Hot again

At breakfast, the cat kept birds away from the feeders, or maybe they were catching bugs or building nests.  The cat will miss the pool cover come May.  An overcast sky provided directionless light for photography but colors seemed washed out.  Still, I photographed flowers since there was a lack of birds.  The temperature climbed up to 79°.

At lunch the barkbutter balls sparked some interest and I managed to get a brown thrasher.  A chickadee investigated the bluebird house until I yelled at it.  Actually, it didn't pay me much attention at first.  I got some seeds in the ground before the rain began around 6pm .  At supper a downy had suet. Then the rain fell harder.

Back to warm

A curious bluebird watched the barkbutter balls because a brown thrasher had taken over.  The brown thrasher moved to the suet and then to the birdbath.  The heat had nearly all the trees in bloom.  That included the domestic cherry that grew from a pit I planted many years ago.

Sunshine brought out a tiger swallowtail that, alas, I mistook for a leaf fluttering on the breeze until too late.  A white throated sparrow lurked in the camellia until it dashed out to retrieve a fallen barkbutter ball.  A row of turtles soaked up solar heating.  

Blue jays gathered after lunch.  I saw crows chase an osprey.  The tide went very low, a combination of wind direction and moon phase.  The goose with the bad wing was back.  A wood duck pair grazed on the hillside above the turtles.  

Chilly

The front that passed through in the night brought the temperature back into the normal range.   There wasn't much left of the suet.  A brown thrasher made an effort to reach the remainder.  As usual, blue jays went after the barkbutter balls. That's what the male red bellied woodpecker chose too. 

A yellow rumped warbler sat on the seed feeder hanger pretending it wasn't after suet.  A male bluebird surveyed the breakfast scene.  Below the feeders, the money plant was in full bloom.  A mourning dove puttered around the patio.  A young pelican flew upstream.  The white throated sparrow with the scarred eye was still around.  At supper, K hung fresh suet.

Thunder and lightning

Rain started up again early and turned into a thunderstorm before we finished breakfast.   When the rain ended, the temperature climbed past 80.  The heat had flowers opening or wilting.  The yellow daffodils were spent but the white narcissus with yellow centers opened.  A young pelican perched on a dock piling, apparently unconcerned about lightning.  A female hooded merganser paddled by. 

Both the oak and the wild cherry were leafing out.  Dogwood blossoms were open but still green.  A feral peach sapling was loaded with pink flowers.  And those flower spikes I discovered on the money plant had flowers today. 

A yellow rumped warbler visited the sagging suet.  (The heat got to it.)  Another watched enviously.  A gusty wind made whitecaps on the creek.  The wind  hustled the clouds along and tore holes for the sun to shine through.  I planted wildflower seeds and got very hot and sticky.  

Turtles crowded the basking logs.  Bees and wasps cruised around looking for the wherewithal to set up housekeeping.  A lone goose with one wing out of place cropped grass by the shoreline.  Another young pelican fished quite successfully.  The predicted storm held off till well after dark. 

Spring flowers

Morning was warm and sunny.  A bluebird greeted us.  Then a Carolina wren arrived, then blue jays.  A yellow rumped warbler considered its odds of getting some suet.  A mockingbird carried off a barkbutter ball.  A brown thrasher buried its head in the cup every time the camera clicked.  The cat tried to lurk but was discovered and sent away. 

In the early light, the creek mirrored the trees, but by mid morning the surface was crinkled.  An egret fished below the dam but otherwise the creek seemed devoid of waterfowl. A mallard pair napped on the dock.  The tide dropped very low in anticipation of the full moon.

I noticed the money plant by the feeder post had sent up flower spikes.  The redbuds were in bloom and some dogwood buds had opened.  The Carolina jessamine was loaded with flowers and smelled heavenly to bees as well as me.  Even the blueberries had buds. 

Clouds covered the sky in the afternoon.  K and I (mostly k) washed the windows that face the creek.  They'd gotten streaky with something.  I thought it looked like pine resin but K said guano.  K also leveled the birdbath so it holds more water.  There was quite a cavity underneath, but no clue what had excavated it. The window looked great but then rain fell in the evening.  A crane fly clung to the kitchen window. 

