Gray and wet

The temperature dropped back to a more normal range.  All day, I kept having a problem that the camera wanted to photograph the background instead of the bird.  The brown thrasher had another go at the suet.  Then the red bellied female took over.  The downy woodpeckers weren't far behind.

I saw a pair of wood ducks splash down and paddle swiftly upstream out of sight. 

Bluebirds paid several visits to the bark butter balls.  A titmouse had the same idea.   The male bluebird also tried the suet.  Then a female oriole decided she wanted some suet.  A blue jay replaced the bluebirds.  The oriole had a staring contest with the red bellied woodpecker. 

A Carolina wren foraged under the seed feeder along with white throated sparrows.  A male pine warbler found a moment alone with the suet.  A lot of flitting around in the foliage made me think there were more warblers. 

Bugs

K saw a swarm of some kind of flying insect in front of the garage.  I missed that, but as I was cleaning out flower pots for transplanting, I apparently disturbed a tiny praying mantis.  It wasn't newly hatched because it was about a centimeter long. It climbed the porch pillar and disappeared.

Some fungus popped up in mulch in the front yard.  One looked like an orange bracket and the other a brown toadstool.  Petals from the witch hazel were everywhere like confetti, including in my hair I discovered later. I found a snail in one of the flowerpots. A beetle and many earwigs hid under the pots. A sapsucker attacked the pecan tree. 

In he back yard, bees enjoyed the money plant.  The female red bellied woodpecker helped herself to suet.  A bluebird used a dragonfly perch. 

I saw a female bufflehead on the creek.  Late in the day, a pine warbler got some suet. 

Camera confusion

I wanted to get acquainted with my new camera, so I started with it in the morning.  Of course the manual was online and I hadn't looked for it.  I could not figure out how to switch from screen to viewfinder - but I learned a few other things while looking.  When I did check the manual, the answer was so simple, I was embarrassed.

The suet was a magnet for woodpeckers and the brown thrasher.  I also saw a warbler on it in the evening.  Other birds foraged the bits that fell to the patio, but they were hidden by the steps.

A black swallowtail discovered the parsley and rue.  I also saw a cabbage white and a tiger swallowtail.  Bees and wasps worked hard as usual, energized by the heat.  The wild cherry trees had buds. 


The creek was placid except for the wakes of passing boats.  It seemed devoid of ducks, possibly because of the boaters.  I glimpsed a heron and an egret, and of course turtles.

K came out to practice the violin and a mockingbird was not to be outdone.  It perched in the maple and ran through its repertoire of sounds, some musical, some silly.  I wonder it it will add violin to its impersonations?

Contrails showed the world had not yet come to a complete stop.  Cloud wisps and haze gradually merged into a white sky, but after dark the crescent moon and Venus were visible, albeit fuzzy.

Hot day

Woodpeckers showed up first.  An egret fished in what looked like a strong current  below the dam.  Rain fell overnight, but not that much. I saw a junco foraging for fallen suet, but it got away. 

I went out to plant seeds and discovered it was much hotter than predicted.  The cherry that grew from a pit was blossoming.  Maybe this year I'll get a cherry?   The rusty disease reappeared on the red cedar.  The coral honeysuckle was loaded with flowers.  Among the money plants, now flowering, I found several rosettes of Small-flower Hawk's-Beard Crepis pulchra, I think.  It's non-native and not very "pulchra" to my eyes.  The dogwood by the pool steps made puzzle-boxes of its petals again. 

The turtle log was full under the hot sun.  Bees and wasps were busy.  I saw a cabbage white and a sulphur.  And I managed to catch a jumping spider with the camera.

The crescent moon was accompanied by Venus and a couple of cormorants.

Noisy birds

The brown thrasher returned for more suet.   The red bellied woodpecker put an end to that.  But the brown thrasher came back later. 

A bufflehead drake paddled upstream.  Turtles basked on the log in the lake. A pileated woodpecker landed on the post and examined the suet but flew off before I could get a photo.

The grass was full of robins.  I caught a blue jay preening in the wild cherry.  Then it took a turn at the suet.  A bluebird landed on the seed feeder but seemed very puzzled by sunflower seeds.

