Cold

The weather was much like yesterday, cold and bright.  Birds were puffed up against the chill.  The female oriole had grape jelly as a pick-me-up.  I was pleased that she found the dish.  Pine warblers alternated between suet and barkbutter crumbs.  (It was too cold at breakfast to go outside and refill the dish.)  Goldfinches didn't seem to know what to eat.  White throats kicked through the mulch.  A bluebird and a cardinal shared the seed feeder.  The downy didn't want to share suet with a warbler.  The mockingbird stayed faithful to hydration, making repeat visits for a drink.  

At lunchtime I decided to brave the cold, since the temperature had risen from the upper 30s to the upper 40s.  The fresh barkbutter balls got a warm reception from warblers, bluebirds, and of course blue jays.  A white breasted nuthatch varied its diet with a barkbutter ball along with the usual seeds. A brown headed nuthatch seized the moment to get seeds itself.  The oriole alternated between barkbutter and jelly.  The sky was a milky blue again. 

I spotted the sapsucker on a dogwood trunk, then later on a hackberry tree.  Something made a commotion eating hackberries.  A dove alighted on the patio.  Then a Carolina wren came to dine.  A crow surveyed the possibilities but got into a fight with a squirrel.  The squirrel got a drink from the ant moat instead of the much more accessible birdbath.  A female hoodie paddled by headed upstream. An egret fished under a dock.  I caught the kingfisher in flight, on the neighbor's dock, and diving on a fish.  Cormorants flew in every direction at sunset. 

Sunny, chilly, & birdy

The temperature dropped after yesterday's rain.  The sun returned and cast beautiful reflections on the creek.  Either the chill or waiting out the rain made the songbirds very hungry.  It also brought out the yellow cat but I didn't see him didn't catch anything.  The mockingbird was first.  Then a Carolina wren made the rounds. A male bluebird checked out the menu.  A pine warbler focused on the barkbutter porridge, then the suet.  The white throats were rather late arrivals.  

A couple of goldfinches investigated the foods they're not supposed to eat.  At least four hoodies paddled downstream.  Something rustled around in the beautyberry bush but I couldn't see what.  A blue jay sorted through fallen leaves and took what it found up in the dogwood to hammer.  And that was breakfast!  

At lunchtime, many of them were back.  A starling showed up and ate barkbutter crumbs.  A chipping sparrow hopped about the patio and then took a bath.  Why didn't it just stand out in the rain yesterday instead of waiting till the temperature dropped twenty degrees?  Nuthatches finally appeared, brown headed, then white breasted.  A female oriole I assume was the same as I saw before came for a drink.  And then they all went away. 

Wet

Birds rushed to get a snack just before the rain started.  The mockingbird needed a drink.  The male downy wanted some suet but the female took seeds..  Titmice and chickadees went for seeds too.  A warbler chose barkbutter balls.  A white breasted nuthatch grabbed a seed to hatch.  Then the reds, cardinal and finch, landed on the seed feeder. 

For a while the light dropped but the rain wasn't heavy.  Then the wind picked up.  Another band of rain passed through around 2pm just as predicted.  The sky finally cleared around 4pm and the sun lit up the bend of the creek.  The kingfisher showed up on her favorite post.  Cormorants and an egret commuted to their roost past tinted cloud remnants. 

Noisy

Starting at breakfast, yard crews were running mowers and blowers, presumably so they would finish the week's work before the holiday.  A pine warbler visited the barkbutter balls.  Then one blue jay after another came until the dish was empty.  Occasionally a titmouse got a morsel.  I saw a brown headed and a white breasted nuthatch but they didn't hang around.  The mockingbird peered in at me from a chair arm, then went to the birdbath for a drink.  

Sunlight set the neighbor's Japanese maple afire.  One hickory was leafless but the other was bright as brass.  Four doves landed and locked around the birdbath for any food other birds had missed.  White throats puttered around.  I too puttered around pulling down cobwebs that had gotten garlanded with blown leaves.  A Carolina wren investigated all the feeders, as usual.  

A downy worked on the suet.  I still haven't seen the bigger woodpecker species this Fall.  A bluebird came in the afternoon and pushed the pine warbler off the barkbutter dish.  The sun glowed behind a layer of Stratus Translucidus cloud.  The kingfisher was back on her dock perch but my photos were all blurred.  

