in the afternoon included a large brown-winged bird with a white tail fanned out - eagle? Around dusk, the feral cat was prowling so of course there were no birds to be seen. 

More migrants

It was sunny and breezy and cold. Three bluebirds showed up but the pair made it clear that the third was unwelcome.  A male pine warbler found the suet and a goldfinch landed for comparison.  A flycatcher (kingbird or phoebe?) surprised me by fluttering outside the window facing the camellia, but quickly flew across the yard, and away.

A commotion by the dam outfall drew my attention.  Egrets and cormorants had apparently found a school and were fishing. 

During lunch, I saw a pelican cruise up, then down, stream.  A dredge chugged upstream.  A squirrel chose the roof of the bird feeder to give itself a scrub, first face, then tail.  A whole flock of white throats foraged everywhere.  After lunch, I spotted a cormorant with another flat, white fish that was not going down easily.

Rainy

What with the rain, we were late opening the Sunflower Cafe.  Chickadees shrugged and hopped on the new brick of suet.  A Carolina wren was determined to find a way into the seed feeder but eventually gave up.  A white throated sparrow foraged in the wet mulch.  In the middle of the morning a downy woodpecker discovered the suet. 


Two male hooded mergansers cruised around the creek.  A couple of egrets and a great blue heron hunted under the dam.  A cormorant popped up with a shiny flat fish in its beak.  The bird had trouble getting the fish into a position to swallow, so all the other waterbirds rushed to "help."  The cormorant dived with its prize.  The last I saw, it still had not swallowed the fish. 
 

Busy morning

It was cloudy again and a little warmer.  A male hooded merganser popped up on the creek and acted like someone who can't find the cell phone.  He went back and forth and looked upstream and down.

Then a pair of bluebirds arrived.  The female expected mealworms, but a squirrel had eaten them all.  The pair sat on the railing and made faces.  A different white throated sparrow from yesterday foraged in the mulch.

A flicker made a commotion in the dogwood.  Another bird was involved, but whether it was a second flicker or the dove I saw a little late, I could not tell.

I went outside for parsley and discovered a bird grasshopper clinging to the window frame.  The parsley was pretty well chewed and I only saw one caterpillar.  But I found enough for cooking and left some for the caterpillar.

Chickadees discovered the suet.  A squirrel sniffed it, but couldn't get past the red pepper flakes. The only other sighting was a couple of cormorants making the creek boil when they dived.  Nothing interesting appeared after noon.  There was intermittent sunshine, but mostly cloud.

Frosty

The temperature dropped to 32°F last night according to the newspaper, but there was no frost visible and it may not have been so cold here.  Yesterday was sunny and cold and today was hazy and cold. 

I got a very fuzzy photo of a white duck I'm guessing was a bufflehead.  It was headed upstream faster than I could fight with the camera focus.  Three egrets sailed overhead just as the camera turned off. A great blue heron stood on a log by the lake above the dam.  The persistent fishing by downstream neighbors has kept the wading birds away from the cam outfall.

I had better luck with songbirds.  Titmice, chickadees, and house finches were joined by a white throated sparrow that seemed a bit of a bully.  But then a Carolina wren chased off the sparrow despite being half its size.

The haze became overcast in the late afternoon.  At sunset, enough light leaked through from the West to tint the clouds rose. 

Wet

It rained on and off but frequently enough for everything to drip.  The air was still most of the time.  Despite the low light under the overcast, leaves were bright from the wetness.  Some bees worked on the camellia. 

House finches, chickadees and a titmouse visited the seed feeder.  A goldfinch in winter clothes watched them but didn't join. 

The creek stayed high all day.  A kingfisher perched on a dock piling.  I spotted a warbler through the screened window in the bathroom. A cardinal appeared as the light was fading. 

Dark and dank

It was cold it and rained, drizzled, or misted all day long.  The light was low but there was little to photograph. The tide was higher than last Sunday's "King Tide."

Cold gray mist

A wren flew into the garage early in the morning while another, outside, scolded,  I glimpsed a titmouse, but clearly saw a small flock of white throats sparrows - first of the season.

The mist gradually became a light rain. A goose inspected the pool cover and found it displeasing. The tide was again higher than normal. 

Two caterpillars on the parsley were thriving.  I couldn't find the ones on the rue. Some spring flowers were confused by the weather.

Warm

The sun shone on another high tide, albeit not quite so high. The warm air from the South clouded the sky. A leaf-footed bug that landed in the hackberry was about the only flying creature I saw. 

I spent far too much of the afternoon in a waiting room, but when I got out, a spectacular sunset was under way.  Much later when I finally got home, moths decorated the glass door.

"King Tide"

Astronomically, today's tide was the highest of the year, but of course weather matters more than moon position.  The tide was high by 10am (standard time) but not extraordinarily so.  Meanwhile, I saw a blue jay, a downy woodpecker, the male kingfisher, two flickers, and a flock of butterbutts.hopping around the hackberry.  A chickadee perched on the windowsill.  And where was the camera?  At the other end of the house.