H O T

It's a wonder the suet didn't melt.  Nevertheless, at breakfast a red bellied woodpecker pecked away at it.  A brown thrasher was next, but it was awkward and made the suet spin around.  Meanwhile, the other brown thrasher went after the leftovers in the barkbutter cup.  

The immature eagle landed on a dock piling.  It seemed fascinated by something below it.  I wondered if it had dropped breakfast into a crevice.  I took too many photos of the bird.  Curiously, the crows left it alone. 

The temperature set a record of 84° and, naturally, the AC passed out.  Troubles like that favor Fridays, I've noticed.  "Finagle's law."  I got outside in the late afternoon and bribed the birds with a fresh cup of barkbutter balls.  A blue jay peered at me and calculated it's chance of making off with a snack.  A mockingbird went through the same silly routine.  So did a brown thrasher.  A bluebird was more nonchalant.  A yellow rumped warbler decided it preferred suet.  So did a bold downy woodpecker.  The breeze set the oak tassels flying.  

The moon was nearly full but rose before dark.  Skies had been cloudy in the evening for most of this lunar month so I enjoyed seeing the familiar craters. 

Suddenly summer

Yes, it was shirtsleeve weather by mid day.  The creek was placid and the air a bit misty at sunrise.  A Carolina wren chose a suet breakfast.  Somewhat later. the female pileated woodpecker was hungry for the same thing.  

By lunch time, common blue violets, Viola sororia, were blooming.  So were oak trees.  And a squirrel was up in the oak having fresh oak flowers for a late dinner.  I was thinking that each flower eaten meant one less acorn.  But I was wrong - the tassels are male flowers, so it doesn't matter.  And normally female oak flowers  require pollen from a different tree.  Now I want to see what a female flower looks like. 

A titmouse and a downy woodpecker were frustrated by my brief foray outdoors.  A commotion in the leaf drift by the fence turned out to be two brown thrashers a-thrashing.  A couple of polistes paper wasps were nibbling on the wooden bench.  I could see six turtles on the lake logs.  

Toward suppertime, the barkbutter cup became popular.  The two brown thrashers were bumped from it by the male red bellied woodpecker.  But they were soon back and the woodpecker moved on to the suet.  A female bluebird watched curiously.  

To cap off a bird-filled day, the male kingfisher settled in on one of the dock posts.   

Warm and wet

After watching the great blue heron chase away intruders, I was surprised today to see two herons on our dock placidly grooming themselves within a couple of feet of each other.  One was much more brown than blue, probably a juvenile.  

Turtles were out on their logs.  A pair of hoodies glided upstream past the heron.  An egret fished below the dam.  And a pair of wood ducks shared the turtles' log. 

A mockingbird enjoyed the suet.  But with rain predicted, I didn't put out any barkbutter balls and many birds stayed away.  The rain began around 3:30pm.  Before that, the thermometer registered 75°. 

Morning fog

Eventually the fog dissipated into overcast.  Blue jays didn't wait to dig into the barkbutter balls.  A Carolina wren wanted one as well.  The wrens disappeared for a couple of weeks so I was glad to see this one.  Even a titmouse got into the balls.   And of course red bellied woodpeckers made sure to get their share.  Two male bluebirds wrestled in the mulch till one fled. 

A great blue heron perched on a piling to watch the passing scene.  Another heron kept watch over the turtles on the lake.  I spotted a mallard drake in both scenes.  Three female hooded mergansers left wakes as they paddled across the creek.  Pelicans kept finding fish in between the next two docks where my view was obstructed.  A cormorant dried out on the neighbors' floating dock. 

The female pileated woodpecker came for a suet lunch.  White throats scuttled about picking up crumbs.  A couple of blue jays might have been courting in the hackberry.  A mockingbird snacked on the suet.  A bluebird disapproved of a visit by the feral cat.  The cat retreated to the far side of the pool cover.  

Sunshine

It was a very pretty day.  A brown thrasher was too hungry to wait for barkbutter balls and tackled the suet.  Downy woodpeckers rushed to take back their feeder.  Then the starlings arrived.  Bluebirds asserted their rights to the barkbutter balls I put out.  Both brown thrashers got excited by this.  White throated sparrows did their usual business. A mockingbird got some suet.

