Real rain

Gusty wind from the North spotted and streaked the windows, making photography difficult.  The rain filled the ant moat to overflowing and gave a surprise shower to the red bellied woodpecker that landed hard on the suet.  A brown thrasher came for barkbutter or mealworms only to find the dish still covered against the rain.  Pelicans and gulls passed over the creek.  

Bird buffet

Morning began with a pileated woodpecker and blue jays.  Three starlings visited but were unsatisfied and didn't stay.  A white throat pecked at the residue in the barkbutter dish.  A Carolina wren got inside the dish.  Meanwhile a goldfinch landed on the suet with a pine warbler.  The goldfinch must have realized its mistake and joined the house finches for seeds.  House finches are bigger.  

The overcast sky developed blue rents.  A pair of buffleheads drifted on the creek.   Lots of little birds use the azalea by the side window as a launchpad for the feeders, but it is very hard to get photos of them.   White breasted and brown headed nuthatches picked out seeds.  I refilled the glass dish with a mix of mealworms and barkbutter balls.  The pine warbler was pleased.  A downy sampled the suet.  The song sparrow found what I dropped (deliberately).  Bluebirds noticed that the dish was refilled.  The female oriole had jelly and a drink.  

Pelicans and gulls were very busy on the creek but the only ducks I saw were the bufflehead pair and another female.  A great blue heron stalked along our shoreline.  By then the sky had cleared but the light was going.  

Waterfowl

A wren dug into the seeds for breakfast.  So did a downy. I saw a goldfinch, but it got away.   A brown headed nuthatch also collected seeds.  K put our a fresh block of suet and the warblers found it.  The clouds lifted as time passed. At high tide, I spotted the orange cat perched on a stump at the water's edge.  

Pelicans fished along our stretch of the creek.  A variety of gulls fished too - herring, ring bill, and black back.  The sight of a great black back gull with a fish attracted a young pelican still in brown plumage.  A great egret flew upstream.  A cormorant photo-bombed a picture of a gull.  I saw another red breasted merganser.  A great blue heron stood watch below the dam. A mallard pair paddled across the water.  A female bufflehead dived.  

Very gray

Overnight rain continued into the morning and gradually became mist.  The temperature slowly dropped all day.  A flurry of birds arrived early but found nothing but seeds.  Even the suet was gone to the consternation of downy, red bellied and pileated woodpeckers.  I saw pelicans and a bufflehead on the creek.  A white breasted nuthatch was content with seeds.  Three juncos also ate seeds.  So did bluebirds.  Sparrows and warblers foraged on the ground.  A mockingbird gave up.  

At lunch, a Carolina wren settled for seeds.    By late afternoon the mist was becoming fog.  A pair of buffleheads were the lone occupants of the creek.  

Very warm

The day was overcast and windy but the temperature rose into the upper 60s.  That often means that birds have other food besides the feeders.  At breakfast, a pileated woodpecker came to finish off the suet.  A blue jay checked on the barkbutter balls. At lunch, a flurry of birds arrived, including a perky chipping sparrow.  A male oriole found the jelly.  I also saw a Carolina wren, bluebirds, warblers, and a mockingbird.  Then something spooked them and I saw no more birds.  

 

Fog

Happy Lunar New Year and Mardi Gras.  At breakfast a light fog grayed the distant pines. It didn't seem to trouble the pelicans flying low over the creek.  Gulls, too, were fishing.  The committee of vultures took to the trees.  The two mourning doves returned.  Downy and red bellied woodpeckers came for the feeders.  So did a wren, a pine and a myrtle warbler, a brown headed nuthatch and starlings.  Blue jays flew past but returned for breakfast.

The sun finally got through at 10am.  Then a junco appeared on the seed feeder.  Where was it during the bird count?  Bluebirds enjoyed the sunshine.  A goldfinch also wanted seeds.  The pelicans kept on fishing, apparently with success judging by the splashdowns.  Cormorants had the same idea.  

 

Gray

We held off on the open dish feeders in case the rain was not finished.  That was just as well since starlings investigated the menu.  The towhee returned for breakfast.  I saw what I think were bufflehead drakes.  Pelicans flew by all day and the dredge apparently observed the holiday.   The red belly ate both seeds and suet but the downy only wanted suet.  Nuthatches came earlier than usual, both kinds.  I also counted a blue jay, a mockingbird, a pair of bluebirds, two kinds of warbler, and a wren before 8:30am.  Later in the morning there were titmice and the song sparrow.  Except for a crow, the lunchtime birds were repeats even though they now had jelly and barkbutter balls.  The temperature only rose a couple of degrees from just under 40 to just over. Plus, the wind was gusty.  I was glad to be inside to finish the GBBC.  I did twelve checklists and counted 37 species, one of which was new.  This year I posted more photos too.  

 

Rainy

Morning was overcast and drizzle began before lunch.  I submitted three more bird counts.  The first was unsatisfactory, I felt, only 15 birds.  The mockingbird, song sparrow, wren, and pine warbler made me happy.  I did another short count mid morning when I picked up bluebirds, the red bellied woodpecker and a pelican.  

