Chilling

There was evidence of overnight rain but the wind blew hard and the temperature dropped steadily all day long.  As a result, we had bright sunshine and blue sky.  The female red belly wanted seeds but a male cardinal wasn't willing to move.  White throats did their can-can in the mulch.  Titmice and chickadees got some seeds.  A Carolina wren performed on the barkbutter ring.  A myrtle warbler perched on the chair arm.  I refilled the jelly and barkbutter dishes.  A blue jay approved.  

K rehung the suet at lunch after I slipped trying to do it.  While sitting on the steps I was an object of curiosity for a pine warbler and a brown headed nuthatch.  A myrtle warbler was more interested in the suet.  Soon a male oriole visited but didn't partake of our offerings.  Blue birds were happy to feast.  I counted three males and a female.  A mockingbird showed up after the barkbutter dish was emptied.  Two brown headed nuthatches shared the seed feeder perch.  A starling drank from the birdbath.  Brown headed cowbirds took over the seed feeder.  Like the cardinals, they are too heavy for two of them to share the perch.  They argued over which got to stay.  The male red belly visited in the afternoon for suet.  

Earlier in the day,  a great blue heron had been up in the pines.  A few buffleheads had paddled past.  Toward evening, I saw five egrets lined up under the dam. Two or three pelicans were still fishing.  The cormorants flew to their roosts.  The lake was empty of birds as it has mostly been this winter.  The convenient log the turtles used disappeared over the summer.