Nuthatches

The birds slept in but after breakfast they came in a wave.  Two brown headed nuthatches appeared to be courting.  A mockingbird, a bluebird, and a Carolina wren were more interested in eating.  So were the seed feeder trio - chickadee, cardinal, and house finch.  A brown thrasher got away without a photo.  Bluebirds and blue jays were more cooperative.  The male red bellied woodpecker returned.  

I went outside after lunch and saw lots of butterflies.  The black and tiger swallowtails were recognizable but not the brownish orange ones.  I think there were dragonflies as well but I didn't get any pictures of them either.  Wasps worked hard.  Rain started after 2pm but wasn't heavy and didn't last very long.  The pink evening primrose started blooming.  Bud clusters formed on the milkweed.  The beautyberry leafed out.  White throated sparrows were still here but rushing around and hard to capture.  A vulture and an osprey flew over.  

3 caterpillars

A Carolina wren attacked the suet from underneath.  Then a downy woodpecker male did the same thing.   White throats scuttled around.  The wren queued up with blue jays for barkbutter balls.  

Three first instar black swallowtail caterpillars occupied the bolting parsley in K's pot on the front patio.  The caterpillars weren't moving.  I harvested a pepper and admired some green ones.  The pinxter flower, a native deciduous azalea, was blooming as was the false indigo.  The moon was at first quarter.

 

 

Birdhouse

I didn't see anything at breakfast.  At lunch, the male red belly took an interest in barkbuter balls but I missed it, twice.  A mockingbird and a blue jay followed.  White throats ran around the patio.  The house finches got very passionate.  A Carolina wren sampled this and that.  A titmouse had seeds.  A female bluebird had a bath.  And I finally got the red belly.  

The first night heron of the year landed on the dock and promenaded up to the grass where it stepped off to stalk along the spartina.  And I was without the camera because we were hanging the birdhouse.  Later, I saw a heron behind the bushes later but I think it was a great blue heron.  A cabbage white flitted past.  The blue eyed grass bloomed.  

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Brown thrasher

The air was still cool and the wind gusty but the sun was bright.  Carolina wrens returned.  White throats lingered.  A mockingbird considered the menu.  A brown thrasher went directly to the barkbutter balls.  Then a blue jay took over.  Chickadees, house finches, and cardinals ate seeds, just as they do every day.  

Chilly

Wind gusts felt colder than the actual temperature.  Carolina wrens and blue jays came for suet and barkbutter balls. They were all I noticed.  Clouds fought with the sun throughout the day.  

Pileated woodpecker

The sky was gray all day and quite dark at one point, but there were only a couple of brief showers.  However, the temperature, which was comfortable at breakfast, dropped steadily down into the 50s.  Wind gusts made it even colder.  A bluebird showed up at breakfast and returned throughout the day.  Yellow flag iris opened.  

White throats dallied but arrived for lunch.  Carolina wrens also visited then.  I saw the pair flirting under a chair.  The cardinals were courting too.  After lunch, the female pileated woodpecker came for suet.  She dropped lots of crumbs to the delight of little birds.  

Not as hot

I was tired last night and skipped posting even though I had photos.  The mockingbird was back.  Bluebirds visited.  I was unable to catch a tiger swallowtail on camera.  Blue jays wanted barkbutter balls.  White throats continued to forage and bathe.  Cardinals courted.  A Carolina wren was thirsty and hungry.  A squirrel was itchy but crept close to me.  

A mockingbird started off the morning and visited on and off all day.  A male red bellied woodpecker came for breakfast.  The creek was sunlit and placid in the morning.  A Carolina wren came for lunch.  White throats were still packing for the trip North.  Titmice were hungry today, thirsty too, and in need of a bath.  A female brown headed cowbird got a drink.  Blue jays got a share of mealworms since there weren't barkbutter balls.  Bluebirds were very late arriving.  

The blue-eyed grass and the coral lily bloomed.  I think this is very early in the year for these lilies.  Blue flag irises were also flowering.  Wild cherry trees were done blooming.  The butterfly milkweed got a head start on the mountain mint.  I glimpsed a skink but it was faster than the camera.  Dragonflies also defeated me.  A silver-spotted skipper posed with its silver spots hidden.  I saw tiger and dark swallowtails and a medium-sized butterfly that was too fast to identify.  

Squirrels were very active, chasing, drinking, and eating.  One dived headfirst into the mealworms.  The mealworms are not peppered to discourage squirrels but they were resting on a bed of barkbutter dust that was.  The squirrel frantically brushed its face.  It was much more careful after that.  One squirrel was nursing.  Clouds spread across the sky in the late afternoon and sunset was fiery red.  

Even hotter!

The mockingbird came early, followed by blue jays.  Then a rumpled dove visited.  Despite it being 92° we ate lunch outside and I saw a silver spotted skipper.  I think a couple of swallowtails were flitting around the trees but I couldn't get a good look.  The sky was hazy and brushed with thicker clouds.  There were berries already on the hackberry.  A Carolina wren sampled the suet.  