After lunch, drizzle turned to rain.  Despite that, and the hawk that swooped past the feeders, I saw more birds and more species.  The towhee came back.  The male oriole put in a brief appearance.  Nuthatches made it out of bed.  But the weather was dreary without making much of a dent in the drought. 

Robins

There was a light frost and a skin of ice on the creek at first, but the sun quickly warmed everything.  A little flock of robins landed to drink from the pool puddle.  I was not surprised they were thirsty because there's been no rain this month and very little in January.  A different flock squabbled in the back yard across the creek.  It looked to me like one vulture had something that the others wanted.  They spread out their wings and danced around like boxers.  I saw one with a black head and several with red heads.  An eagle swooped past and kept going.  

At the feeders we had a red belly, a blue jay, a Carolina wren, a mockingbird, a bluebird, a pair of orioles, a pine and a myrtle warbler.  On the ground, the song sparrow joined the white throats.  A crow promenaded past the door.   The blue jay scolded me for letting the barkbutter balls run low.  

A brown headed nuthatch showed up for lunch.  Most of the breakfast birds returned.  I also saw through the trees an egret and a pelican and a duck I couldn't identify.   That made me decide to do a third bird count from a window with a better view of the creek.  I was rewarded with a bufflehead, a pair of hooded mergansers, and a red breasted merganser.  Pelicans were easier to photograph and I could identify the gulls.  One was a ringed bill and another was a great black backed gull.  At least four cormorants were fishing or drying out.  

I finally succeeded in accessing eBird on the laptop and using Merlin on the phone. 

GBBC start

A sunny, breezy morning, just above freezing, brought plenty of birds to count.  I was glad to see the song sparrow again.  A Carolina wren pecked suet.  The bullying myrtle warbler was ever-present.  Bluebirds came for the barkbutter balls.  A goldfinch dithered before sampling seeds.  Then the red bellied woodpecker took over the seed feeder.  I spotted a downy up in the wild cherry.  She soon flew down to the suet.  A myrtle warbler got into the jelly.  Blue jays raided the barkbutter balls.  The bluebirds moved on to seeds and a mockingbird picked at the barkbutter balls.  .  

I counted birds again at lunch, starting with a pine warbler.  A Cooper's hawk hid in a knot of branches.  I saw it land or I would never have noticed it.  The tangle of branches made getting a picture impossible but the birds knew.  Nuthatches arrived after the alarm faded, first brown headed, then white breasted.  I didn't count it, but I caught a squirrel in flight!  

 

Still pleasant

Today I learned there's a bill in the General Assembly to establish a Virginia Fungi Task Force.  Also proposed is a state mycologist. The same article told me that the split gill fungus has 28,000 sexes.  Politics can be educational.  A mockingbird paid an early visit.  Then  a crow arrived.  A Carolina wren bounced around.  White throats were hungry.  Brown headed nuthatches found seeds they liked.  A goldfinch was more picky.  Bluebirds enjoyed the barkbutter balls as did a myrtle warbler.  The song sparrow was back.  Blue jays too.  

The scarred squirrel got into the mealworms.  A brown thrasher had some as well.  Pine warblers sampled everything.  The female oriole came by for a drink.  The male red belly chose seeds but the female pileated wanted suet.  

 

A committee of vultures

A little rain dotted the windows in the morning.  A flock of seven black and turkey vultures  landed in the back yard, wandered around, and drank from the pool puddle.  I was surprised to see they have white legs.  All this was closely observed by a great blue heron, maybe the one that chases away other herons.  Meanwhile pelicans flew over the creek watching for fish.  

Because of the rain, we left the dishes covered which frustrated the bluebirds.  The wren shared suet with a downy.  A bluebird moved on to the seed feeder so the wren did too.  White throats  and a song sparrow just stayed on the ground.  A myrtle warbler poked around the defunct watering can.  A white breasted nuthatch shared the seed feeder with a myrtle warbler.  Then a titmouse wanted seeds.  A bedraggled pine warbler aimed for suet but a wren was already eating.  The warbler grieved over the covered barkbutter and mealworms.  It finally got some suet.  

The sky cleared at mid day and I uncovered the dish feeders.  A brown thrasher soon showed up.  Bluebirds followed, then white throats.  Across the creek, a heron was on watch.  I ran around on errands after lunch.  I saw people in shirtsleeves, the day was so warm.  

Warm!

An athletic squirrel got into the mealworms.  Others chased through the trees on a day that felt like spring.  The block of ice in the plastic watering can began to melt and leak out the seams.  

 

Towhee

Early morning was still quite cold, though not as low as yesterday, but enough to make birds hungry.  A male towhee foraged under the seed feeder alongside a song sparrow.  At the glass dish, birds were pecking dust so I bundled up and carried out more barkbutter balls.  

Turkey vultures swooped over the creek and perched with a view of it.  I think they must remember the year we had cold-stunned fish floating.  