Thankfully most of the birds hung around while I fetched the camera. A flicker hunted bugs in the grass. A warbler, hunting bugs in the tree contorted itself into a pose Audubon would have loved. 

And by 10:30 the tide was dropping.  Mallards napped on the dock, having waddled aboard when the water covered the near end of it.  We spent the day at UCN.  The tide was receding when we got there but still covered the side street along the Hague.

Crows were beginning to gather as we passed the 64/264 interchange and the sun set soon after we got home,thanks to the end of Daylight Saving Time. The sky was clearing so there wasn't much to capture colored light. 

Gloomy

All day, the sky looked like rain that never fell.  The tide ran quite high.  I saw a great blue heron by a retention pond on the Virginia Wesleyan campus.  K saw wrens on a windowsill but I missed them. 

Warm

The day began a little misty and grass sparkled.  I spent it indoors unfortunately. 

At lunch, a downy woodpecker inspected the dogwoods.  A titmouse joined the chickadees at the feeder.  A squirrel swiped the mealworms again. 

Yellow jackets were everywhere from the camellias to the arbor vita. There were flowers on both the lantana and the jessamine, not plants that are supposed to bloom at the same time.  The water in the pool was crystal clear no doubt because of the low temperature.  I rescued a leaf-footed bug which surprised me by flying away. 

Sunset was amazing with radiating spokes of pink and blue.  The rising moon appeared full and dragged the tide up onto streets. 

Sunny

The clouds from breakfast departed and the sky was blue for lunch.  A wren chased bugs through the lavender and rosemary.  A blue jay streaked across the yard.

The temperature was pleasant and the pool looked inviting but the water was way too cold.  I rescued a honeybee, a small velvety-black caterpillar, beetles and crickets.  Leaves drifted down so gently that they floated in odd positions.  The black swallowtail caterpillars were bigger but still in their first color pattern.  One stuck its osmeterium out at me.

The lighting made it hard to be sure, but the duck accompanying a mallard drake looked more like a female pintail than a female mallard.  When I ran an errand, a mockingbird posed on an ornamental pineapple. 

On this Día de los Muertos, I remember my parents' love of nature.  (Even though they probably would not approve of the holiday.) 

Fungi

When I got back in the late morning, a flock of crows were attacking the magnolia next door.  I think they were after the berries.  After they left, I took a look around the yard to see what the rain Monday might have brought up.  Small white balls might have been puffballs or simply the first stage of something else.  In any case, something had dug them up.  Do we have a truffle seeking squirrel? Gill mushrooms and a decapitated stinkhorn grew in the mulch.  The mushrooms may have been what the white balls turn into. 

A Carolina wren scolded from the crape myrtle.  The mahonia was in bloom and so was the fatsia. The fig had lost most of its leaves.   A grasshopper perched on the window.  Turtles were out on the lake above the dam.  An egret came and went quickly. 

Halloween

I saw the usual chickadees, cardinals, and house finches.  A squirrel ate up the mealworms. The clematis popped out a blossom just when I thought it had given up the ghost. 

Sunset was streaky pink.   The moon was not yet full but bright enough to illuminate the trick-or-treaters. 

Cold wind

The sun worked to pull the temperature back up from the 40°s.  A few chickadees and squirrels were hungry enough to ignore the morning chill.  The black swallowtail caterpillar I moved to the rue seemed to have adapted, so I moved another. 

The chill and rain seemed to please the plants on the front patio.  The clematis actually put out a blossom.  I saw a mockingbird lurking around there, but it got away un-photographed. 

Storm

Wind hammered rain on the windows before dawn.  The rain continued on and off all day though the wind did not.  Meteorologists had been predicting an apocalyptic storm to the North, using words like "bombogenesis."  Tropical storm Philippe, which appeared to be the cause of our rain, is predicted to join a cold front (Southward loop of the jet stream) and cause air pressure to plunge. 

The regulars - cardinals, house finches, and chickadees - were hungry enough to visit the feeder.  Titmice and a downy woodpecker showed up in the afternoon.  A foraging squirrel (the one with the white tail) had her tail in umbrella mode.  She had stuffed her cheeks like a chipmunk, maybe so she wouldn't have to come back out into the rain. 

Still pleasant

Finally, I got some real outdoor time. Before that, I thought it would be another day with little to see.  Little pollinators buzzed around the camellias.  I saw something rafting on a leaf but didn't discover what for several hours.  I also saw wasps and yellow jackets, a dragonfly, a cloudless sulphur and some small butterflies.

Yesterday, K said there was a Argiope in a West window, so I went to see it from the outside in the afternoon.  It appeared rather small, so perhaps it was the offspring of the spiders that were around the fig in the summer.

Geese and mallards paddled on the creek, then got out and grazed.  Cormorants stayed in the water to fish.  A red tailed hawk flew away while crows called, but they didn't give chase.

Then the male kingfisher alighted on a downstream piling and I stayed very still.  He plunged and caught something very small.  After swallowing, he shook off water.  The crows caught his attention, but when I moved my foot just a little, he took off screeching.