Dull day

I was going to skip today because it was dull and disrupted, but events conspired and here I am.  Leaf colors were muted under the gray sky. The air got fairly warm, mid 60s.  White throats were again early.   A downy had to share suet with a pine warbler.  I hadn't refilled the barkbutter dish because showers were predicted, but eventually the prediction changed so I did. Then there were disruptions outside and in so I don't know if any birds visited it.  After dark we noticed a little moth that must have followed someone into the house.  I tried to catch it with a butterfly net without success.  It would have blended into tree bark perfectly, orange paint not so much.  iNaturalist told me it was a Bent-lined Carpet Costaconvexa centrostrigaria.

Bright light

White throats were up early.  I was rushed and didn't have time to really observe till lunch.  Also, my eyes were dilated and the sunlight was really bright.  Bluebirds arrived and split up among the feeders and the birdbath.  A pine warbler scarfed up barkbutter crumbs.  The white throats were still around.  A female oriole appeared.  K said the bird found the jelly.  

Finally my eyes returned to normal so I went outside.  The sky again had that dilute blue skim milk look in the afternoon.  A handful of small birds flew over so very fast that they seemed like gray phantoms.  I wasn't fast enough to capture them.  I did capture a female kingfisher on the dock post because I heard the bird cackle.  An egret flew downstream.  The blueberry bushes had turned red.  I smacked a late mosquito. 

Quiet

The day was a little warmer and there was sunshine, but the sky was skim milk color.  Blue jays visited the barkbutter balls throughout the day and let me know to refill it.  The mockingbird visited the birdbath for water but then the yellow cat tried to catch it.  I sent it away.  The mockingbird decided to drink from the ant moat just in case.  White throats stayed on the ground.  A great blue heron landed in the pines across the creek. 

 

Bluebirds!

The thirsty mockingbird arrived first.  The female downy wanted seeds for breakfast.  So did the white breasted nuthatch.  The male downy, however, insisted on suet.  White throats came to forage under the feeders.  A blue jay was not pleased with only barkbutter crumbs.  

Then a flock of bluebirds landed.  I counted at least three males but I think there were more.  Did they flock together because they were related, or just because it's not breeding season?  They popped around so much, it was hard to get good pictures.  But they came back later when the light was better.  There was plenty of sunshine but also many clouds, some dark and threatening. Harsh wind gusts made it tough for small birds.  The wind peeled off leaves that had turned, keeping the trees looking green. 

I refilled the barkbutter dish and the blue jays returned.  In the distance , I saw crows chase a hawk, but I couldn't identify it.  A couple of female juncos joined the white throats foraging.  Pine warblers came back for more barkbutter balls.  The brown headed nuthatches took the afternoon shift.  Birds landing in the pine turned out to be, what else, pine warblers.  I was surprised to see a goldfinch and a brown headed nuthatch join a bluebird at the birdbath.  

Chilly gusts

A great blue heron that landed on a dock post was silhouetted against the sunlit opposite bank of the creek.  A mockingbird drank from the birdbath.  White throats skittered around.  Titmice ate barkbutter crumbs till I refilled the dish and they had to compete with blue jays.  A pine warbler joined them.  While refilling the dish, I also took photos of the third quarter moon.  That was enough of the cold wind for me. 

The nuthatches came for lunch, bot white breasted and brown headed.   All the others from the morning were back for seconds and bluebirds finally arrived.  I read about a new-to-me weather term: the Fujiwhara effect. The article also says, "While they sometimes look similar on satellite imagery, midlatitude cyclones are fueled by differences in temperature, whereas hurricanes siphon their energy from warm ocean water — two distinctly different processes." 

Cold wind

A flock of Canada geese paddled in the dawn-gilded creek.   White throated sparrows kicked mulch under the seed feeder.  The mockingbird returned to the ant moat and the birdbath.  A Carolina wren poked through the seeds.  Both red and yellow roses had buds but the cold air should slow down their unfolding. 

I saw a kingfisher on the dock but my hands were full of tea and, by the time I traded that for the camera, it was gone.  After I refilled the barkbutter dish, two blue jays got into a fight.  They finally, warily agreed to take turns.  At least three bluebirds visited.  A warbler eating barkbutter balls was backlighted but I think it was a pine warbler.  The white breasted nuthatch(es?) found it difficult to get time on the seed feeder.  A chipping sparrow joined a finch on the seed feeder.  

Misty, moisty

A very gray day condensed on surfaces rather than falling from the sky.  While warm, the day was so gloomy that we needed lights indoors.  I saw some white throats, a blue jay, a titmouse, the male downy, and a Carolina wren.  The mockingbird drank from the birdbath instead of the ant moat. 

Warm

The white throated sparrows were up early again but they didn't hang around.  Mid morning, the nuthatches arrived, brown headed, then white breasted.  In the afternoon, a strange object floated on the creek.  It appeared to be a sphere, green on one side, pink on the other, with yellow around the middle blending into the other two colors, and spotted with black pentagons.  