 

Frigid

We had a very cold, windy night below 20° and windy enough to prevent the creek from icing.  I wonder if I've lost any plants to this abnormally cold couple of weeks.  I read that a high over Greenland was blocking circumpolar winds and pushing them South.  Small birds need a lot of food in this weather.  Bluebirds arrived very early.  The female oriole was close behind.  A turkey vulture perched on the dock piling.  With no feathers on their heads, I wonder if they get frostbite?  I guess it was our day for big black birds - a crow foraged under the seed feeder.  Blue jays (also corvids even if not black) preferred barkbutter balls.  

A mockingbird came next, then a male oriole.  The female demanded another turn at the BBBalls so the male went for jelly.  Well, the female hustled over and evicted him.  She took her sweet time while he waited.  Meanwhile, the aggressive butterbutt kept ambushing other warblers and chasing them all over the yard.  And while it wasted energy, bigger birds ate their fill.  A brown thrasher took over the barkbutter feeder.  A Carolina wren finally showed up at the feeders, followed by a white breasted nuthatch, then a mockingbird, then a white throated sparrow.  

Across the creek, a great blue heron rested on the new bulkhead.  Dirt covered the yard behind the bulkhead and I noticed scrapes on the trees.  A herring gull found something in the water and a mallard drake had to investigate.  A crow watched from the dock.  I got a couple of glimpses of an eagle.  Like the eagle, pelicans were always behind twigs that threw the camera focus off.  A downy pecked at the suet.  I spotted a pine warbler up in the redwood, probably avoiding the mad butterbutt.  The male red belly had some seeds.  I noticed the sweet gum balls were sparse this year which might explain the house finch squabbling at the seed feeder.  Sunshine warmed the day up to 30°.  The orioles and warblers emptied the jelly dish.  K refilled the barkbutter dish several times.  

Temperature dropping

A dusting of snow lay on the concrete, evidence that the ground was frozen.  Wind whipped the trees and passing clouds made the sunlight blink.  The birds went through a lot of food.  A Carolina wren woke up hungry.  Then a titmouse came for seeds.  White throats foraged in the frozen mulch.  Three bluebirds watched from the wild cherry.  

Out on the creek, I saw herring gulls and a hoodie drake.  A handful of buffleheads flew downstream and a pelican flew upstream and landed on the dock.  Of course there were mallards.  A great blue heron strutted by with its catch.  

The red bellied woodpecker joined us for lunch.   Bluebirds and white throats appreciated the barkbutter refill.  A mockingbird lurked in a dogwood, seeming upset at the competition.  Then a male Baltimore oriole brightened the jelly dish.  A blue jay drank from the pool puddle.  That water is the last to freeze.  A white breasted nuthatch ate barkbutter balls.  The female oriole showed up and made the male wait for jelly.  Two orioles and several warblers consume it fast.  A myrtle warbler wasted energy chasing other warblers away from food.  

 

Undertakers' converntion

The red bellied woodpecker was up early for suet.  Out on the creek, herring and ring bill gulls were fishing along with one bufflehead drake.  Pelicans flew over and the resident GBH chased another away.  Bluebirds ate seeds while a white throat complained that the barkbutter dish was empty.  Myrtle warblers got aggressive.  Clouds moved in.  A flock of vultures settled in the trees.  Bluebirds ignored them because I had refilled the dish.  Carolina wrens were pleased too.  A white breasted nuthatch ate seeds. The downy ate suet.  

Baltimore oriole

I got up late.  A lone dove poked around under the seed feeder.  Bluebirds and white throats cleaned the dish feeder.  A mockingbird wasn't happy about that.  A white breasted nuthatch ate seeds.  A starling seemed unimpressed with the choices.  A Carolina wren sat inside the dish.  I spotted a brown thrasher in a dogwood, obscured by twigs.  The red bellied woodpecker worked on the suet.  Myrtle warblers popped up everywhere.  A blue jay wouldn't leave the trees.  

A downy woodpecker also craved suet.  A song sparrow foraged in the last patch of snow.  The white breasted nuthatch enjoyed the refilled barkbutter dish.  A boat towed away another that was sitting at the dock across the creek all week.  Then a male Baltimore oriole showed up.  A brown headed nuthatch joined the crowd.  The Carolina wren was back.  

 

Thaw

Yesterday started sunny and clouded up ad the temperature rose above freezing.  Today the last of the snow melted but there was still thick ice on the creek,  The dredging continued and kept a passage open through the ice. 

 

Woodchuck Day

The Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources  says, "The woodchuck is present everywhere in Virginia except the eastern shore and the extreme southeastern corner of the state."  That's us, no groundhogs.  If we had them, and if they poked out of their dens today, they would have been blinded by the sunlight bouncing off the snow.  (While the snowfall was light, the cold kept it from melting.)  This is also Candlemas and Imbolc.  

 

Snow cold

Snow fell overnight and was over when I got up.  We got less than an inch after alarmist predictions of up to a foot.  The temperature warning, however, was all too true.  I know that winters when I lived in Ohio and Michigan regularly got this cold and colder, but after four decades in Virginia, I have lost my tolerance.