Gray

 The temperature climbed above 60 but there was a lot of cloud cover.  

Brown thrasher

Daylight Saving Time meant I got up with the sun and saw the creek mirroring the light on the bank and trees.   The water was as smooth as if polished, and undisturbed.  Somewhat later I saw a great blue heron up in the pines.  Bluebirds arrived seeking seeds.  A Carolina wren made off with something and hid under the furniture to eat it.  A handful of white throats hunted edibles.

I restocked the jelly and barkbutter dishes before lunch.  Blue jays soon noticed.  So did myrtle warblers.  A female red belly hiked up and down tree trunks.  The myrtle warbler reluctantly gave way for a white breasted nuthatch that found the barkbutter balls.  A mockingbird was more interested in seeds.  Then the brown thrasher appeared among the white throats in the mulch.  That made two of the three local Mimidae and March is too early for catbirds.

Clouds came and went but seemed thicker toward evening.  Egrets and cormorants flew home. 

Kingfisher and eagle

Thin bars of cloud striped the blue sky.   A Carolina wren joined us for breakfast.  A mockingbird followed.  An egret perched on a post downstream while another waded.  Gulls patrolled the creek and cormorants dived.  Three pelicans sunbathed on the roof of the boathouse across the creek. 

Two mockingbirds came for lunch.  So did a pair of bluebirds.  The Carolina wren was back too, eating some of everything.  While morning was sunny, over lunch the sky clouded up.  Two egrets looked tor the best place to fish.  Bluebirds and the occasional white throat ate barkbutter crumbs.  The mockingbirds sampled the different offerings. Three daffodil varieties bloomed.  A light shower occurred around 2pm, then gradually the sky cleared again.

I was looking for pelicans in the late afternoon when I spotted a kingfisher. Cormorants, pelicans, a great blue heron, and a female hoodie passed, then I saw something swoop.  Crows came after it and finally I saw it between the goose fences.  I was afraid it was trapped but it flew out with no trouble.  Meanwhile, the kingfisher had teleported downstream.  

Slow day

The mockingbird took possession of the seed feeder.  At least nine egrets flew past and one rested on the dock for a while.  Its plumes were showy but it didn't have the green lores of a bird ready to mate.  An oriole took note of the jelly but was spooked by something.  A squirrel appeared to have been clawed but seemed healthy enough.  A Carolina wren sifted through the last of a bag of barkbutter balls.  I don't know where all the other birds were. 

Gray day

Today was cooler, still windy, and mostly overcast, but full of birds.  A female bluebird came for seeds.  A myrtle warbler preferred suet.  The cardinals were courting -- he ferried seeds all of 15 inches up to her.  I guessed it was the thought that counted.  A mockingbird settled for seeds.  A red bellied woodpecker watched from the trees.  White throats foraged in the mulch under the feeder.  The male oriole settled for suet and the female did the same.  A male bluebird took over the seeds from the female.  The female oriole considered the seeds and sampled them.  Even a blue jay was hungry enough for seeds.  I refilled the dishes and a myrtle warbler inspected first the jelly, then the barkbutter balls.  Gulls, pelicans, and cormorants pursued fish. 

The sky was brighter at lunch.  I saw another pelican.  A Carolina wren found what remained of the barkbutter crumbs.  Then a bluebird poked at the crumbs and complained.  A female brown headed cowbird paused on the seed feeder hanger.  Hooded mergansers fished and socialized.  The male red belly finally came to eat suet.  When he left a wren moved in, then a downy.  By evening there were rents in the clouds and some sunset color as the cormorants flew home.   

Stormy

Morning was gusty.  Three egrets fished along our stretch of the creek.  A brown headed nuthatch joined the regular seed eaters. So did a female red bellied woodpecker.  Stocking up before the storm?  Then the rain began before lunch.  The temperature was in the 60s but the weather spoiled any enjoyment of the warmth.  I heard thunder grumbling but saw no lightning flashes.  Late in the afternoon a very large flock of cormorants blew through and circled around to head back the way they'd come.  The storm left about a half inch of rain. 

Much warmer

The day began with sunshine but haze slowly became overcast while the temperature climbed into the upper 60s.  A mourning dove poked through the mulch along with the white throats.  The two mockingbirds did not seem to be getting along but maybe that's how they court.  One sampled the jelly but didn't seem to approve.  Blue jays and starlings took over the barkbutter balls.  I saw a bluebird and a Carolina wren but they gave up.  A myrtle warbler got a share. 

Mainly there were pelicans floating on the creek.  I didn't see any fish successfully but I did see this one take off. 

Still cold

Overnight dropped below freezing and the pepper plants were outside.  Again the mockingbird was an early, and very puffed up, visitor.  A myrtle warbler ate jelly.  A row of ruddy ducks floated past.  Many cormorants fished and I saw a pelican go by.  The gulls were back too.  An egret prowled the shore.  I saw shoveler drakes again on the lake.  

Gone fishing

A Carolina wren greeted the morning. One junco was still foraging with the white throats.  A goldfinch visited the seed feeder and ran into trouble with the aggressive butterbutt.  I only saw one mockingbird, or maybe one at a time.  The Baltimore orioles were unhappy that the jelly dish was on the ground.  We don't know how that happened.  The male oriole checked the ant moat since it is also red.  Today was so much colder -- 31° when I got up -- that I was unwilling to deal with the dish feeders.  Anyway, there were starlings.  A white breasted nuthatch got some seeds. 

At lunch, the red belly returned.   A wren wanted to share the suet.  I could see hoodies and ruddy ducks on the creek but foliage kept interfering with the camera focus.  One hoodie hen got a fish.  A pine warbler was bullied by the butterbutt.  A bluebird watched for a long time before landing on the feeder. 

I saw more gulls today than all winter.  A young eagle snatched a fish in front of me.  A great blue heron watched.  A few cormorants dived after fish.  I spotted a shoveler on the lake.   Even a crow got a fish but I think another bird dropped it.  Something zoomed around on the surface of the creek and the eagle went after it.  

March wind

The mockingbirds came bright and early.  I wish I could get them both into a photo.  A Carolina wren sang in a dogwood.  White throats scampered about.  Blue jays came for barkbutter balls but seemed wary of something I could not see.  This time I did get a photo of the red belly.  But I missed getting a picture of a bluebird.  I also missed a pelican. 

K hung a fresh block of suet but more birds were interested in barkbutter balls.  This sunny day got up into the low 70s but the wind was strong enough to shake leafless trees.  More daffodil buds opened including on a dwarf plant.  The wren took a seat on the back of the chair by the jelly dish.  A myrtle warbler enjoyed the barkbutter balls.  So did one awkward white throat.  Several buzzards circled including one much higher than the others.  I wondered if it was a black vulture but no, enlarging showed it was another turkey vulture.  The Berkley's polypore under the oak was very weather-beaten.