The temperature got up to at least 71° and the afternoon grew cloudy.  A Carolina wren sampled the feeder foods.  A pine warbler also had some barkbutter crumbs.  The mockingbird made its daily visit to the water cooler, aka ant moat.  The sapsucker reappeared on the wildcherry.  Maybe the warm day made the sap flow?  I think it was the same bird I saw with something in its beak, but it could have been a downy.  

Blue sky

White throated sparrows were up early.  The seed eaters were too.  I saw a male cardinal on the feeder and another on the ground beneath.  That thirsty mockingbird was back.  The black cat sauntered past the bird feeders.  I thought I saw another cat on the dock but it was a sleeping mallard drake.  Hoodies came paddling upstream along the shoreline.  Then an egret flew upstream.  

At lunch I saw at least three bluebirds.  Two males shared the feeder.  Brown headed nuthatches asserted their rights and scared off a chickadee.  A Carolina wren picked at the barkbutter dust.  A pine warbler joined a bluebird on the seed feeder, then decided he preferred suet, then barkbutter crumbs.  This time of year the barkbutter dish is backlighted in the afternoon, so the bird's silhouette is the primary clue.  

I got a few minutes outside to enjoy the crystalline blue sky.  Leaves  on the domestic cherry were turning orange.  A big clump of berries hung from the hackberry outside my window.  Later I saw a squirrel eating them.  

Hooded mergansers arrived

At breakfast a white throated sparrow ate suet which was unusual.  They typically forage on the ground at this time of year and only start visiting the feeders in the Spring.  Meanwhile, a Carolina wren did forage on the ground.  Then it got up on the bench to take a look around.  The tide was still running high but the creek was unruffled. 

A flurry of birds visited at lunch.  A bluebird took over the seed feeder.  When he left, the white breasted nuthatch returned, soon followed by its brown headed cousin.  A warbler worked on the far side of the suet.  I saw a yellow rumped "myrtle" warbler on the step.  The female oriole returned.  A mockingbird investigated and then got a drink.  The white throat was joined  by a song sparrow.  A myrtle warbler was eating hackberries.  It was hard to get a good look at it through the window screen. 

A goldfinch in winter drab landed on the step, briefly.  Then I saw the first hoodie drake come paddling downstream.  Another followed, then a whole flock including females.  There seemed to be a lot more drakes but the females were harder to see.  

Oriole!

At dawn, the water looked like molten copper.  It was reflecting light that fell on the pine needle carpet on the bank above.  Not too long afterward, a female Baltimore oriole landed on a garden stake.  She looked at the barkbutter dish where other birds were grabbing breakfast but didn't join in.  After she flew away, a hawk swooped down on the feeding birds.  I don't think it caught one, but it certainly scared them.  The tide ran high again. 

Blue jays got over their shock and returned to the barkbutter balls.  Brown headed nuthatches wanted seeds and water.  The rust-colored squirrel was not put off by the hot pepper suet.  A Carolina wren checked out the seed feeder.  White throated sparrows hunted whatever fell to the ground.  A white breasted nuthatch grabbed big peanuts from the seed feeder.  

There were more clouds than the prediction called for, but nothing came of them.  A pine warbler landed on the barkbutter dish.  The male downy tackled the suet.  A junco foraged around the birdbath.  I kept watching for migrating ducks but all I saw was a plastic bottle.  A few cormorants fished off our shoreline.  More flew across the sky.  A bright, fat, just past full moon rose through the trees but I wasn't ambitious enough to go outside for photos. 

I sprayed the crevices of the chair where I thought the thing that bit/stung me so badly was lurking.  Afterward, I teased a dead bug out of a seam and took pictures of it.  Unfortunately, it looks like an earwig, Forficula auricularia, and those are harmless, so I don't know if the chair is safe or not.  What also puzzles me is what the biter/stinger was living on for weeks in the upholstery, besides me. 

Windy

The Northeast wind combined with the full moon to drive the tide over the bulkhead across the creek and over our dock.  I hoped that in compensation the wind would bring us migrating ducks, but not so far.  

Morning was wet but by lunch we had some sun.  Still, the wind discouraged songbirds.  I saw titmice, a thirsty mockingbird, a warbler briefly, a white breasted nuthatch, a downy, and on the ground a couple of white throated sparrows.  The usual seed eaters came out too.  A squirrel imbibed from the ant moat. 

Cormorants and an egret flew to roost against a  dark wall cloud.  The setting sun lightened and colored the scene. 