The Argiope egg sack in the marsh had two small holes.  I don't know if that means the eggs hatched, or were eaten, or nothing at all.  Periwinkles coated with green hung from phragmites stalks.  The wild cherry in the corner between the fence and the water has shaded out the spartina and I suspect that's how the phragmites got started.  I couldn't pull it out. 

A venusta orchard spider hung its horizontal orb web from the back of the neighbors' bench.  Three first instar black swallowtail caterpillars munched on the single surviving parsley.  I moved one to the rue to see if it would eat those more plentiful leaves instead. 

Then I began fishing leaves out of the water and rescued the wheel bug I saw earlier.  I also scooped out some beetles.  By then the wind had shifted from South to West and felt cooler to me.  When I came in, I noticed a tiny green spider on the glass.  Tentatively, I think it was a magnolia green jumper. 

The wispy clouds that had been pushed first North, then East, turned a pale pink as the sun disappeared.  A cardinal and a couple of doves came for supper.  Then the feral cat arrived.  One dove flew but the other, idiotically, sat on the birdbath.  I expected blood and feathers, but the cat seemed more curious than hungry and the dove finally flew.  Then the cat left as well and we closed up for the night. 

Clear sky

Another nice day, but I didn't see much - just the squirrel raiding the mealworms again.  At breakfast, the creek mirrored the sunlit trees while it was still in shade.  The moon was quite bright after sunset.

Sunny

But still cool and gusty.  At breakfast, a squirrel inserted itself into the mealworm dish. Four blue jays streaked past the window.  Were they fleeing something or going to harass something? 

In the afternoon, I saw the feral cat prowling around the pool.  It pounced on something under the azalea, a rodent I hope.

Sunset was lovely because there were many fair weather cumulus clouds to pick up colors.  And later the moon was bright even though it was still a crescent.

Back to Fall

It was a lot cooler today. And somehow, the trees looked like Fall.  Even though leaves have been turning, the overall look was green until today, when there was more of a bronze tone.  Also, the wind thinned leaves and made branches easier to see.  The tail of what I suspect was a mockingbird stuck out f the beauty berry as the bush shook from the bird's effort to pull off a berry. 

Titmice joined chickadees at the seed feeder and one suddenly landed on the door handle and peered in at me.  It didn't stay for a photo.  I spotted a male red bellied woodpecker on a dogwood trunk in the second before it zipped off.  A blue jay landed on the feeder hanger briefly.  Then a female downy woodpecker came for seeds.

When I went out after dark to brick the feeder, a young crescent moon was overhead, among passing clouds.

Surprisingly nice

The prediction was for a rainy day, and there was rain early, but the clouds that looked so menacing in the morning turned into white puffy cumulus.  The afternoon was warm and sunny and I was stuck at this keyboard.  But I finally saw the kingfisher.  It was a male.

I did manage a short walkabout the yard and fished a drowned mole out of the water.  A spider was using it as a raft. Eew!  Lots of beetles and crickets swam for their lives.

Cold water

While the sky was gray as predicted, in the morning the clouds were separate and the sun warmed the air.  Unfortunately I spent it mostly inside.  By 3pm the sky was much grayer with dark clouds sliding up underneath from the South.  Some muted sunshine got through between those lower clouds but the wind grew much stronger.  The air was still warm though.  I was determined to use the pool, possibly because I didn't have a thermometer.  But mostly to clean out all the leaves that had blown in.  I did so and got very tired and chilled.  I also hoped to see some birds while half hidden in the water.  I glimpsed a nanosecond streak of kingfisher followed by that delirious cackle.  I did see a red cardinal snacking on purple beauty berries, but he saw me go for the camera.  And that is why all I got were leaves and doomed insects.  I fished out a live spider and cricket, two dead hornets, several drowned yellowjackets, more defunct moths, many dead beetles, and bushels of leaves. There were floating pale yellow, fuzzy balls that I think may be some kind of gall. 

Blue sky

There were titmice at breakfast.  After that I got too busy to pay attention. After lunch, I went outside. A hawk apparently either gave up or else caught something too small to see.  It dropped out of the trees a couple of backyards away and the flew off upstream.  Since it was behind vegetation, I couldn't see what it was after or whether the prey escaped.  But even after it flew away, there still wasn't much in the way of birds.  I heard a kingfisher and saw mallards, geese, and an egret.

Arthropods were easier to spot. I saw a lot of moths and butterflies but only one question mark let me get a photo.  Several spider webs caught the sunlight.  Unfortunately for the hardworking spiders, the webs also caught leaves and fluff and unrecognizable stuff. 

Yellow jackets prowled in search of food.  I rescued a hornet.  Black ground beetles and other insects were still falling into the water and some found rafts to delay the inevitable.  I was thinking about testing the water myself but a breeze began to diminish the warmth and the shadows quickly moved in. 

A new weeping conk appeared under the oak.  Unlike mushrooms, it didn't seem to have any need of rain. Lots of fluff blew off the saltbush and went everywhere.  I picked milkweed seeds and added to the flying fluff.