I was outdoors briefly to plant a bulb that had outgrown its vase.  The wind was cold but I was also underdressed.  Three squirrels warily hunted sunflower seeds the birds had dropped.  Finally one jumped on another and was promptly cuffed by the third.  The guilty one sulked and washed its face.  Later there was an attempt to rob the feeder that ended in failure.

Sunny

Bluebirds and white throated sparrows were early birds.  I saw a male townee but it hopped down the steps and out of sight.  A pair of juncos cleaned the patio.  A mockingbird took over the suet.  But then the red bellied woodpeckers began to visit.  A brown thrasher checked on the barkbutter cup.  So of course then the blue jays had to see.  A pair of robins rested in the pine tree.  Yellow rumped warblers hung around for a chance at the suet.  Crows acted suspicious, but they always do. 

On the creek, three female hooded mergansers paddled upstream.  A dozen turtles soaked up morning sunshine.  A kingfisher flew past too fast to think of getting a photo.  Thankfully, pelicans were slower.  The sky went through a variety of patterns from bars to veils as the wind continued to blow.  Oak buds burst and those long stringy flowers began to expand.  

Equinox

The sun shone in a hazy sky that later filled with clouds.  It never got up to 50 and the wind made it colder.  But hyacinths were blooming to welcome Spring.  The butterbutt had a rough time landing on the suet.  A female junco found seeds under the feeder.  Bluebirds showed up when I put out barkbutter balls.  Starlings argued over suet.  A dove got a drink.  Crows landed in the dogwood after lunch but soon found other interests.  At suppertime a male pine warbler got a share of suet. 

A fleet of cormorants passed by headed downstream about 8:30am.  The wind kept rumpling the creek but the pelicans seemed able to see fish anyway.  One pelican was beginning to show breeding plumage.  The back of its neck was going dark and its head had turned yellow.  An egret waited by the bend in the creek.  The great blue heron chased another interloper but didn't bother the egrets.  

Gale!

The temperature dropped steadily all day. There wasn't all that much rain but the wind gusts were scary.  Wind pushed the tide over the dock and made me glad we were coming up on a first quarter, not a full moon.  There were real waves on the creek.  Gusts caught the hanging suet like a sail and swung it so far that water slopped out of the ant moat.  The birds were grounded and the birdhouse I'd intended to mend was broken beyond repair.  

By afternoon the rain had stopped and birds tried to get some nourishment.The seed feeder regulars came out, along with a yellow rumped warbler, downy and red bellied woodpeckers, the two brown thrashers, bluebirds, and blue jays.  

Pelicans flew along the creek while egrets and herons fished from the shallows.  At the dam outlet, a great blue heron made an egret move to the other side.  Another egret perched on the dock bench.  I tried to photograph the crescent moon but I was too cold to hold the camera steady. 

Warmer and damper

I thought I saw a duck, but it was trash, maybe a shampoo bottle.  It's not just that people litter, but that the waste management process leaks trash.  The weather shifted from mist to rain around 8:30am, but it didn't last long. 

Juncos hustled around on the ground at lunch.  Once again I saw the brown headed nuthatch but it was too fast and I failed to get proof.  The afternoon dried out somewhat and I managed to get a fresh block of suet hung.  I put the scrapings from the package in the barkbutter cup and my hair was nearly parted by the instant arrival of the brown thrasher and blue jays.  They finished the scraps in no time.  Butterbutts went for the main block of suet. 

Several pelicans fished, along with egrets.  Turtles enjoyed the warmth.  Gulls played with the wind.  I saw a small, fast bird that might have been a kingfisher. 

The afternoon got very warm and I put out some barkbutter balls.  The blue jays had a contest to see who could eat the most while the camera was focusing.  The genteel red bellied woodpeckers only took one ball at a time.  Bluebirds got a few before they ran out.  Even a titmouse got one.  White throated sparrows made off with crumbs.  Crows did their best but only cleaned up what fell.  There were occasional glimmers of sun, but more rain was scheduled, in fact a tornado watch was posted. 

Cold and damp

A heavy mist hung in the air all day.  The creek was busy with fishing birds. The eagle looked wet and miserable as it hunched on a post, till it flew off after a great blue heron.  Pelicans flew past frequently and plunged occasionally. 