We took a walk in the neighborhood and spotted mockingbirds establishing their territories.   White throats were eating maple seeds.  Yellow jacket queens searched for nest sites.  A red bellied woodpecker worked on a dead limb in an overgrown yard.  A group of ant hills were close together and among them was a small patch of bluets. 

The bumblebees had already fertilized a lot of blueberry blossoms.  A sprinkle of unpredicted rain followed our walk. 

Nervous birds

The sky was gray at breakfast.  There would be a crowd of birds, then nothing.  The feral cat was responsible for one disappearance.  A low flying heron spooked the birds, including a brown thrasher just as I had it in focus.  A red bellied woodpecker took its place on the suet. A frustrated downy watched. 

The sweet gum was leafing out and flowering.  Tiny, red oak leaves above the tassels of oak blossoms looked like hula dancers.  A white throated sparrow seemed disheveled so perhaps it was molting. 

The sun came out around 11am.  The myrtle warbler spent some time with its beloved suet.  The turtle log was full to overflowing. 

Tenants moving in

Despite the rain bluebirds were busy with the bluebird house.  As I made the beds, I also saw a blue jay and a brown thrasher hanging around, watching the bluebirds move in.

Lots of birds showed up at lunch.  A pine warbler didn't remain still long enough, especially as the camera was coping with rain-streaked glass. The brown thrasher reached the fresh block of suet more easily.  But a considerably smaller downy woodpecker got frustrated and leapt onto the suet, causing it to spin around which was more than the brown thrasher was prepared for.

A Carolina wren was not pleased with the soggy bark butter balls.  A crow visited but everything was uncomfortably small.  Then a female oriole settled on the suet. The wren moved to its favorite perch in the dogwood.  The wind got in its feathers and made it look furry.

Raindrops like jewels dotted the purple witch hazel.  Water off the roof made waves in a bucket.  The fig put out leaves.  The redbuds contrasted with the yellow pompoms.  One strange result of the all day rain was finding an earthworm hiking across the bedroom carpet around 7pm.  When I tried to pick it up, it clung to the carpet with bristles and segment edges and I may have damaged it somewhat before tossing it outside. 

Bluebird of Spring

The female bluebird was back for breakfast.  She sat on the bark butter ball feeder and looked at me.  I wonder if she was saying it was empty?  The sun lit up the freshly washed flowers and new leaves and placid creek.

But then we had to go to the Peninsula.  The trip was successful but all I saw were gulls hanging around the HRBT.  And when we got back, the weather had gone cold and gray.  And all the suet was gone.

Rain

The possum came back and explored the patio before continuing in the opposite direction from the first sighting.  But the rain streaks on the windows and screen plus the low light made photography impossible.  Cardinals visited the feeder and white throats rummaged in the mulch. 

The rain tapered off and birds came out.  I saw a Carolina wren but I wasn't in a position to take a photo.  A blue jay took advantage to snatch bark butter balls.  A female red bellied woodpecker frustrated a downy.  Then a brown thrasher landed on the suet.  It had a difficult time reaching the food but it didn't give up. 

A male yellow-shafted Northern flicker landed on the beautyberry trunk.  The myrtle warbler and the downy woodpecker waited impatiently for the brown thrasher to finish. 

A female bluebird paid a very brief visit to the bark butter balls.  A flurry of little birds flitted through the hackberry.  I'm pretty sure there were chickadees and myrtle warblers.  I spotted a titmouse among them. 

A bufflehead pair floated on the quiet water that reflected the gray sky.  Cormorants splashed down. 

As the light began to fade, a pine warbler got some time with the suet. 

Chilly

There was sunshine at breakfast, but it did not last.  The male red bellied woodpecker owned the suet while the frustrated female downy watched.  Eventually she got a turn. 

Five turtles basked while the sun lasted.  By evening the overcast left too little light to photograph the chickadees and white throats after seeds.  And then the cat showed up. 

Possum!

It trundled to the middle of the pool cover where its weight made the water well up for a drink.  Unfortunately, it drank with its back to me and when it finished, it trotted off quickly.  The light was not good and, indeed, rain began minutes later. 

The male red bellied woodpecker was eager for suet.  A titmouse came for seeds.  Birds flitted among the new leaves on the wild cherry, but I couldn't identify them.  The rain was light and intermittent. The light was bad all day.