Hot

What with one thing and another I didn't see much yesterday except a mockingbird that posed nicely and a blue jay that didn't.  Today I saw an osprey while driving to Ocean View and an egret on my way back.  I heard a mockingbird in a street tree.  

At home there were white throats, a red bellied woodpecker, blue jays, and a mockingbird.  The mockingbird ate the barkbutter balls K had scattered for a crow.  A white throat took a bath.  The day was very hot -- 88° at lunch.  I forgot to check later but wouldn't be surprised if it was a record.  The National Weather Service reported 90° which tied the record.  The dogwoods finished blooming and there were buds on the roses.  

 

Hazy

The white throats were still with us, packing on the calories for the trip North.   Bluebirds visited the glass dish.  The mockingbird pair were hungry too.  Of course, blue jays came as soon as the dish was refilled.  A Carolina wren popped in for a barkbutter snack.  

I saw a honeybee in an azalea flower.  A few other bees and wasps checked out the flowers as well.  The day was windy so the temperature in the low 80s didn't feel hot.  

 

Mellow day

White throats bathed on a very pleasant, sunny, room temperature day with a light breeze.  Blue jays wanted food and drink.  A mockingbird was bold enough to eat suet while I was near.  The male red belly almost collided with the mockingbird on the way to the suet.  Bluebirds ate the mealworms in the glass dish.  So did a squirrel.  Two doves progressed beyond flirting.  A male downy got some time with the suet.  

In addition to birds, I saw at least three butterflies -- tiger swallowtail, black swallowtail, and something smaller -- and a couple of dragonflies, one perched and one cruising about 18" above the grass.  A queen yellow jacket prowled the mulch looking for a nest site.  A skink panicked and rain right into my sandal.  

The azaleas were at their peak, but insects didn't seem very interested.  The wild cherry's flowers were too high to see details but they looked like spikes of white foam.  The coral honeysuckle was covered with flowers that will feed any hummingbird that arrives before I put the feeder out.  It's probably past time to retire the grape jelly.

Skink

While I was in an online meeting an osprey flew down and tried to catch a fish. Alas, no photo.  

At lunchtime I saw a skink soaking up the sun and staying out of the wind.  

 

Frustrations

I was busy on a phone call without the camera and two tiger swallowtails danced together outside the window for several minutes.  It didn't occur to me to try to use the phone's camera - probably just as well.  The phone camera isn't great for small critters and I might have bollixed the call.  Toward evening, a brown thrasher raided the barkbutter balls and flew off before I had it in focus.  I did get its cousin the mockingbird.  A Carolina wren also posed.  .After a week of below average temperatures, today was warmer and sunny.  

Crow

 There were more birds today.  K continued to tempt the crow with barkbutter balls.  

 A tiger swallowtail flitted among the dogwood flowers but didn't alight.  

 

Mockingbird

I finally caught up with the mockingbird.  Blue jays also visited and, of course, there were white throats.  However, I think the butterbutts and orioles have headed North.  

Back to Spring

The heat wave dissipated and normal Spring temperatures returned.  There weren't a lot of birds but a mockingbird managed to get a snack without me getting a photo, twice.  White throats didn't care how many pictures I took.  A Carolina wren posed nicely.  

Storm

Just down the street on the way to church we saw a rabbit.  Blue jays and white throats visited the glass dish while cardinals and house finches ate seeds.  A squirrel foraged underneath.   By 3pm a storm was blowing our way from the West.   It got dark and windy before the short deluge.  

A hot week

Yesterday was still hot.  A pine warbler considered the barkbutter balls.  Then blue jays arrived, and white throats.  K spilled some on the patio for a crow.  The pines and oaks shed pollen.   Flower bud spikes appeared on the wild cherry.  

Today was supposedly the last of the heatwave.  Azaleas opened but jonquils withered.  A cabbage white flitted through the vegetation.  A white throat checked to see if the dish had been refilled.  Two more hopped around in a dogwood.  Another perched by the fence.  Blue jays noticed when I refilled the dish.  

Insect season

The heatwave persisted and again the temperature was well into the 80s.  We ate outdoors and afterward I saw bees, wasps, butterflies, and an uncooperative dragonfly.  The butterflies were a cabbage white and a tiger swallowtail.  I couldn't identify the dragonfly.  I heard blue jays bud didn't see them.  The long haired yellow cat tried to catch a squirrel.  The squirrel was outraged and I hope I embarrassed the cat.  Azalea buds began opening.  

Windy

March ended with a blast of wind and heat.  At breakfast there was a brown thrasher.  I was away tabling at an event most of the day and came home too tired to think.  I do remember that I saw an egret and a mockingbird at the event.  I think something bit me too because I had a welt next day.  The tide was way out thanks to the wind and nearly full moon.  

While I was recuperating, the red belly came for suet.  A dove wandered around.  White throats, blue jays, and a mockingbird ate barkbutter balls.  The mockingbird had to wait for a cardinal to finish.  Then a bluebird got his  I must still have been tired today because I don't seem to recall seeing anything except the dredge.  The temperature beat the old record by two degrees.