Tiny leaves emerged on a wild cherry tree.  It was strange to see camellias and daffodils.  

The yellow rumped warblers continued to waste energy fighting over the suet.  A brown thrasher found the feeders slippery when wet.  The male downy worked on the last nubbin of suet.  Titmice and chickadees stayed with the sunflower seeds.  A white throat scurried under a patio chair.  

Tired rain

A gray day with come-and-go rain that seemed reluctant to fall.  I saw yellow rumps and yellow heads on warblers, the latter being a pine warbler. Titmice and chickadees snatched seeds and retreated to the cover of leaves. 

A great blue heron stood on top of one of the dock posts.  An osprey plunged for a fish.  A bufflehead pair dived while I was on the phone.  Pelicans and a kingfisher flew past.  A lone goose nestled into the grass.  The mist barely let me make out a wood drake on a lake log.  

Cold wind

The brown thrashers were back and had a go at the suet.  We hurried off to the convention center where I took time to admire the goldfish in the outside pools.  But the wind off the Atlantic was harsh.  I know I saw pelicans at lunch and other birds that I neglected to photograph.  At one point, I'm pretty sure I saw the eagle chase a great blue heron.  But then some people in a boat started fishing right off our dock so all the waterfowl departed.  The morning sun disappeared in the afternoon and it was chilly all day.  

Springing forward

The sun was back in the morning and the day was warmer.  The creek faithfully mirrored the trees.  The pileated woodpecker made several visits to the suet.  A crow tried to reach the barkbutter balls but gave up.  The pair of brown thrashers had better luck though they were bothered by a starling. 

Juncos and white throated sparrows showed up at lunch time.   That wretched butterbutt chased off a brown headed nuthatch before I could get a photo.  The eagle returned to the dock but flew off across the creek shortly after I noticed it.  Doves came marching up the steps.

By suppertime a blanked of clouds left only a clear hem to the Northeast.  As a result we didn't save as much daylight as promised.  Long after dark, I noticed a moth on the window - just the common little brown triangle, but early. 

Cold again

The wind shifted around to the North and, after a warm week, seasonable temperatures felt cold.  The overcast thinned to let sunlight through now and then but the day was more cloudy than not.  Barkbutter balls lured yellow rumped warblers and made them thirsty.  Blue jays took more than their share but the male red bellied woodpecker got some.  A bluebird acted territorial and drove another away from the barkbutter balls.  Then he hung around in the dogwood just in case the other bird came back. 

A couple of white throated sparrows scurried around the patio.  A dove was slower. And a couple of juncos hunted for fallen food.  The male had a sprinkle of white feathers around his eyes.  The female had a bath.  Why did she wait for the temperature to drop? 

Buds were swelling and turning green on the sweet gum.  A male bluebird investigated the gum balls.  I observed before how much a sweet gum pod resembled a coronavirus but today I noticed a new candidate - the male pine flowers.  Can pollen be far behind?    

The juvenile brown pelican raised its wings when trying to swallow the fish it had caught.  Egrets were actively fishing.  When one landed near another I expected hostilities but they were warily tolerant of each other.  The low new moon tide exposed marine invertebrates.  Crows prospected in the mud.  In the evening, several clouds of cormorants flew downstream. 

Still hot

There was a lot more cloud cover but it didn't lower the temperature.  Sunset, however, began a slow slide that's supposed to end in the 40s Saturday night.  Daffodils were blooming like it was a competition.  A flurry of birds mostly escaped the camera, but there was a male towhee among the regulars.  The sun broke through just in time to turn me into a silhouette on Zoom.  Turtles crowded the logs to enjoy it, the sun not the Zoom.  There were six when the meeting started and eight at the end because the sun was reaching further along the log.  

At lunch time there was plenty of sunshine but lots of thin clouds blowing East and an overall haze.  Bluebirds and blue jays craved barkbutter balls.  I saw a white throated sparrow among green buds on the wild cherry.  Downy and red bellied woodpeckers overcame their wariness of me to get to the barkbutter.  Both brown thrashers visited but only one tried feeding from the cup.  The warbler boss was still around and so were juncos!  A mockingbird came and left without eating.  A song sparrow hunted in the grass.  A cabbage white butterfly flitted through the bushes. 