Late in the afternoon I spotted Northern shovelers on the lake.  I think there was also a wood duck. A female hoodie surfaced briefly on the creek. 

Gale

I went for a walk down the street and the wind was so loud we could not talk. The temperature peaked at 88°F, a record, but the wind kept it from feeling oppressive.  The wind also grounded many birds.  And the wind-pollinated oak tassels certainly had all the help one could ask for.  I wonder if that will mean a big crop of acorns?  Last Fall's was meager.

The weather map had the same deep U-shaped loop of a front with cold air inside and high winds along the edge that I saw back on February 7th.  The inside will arrive tomorrow, no doubt. Despite the wind, I saw a couple of butterflies that were moving too fast to identify.  The paper wasps stuck with their work, harvesting wood to make paper nests  Flowers opened on the cherry that grew from pits I saved.   The money plants were bolting.

Red bellied woodpeckers were not happy that I sat outside.  A blue jay got up the nerve to snatch bark butter balls.  Downy woodpeckers took advantage of the larger birds' caution to help themselves to suet.  Once both red bellied woodpeckers landed on opposite sides of the same branch and fussed at each other.

The crows got up a mob to harass a buzzard so when I heard them again, I didn't pay attention at first.  But the second time they were after a hawk.  I tried to snapshot it but missed.  My sense was of a big bird so probably a red tailed hawk. 

As it got toward evening, I saw a sparrow that looked different.  The camera wanted to photograph dogwood blossoms instead so my evidence was blurry, but it was a chipping sparrow.  I added it to my eBird list. 

Equinox?

Morning surely did look like Spring with rain-washed greens and a sky that cleared, then clouded up again around 8am.  The cat sat on the pool cover making the birds scarce.  Eventually, it moved on and the wren began to sing.  Downy woodpeckers decided the coast was clear. 

The afternoon shot from Spring to Summer. HOT! It got over 80°.  We went for a walk so I could take the pictures I missed yesterday.  Field pansies dotted the grass.  Lesser celandine invading the neighbor's yard looked lovely.  Redbuds were in their glory.  Chionodoxa, also invasive, had found space in several adjoining yards.  The original mixed them with grape hyacinths. 

I was a sweaty mess when we got back.  But that gave an excuse to spend a couple of hours cooling off on the back patio.  The gold oak blossoms against the intense blue sky were breath-taking.  Several butterflies crossed the yard but the only one I could identify was a cabbage white.  Paper wasps and carpenter bees examined every crevice. 

A blue jay and a red bellied woodpecker each tried to sneak past me to their respective treats, but I got them on "film." The downy woodpeckers ignored me and as a result feasted.  The myrtle warbler sulked.  White throats found interesting things in the leaf litter.  A male bluebird perched high in a front yard tree - so high I saw him from the back.  The song sparrow lurked in the sakaki.  A titmouse snatched a bark butter ball. 

Two skinks darted out from the pool cover, one apparently chasing the other.  I think someone was flying a drone, but the camera focused on the foreground.  
 

"Spring Equinox 2020 in Northern Hemisphere will be at 11:49 PM EDT." That's today by 11 minutes. I think that qualifies as tomorrow, given that each time zone is theoretically15 degrees/one hour* wide. *K corrected me. 

 

Nature walk

Two Carolina wrens came together for a suet breakfast.  A white throat was busy on the ground.  Downy woodpeckers ignored everything except suet. 

This afternoon I went for a longer walk than I have for quite some time.  I didn't have the camera so I may have to go back tomorrow.  Field pansies were blooming everywhere in the grass along with some birdseye.  Lesser celandine has spread all over one yard with shiny gold stars.  When I first saw it years ago I thought it was the native green-and-gold, but it is an invasive.  Two yards further was my goal. A pale Chionodoxa has naturalized there.  And above us a couple of bluebirds twittered in an ancient magnolia.  

The cardinals were courting in the evening.  The Carolina wrens were together as always.  The sky had gone gray before it got dark.   

Sunshine and COVID 19

It was very strange to know that many other people are now "homebound."  I saw neighbors out in their backyards and exploring the dam-and-watertower park.  Contrails proved that civilization had not come to a halt. The natural world was uninterested in human terrors.  I saw a butterfly, a beetle, paper wasps and yellow jackets, and a small black bee. A different butterfly appeared, an American Snout  Libytheana carinenta.

