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.