Rain

Morning was gray, afternoon wet.  I believe it was a bit warmer.   A flurry of birds accompanied lunch.  Nuthatches, both white breasted and brown headed, competed with house finches for seeds.  At least three bluebirds made the rounds of feeders.  I saw a yellow rumped warbler on the back of the bench.  After dark, a moth landed on the wet window.  

Fish drive

Another cool, windy day, albeit with more sunshine than predicted.  A "gulp" of cormorants drove a school of fish upstream at breakfast.  I wasn't ready with the camera and only caught a straggler out of maybe fifty or more.  I didn't see them return but I think I glimpsed a pelican flying back downstream.

Songbirds gathered at lunchtime.  Bluebirds and pine warblers both wanted barkbutter balls.  A white breasted nuthatch stuck with seeds.  The mockingbird was still thirsty.  A blue jay got some barkbutter balls.  A downy woodpecker and a pine warbler worked on the suet, though not at the same time.  Brown headed nuthatches demanded to share the seeds but a bluebird objected.  

Windy

Dawn reflections were lovely.  I had a meeting during the best time for birds.  But the wind probably kept them grounded.  The day was sunny and back to a normal fall temperature.  I saw mallards and an egret and nothing else.  

Warm but damp

We had a more substantial rain overnight.  A titmouse was unhappy that the barkbutter balls were still covered, but it kept them from going mushy.  A murder of crows gathered in the trees, I don't know why.  Toward lunch time the cloud cover thinned.  The temperature rose into the 70s and it was sunny but there was nowhere dry to sit. 

The first juncos of Autumn appeared.  I also saw a butterbutt.  Two bluebirds occupied the post.  There were other birds flocking with these, but they moved so much and then all departed so I don't know what I missed.  Two downy woodpeckers, a pair I think, walked up a dogwood trunk.  A Carolina wren dropped in after the others flew off.  

An egret prowled under the bulkhead.  Again a mockingbird came for a drink from the ant moat.  A white breasted nuthatch got seeds.  Leaves kept drifting down as fast as they turned.  A blue jay found the barkbutter balls.  

Morning birds

Today I was able to pay attention in the morning when the birds were most active.  The downy woodpecker still seemed to prefer seeds to suet.  The mockingbird was still thirsty.  There was some blurry activity on the wild cherry that turned out to be a yellow bellied sapsucker.  Squirrels were making love in the creek-side dogwood.  Twigs gave them some privacy from the paparazzi.  A pine warbler wanted barkbutter balls and suet.  He then retreated to the pine and hid in the needles.  

The rusty squirrel showed up but was chased away by one of the more gray-colored squirrels.  Since they were both males, I suspect that had something to do with the prior lovemaking.  A Carolina wren investigated the barkbutter balls, then a bluebird did the same.  A bird I didn't recognize landed on the grill.  Unfortunately there was a window screen in the way, but it had a gray head and back and a white throat and belly and was shaped like a robin.  My guess was Eastern kingbird, but I couldn't see a white edge to the tail and anyway they should have migrated by now.  iNaturalist suggested Eastern phoebe instead.  That makes more sense for this time of year.

Clouds formed and dissipated during the morning, at one point looking like wrinkles or a fingerprint.  An egret hunted along the bulkhead as mallards paddled past.  A pair of brown headed nuthatches wanted food and drink.  A bright yellow pine warbler tried to fool me into thinking he was something new.  But then an orange crowned warbler peered in the window at me.  After lunch I decided to get some work done and, anyway, the sky clouded over.  

Cool

It was sunny but cool and breezy.  A white breasted nuthatch was scared off the feeder by a mockingbird.  The mockingbird wasn't even interested in seeds.  It just wanted a drink.  What I think was the same nuthatch lurked behind the post but all I could see was an eye and a beak.  Later I saw the mockingbird on a now-leafless maple branch.  The wind has been stripping leaves off trees as fast as they turn.  Surprisingly, the dogwood, which turned the earliest, still had plenty of leaves.  

A little rain

I didn't feel well yesterday evening and hadn't seen much anyway, just chickadees wanting seeds.  Today's newspaper seemed to indicate yesterday broke a heat record.  Some rain fell overnight.  It wasn't much but, considering that the ground was as hard as the patio, that may have been a good thing.  More water would have run off rather than soak in.  

Clouds filled the morning sky but cleared at lunch.  A yellow jacket fed on the camellia flowers.  I spotted a bluebird on the seed feeder but she got away before the camera was ready.  A downy woodpecker returned to the suet.  A white breasted nuthatch came for seeds.  The downy didn't like that.