Out on the creek, a pied-bill grebe paddled around till I got up for a better look and it dived. Six turtles basked on their log.  Buds were swelling on the hackberry.  Dogwood blossoms were opening.  The first azalea flowers opened.  The oak trees were decked with gold tassels and one had red leaves unfolding.  Violets were blooming everywhere. 

Bold Carolina wrens fed well.  The cat lurked.  Red bellied and downy woodpeckers ventured out.  The butterbutt watched over the suet. 

Gray

it was quiet, except when I had my hands full.  That's when a blue jay stole bark butter balls.  Titmice came for seeds.  Carolina wrens and downy woodpeckers wanted suet.  White throated sparrows stayed on the ground. Gulls fished and a bufflehead dived.  A pelican glided downstream.  But all I got in the dull light was a grainy titmouse and a white throat.  

Morning rain

The rain quit before noon and there were glimmers of sunlight that did not last.  The red bellied woodpecker pair took turns on the suet.  The dogwood buds burst open.  A junco poked around.  A Carolina wren sang its territory claims.  There was a bufflehead on the creek. 

A squirrel excavated quite a hole beside the birdbath.  It did not appear to find anything.  The blue jay was playing hide-and-seek again.  Cardinals began courting.  I saw a pelican make a round trip up the creek and back in the late afternoon.


I missed another day.  A  blue jay and a red bellied woodpecker hid in the undergrowth.  A Carolina wren came boldly to the birdbath for a drink.  So did a white throated sparrow.   The mockingbird was back wanting a red berry.  A bird I couldn't quite make out turned out to be a goldfinch.  A squirrel was chowing down on the oak tassels.  

White sky

It got shirtsleeve warm, 78° K said.  So I tottered outdoors and sat, frustrating the woodpeckers.  Carolina wrens, blue jays, a mockingbird, and the myrtle warbler also perched around the edges of the yard.  The mockingbird ate a nandina berry.

The red bellied woodpecker poked at twigs and appeared to eat some oak flowers, talking to herself the whole time about the inconvenience of having me too close to the suet.  The downy woodpeckers were bolder about eating suet even though I was close.  Their wings were quite loud.

A squirrel was definitely eating fresh oak blossoms. The blue jays seemed to be running a bait-and-switch on me while one raided the bark butter balls. 

The purple iris was blooming.  Forsythia has been in flower all week.  And there were buds on the coral honeysuckle!  The rusty infection on the red cedar popped out again.  Pollen left bathtub rings on the pool cover. 

Warm sun

I woke up long before dawn.  The female red bellied woodpecker breakfasted.  The cat was lurking again.

K found millet at the Organic Food Depot and sprinkled some on the patio where it attracted a white throated sparrow and a junco.  The myrtle warbler ignored them and ate bark butter.  The best birds appear when my hands are full or I have company.  That's when the male red belly showed up.  Also a Carolina wren.  Paper wasps were busy already harvesting wood. 

Mild

On the 9th, we got up in the middle of the night to go to Newport News.  We returned in the evening.  I saw plenty of gulls around the HRBT, but not much else. 

On the 10th I saw a couple of white throats foraging..  The Carolina wrens shared the suet.  The wild cherry had real leaves and I spotted a violet. Buffleheads paddled in choppy water.  An egret fished downstream. 

Today, the male red bellied woodpecker posed in the pine.  The egret  was back at its fishing hole.  A Carolina wren came calling and later sand for us.  A white throat focused on the mulch.  The female red belly came for suet.  Titmice got seeds. 

And I saw a butterfly!  What's more it was a new one to me.  Gray Hairstreak Strymon melinus but it was very dark.  The Spring morph is supposed to be darker but I didn't see any photos s dark as this one.  

Yesterday I meant to record the visitors to the feeders, but the time slipped away.  It almost did again today.  But I wanted to record the pine warbler that was too fast for me. And, of course, the myrtle warbler, defender of suet against all small birds.  It drove off a white breasted nuthatch, alas.