Crows stayed busy harassing bigger birds, like the young eagle and possibly an osprey or hawk.  A heron flew over the house.  Pelicans liked the low tide in the creek. Something caused bursts of rings where the water was only an inch or two deep.  The water was still clear enough to see green seaweed.  Crows prospected in the mud for tasty morsels. 

Very warm

A pine warbler greeted the sun.  But soon the yellow rumped warbler took over.The red bellied woodpeckers soon arrived.  Bugs were flying. 

Despite the heat, the pelicans didn't desert us. Bluebirds wanted their lunch.  A mockingbird argued with a starling over the suet.  I noticed the starling left first. 

Something made resin ooze down one of the pine trees and catch the sunlight like a ruby or a burning coal.  The eagle was back on the dock.  Then it moved to the boathouse roof where the pelicans like to hang out.  And finally it was back in the pines. 

A Polistes paper wasp explored the yard.  

Fishing birds

The early daffodils shot up and blossomed in the balmy air.  The sassanqua camellia still had a few pink flowers and there were bees around.  Blue jays were frustrated that I insisted on soaking up some sunshine when they wanted barkbutter balls.  The downy woodpeckers grew daring and made little dashes in to the suet.  A brown thrasher tried the same with the barkbutter balls, but left so fast it dropped one.  The bluebirds took their time.  

I saw two adult and two juvenile pelicans. The noonday tide was very low again.  Over a dozen turtles crowded onto the logs on the lake.  The immature eagle returned to the dock bench.  It made a foray toward the obnoxious crow which retreated to the top of a post.  I think I made the eagle nervous because it flew up into the pines.

Toward evening, a male kingfisher perched on one of the posts of the neighbor's dock.  It had been on your dock earlier and plunged after a fish.  That got me to thinking about the different ways that different species of bird do their fishing.  Only eagles and osprey use talons, as far as I know.  Pelicans scoop and kingfishers grip with their beaks.  Do herons stab or grip?  

Eagle watching

The young eagle has gotten quite fond of the neighbor's pine tree.  It landed there several times today, with the usual crow posse in the morning.  When I looked at the photo, I could see a fish dangling from a talon - maybe that explains the crows?   Speaking of fish, the pelicans were hard at work though the low tide helped. 

Songbirds weren't quite sure of the eagle's motives.  Eventually bluebirds ventured to the feeders.  Blue jays kept watch.  Starlings attacked the suet.  Downy woodpeckers waited in the trees. And of course the boss warbler was never far away. 

The eagle sat for a while on the dock.  It showed a spiky collar of white feathers.  A pair of mallards drifted past without concern.  But a crow arrived and then the stupid cat came stalking downhill and the eagle took off.  Later, the eagle was back in the pines while we were outside finishing lunch.  It was very warm for early March. 

The sun still shone

The doves were back but this time no hawk attacked.  I did, however, see the young eagle several times.  The suet attracted warblers and starlings.  A red breasted nuthatch came for seeds and the bossy yellow rumped warbler chased it away.

Pelicans continued fishing in the creek and I finally got good in-flight shots.  Several turtles took advantage of solar energy.  And I saw the pied bill grebe again after a long absence.  Egrets and great blue herons also flew past me. 

Still sunny

The female pileated woodpecker came back, more than once!  Both sexes of downy and red bellied woodpecker also came for suet.  Blue jays carried off all the barkbutter balls they could manage.  Starlings just gobbled and fought over everything.  Several bluebirds came for brunch.  A white throated sparrow didn't slow down long enough for a picture. 

Pelicans were back fishing and it seemed to me that there were more of them.  Two adults were in my view at once, plus the ever-present brown juvenile.  I saw a fish in one pelican's pouch before it slid down the bird's throat.  

The two brown thrashers reappeared together.  It seemed like the insect eaters were getting in the mood for nesting, but the seed eaters weren't.  A male Baltimore oriole showed up in the afternoon but left almost immediately.  Since I haven seen any orioles in days, I've no idea if it was one that wintered here or a migrant heading North.  If so, the chill may keep him around for a while.