Moss was fruiting.  Blueberries were beginning to bloom.  I spotted a bluebird in the grass.  It may be time to avoid the bluebird house.  Turtles were soaking up warmth but a couple of geese were crowding them.  A bufflehead drake paddled by.  And the cat arrived and sat. 

Sunny

Daylight Saving Time got us up near dawn.  The sunlight reflected on the creek while it was still in the shade.  The male downy woodpecker was up early too, finishing off the suet.

When we got home, a brown thrasher was helping itself to bark butter balls, but it spooked and did not come back.  A pair of buffleheads preened as they floated on the creek.

Chill wind

Carolina wrens joined us for breakfast.   After lunch, a pelican floated on the creek. It stretched its wings without taking off and floated out of sight.  I went outside in the afternoon but it was cold.  The oak buds looked like they were bursting.  At dusk, a bufflehead drake floated by. 

Wet

A gentle rain fell all morning.  The air was nearly still and the creek lightly rippled. Juncos appeared after being scarce all winter.  Downy woodpeckers dug into the suet which was fast disappearing.  Carolina wrens kept an eye on the feeders. 

A heron flew upstream and landed on the dock.  An egret prowled around the dam outfall.  A crow appeared to be hiding something in the redwood.  A few pelicans visited the creek. 

The sky cleared in the afternoon and the pool cover steamed.  The wind picked up and dried surfaces but chilled them too.  Dutch hyacinths began blooming.  A squirrel played games with itself, running back and forth and darting about a foot up different trunks, only to jump back down and run to another.  Another squirrel sunbathed on the pool cover.  

 The Carolina wrens and a male pine warbler got some suet.  Chickadees and cardinals ate seeds in peace. 

When the sky turned blue, I thought it safe to refill feeders, but there was a fresh band of rain after 5pm. After dark the clouds dissipated enough to show the moon. 

Up early again

I didn't really see anything till I was returning.  A flock of robins poked through the winter brown grass at VA Wesleyan.  But at home after lunch, the feeder crowd got lively. The female red bellied woodpecker took over the suet.  A blue jay wanted bark butter balls.  Juncos foraged under the suet with white throated sparrows .  Titmice tried a bit of everything. 

The myrtle warbler did its best to guard the suet but it was no match for a downy woodpecker.  A female oriole came for suet but settled for bark butter.  Carolina wrens took bark butter balls under the grill to consume in peace. 

The gray creek reflected the gray sky and the cold wind roughened the water.  The temperature was on a day-long downward slide. 

Mild

It wasn't nearly as warm as yesterday, but still warmer than expected for this time of year.  A female oriole popped up early on the suet.  Then the male red bellied woodpecker took over.  I wonder if the reason only one comes at a time is that they are trading off incubating duty?  The downy woodpeckers come together, but not out of love apparently. 

Titmice were hungry for everything.  Blue jays got the best of me again. But a Carolina wren kindly posed.  The myrtle warbler tried to find the wrens.  White throats searched for fallen seeds.  The female red bellied woodpecker arrived a couple hours after the male. 

A buzzard flew over the flat water.  A housefly showed up indoors.  One pine tree showed flower buds.  Soon everything will be dusted with gold. 

Hot!

My car claimed it was 72 when I went to vote. The blueberry bushes had flower buds.  The Carolina jessamine attracted carpenter bees.

Rain began in the late afternoon.  There was a pine warbler on the suet at dusk again. Sunset was very rosy. 

Warm

When the brown thrasher landed on the bark butter balls, the stupid camera decided I wanted a picture of the background.  It managed to focus on a wren.  And I caught the blue jay with the wind in its crest.  Crows were acting out a "three's a crowd" drama.  

I sat outside for a while but, between the breeze and the clouds, it was a bit chilly. Downy woodpeckers decided it was safe to have suet despite my presence   The red bellied woodpecker wasn't so sure.The cherry had begun to leaf out.  One violet was in flower. 

A midge clung to the window.  The moon was visible among thin clouds. A pine warbler came for suet not long before sunset.

Sunny

There was ice in the birdbath again.   Downy woodpeckers worked on the suet and hung out in the dogwood. A blue jay coped with the new height of the bark butter feeder but the brown thrasher gave up.  A Carolina wren was thirsty. 

A pair of Canada geese marched out on the pool cover ti get a drink.