Hanky-panky

 A pair of mallards mated in the pol while another drake watched.  

 

Still hot

A mating pair of damselflies hovered over the edge of the water but I was in the water and unable to take a picture.  I rescued a moth or small butterfly that was too battered to identify.  Also, I fished out a spider and several ground beetles.  Other spiders and mulch roaches were defunct.  

Bugs

At breakfast, a pileated woodpecker visited the suet but left so fast I don't know which sex it was.   Again the afternoon temperature was in the 90s and the water was a little warmer.  I rescued spiders and beetles and one small wasp, very carefully.  Some of the spiders were goners as was a green stinkbug.  When I deadheaded a rose, I disturbed an assassin bug nymph.  The little butterfly made the rounds again.  

Cold water

A Carolina wren got a barkbutter ball from the dish.  A titmouse fooled around.  Then I saw a very bright pine warbler.  The outdoor thermometer read 95° so I ventured into the pool today.  It was cold but bearable.  I tried to rescue a spider in the skimmer but it evaded me.  

Heat wave

A brown thrasher took off just as I pressed the shutter button.  Fortunate it only wanted to get closer to the barkbutter balls on the patio.  The mockingbird preferred to eat them from the dish.  A white breasted nuthatch agreed.  A Carolina wren took its treat under the furniture.  A crow finally came for the barkbutter balls.  I glimpsed a bluebird.  

An egret waded under the new bulkhead across the creek.  I saw 91° on the thermometer.  The tiny butterfly I'm guessing was a spring azure was back to torment me.  So was a cabbage white.  The milkweed bloomed.  

 

Butterflies

A black swallowtail landed on the Solomon's seal, but didn't give me quite enough time for a photo.  The usual cabbage white made the rounds.  What I thought was a painted lady landed on the nandina in an awkward spot I couldn't get in focus.  It turned out to be a red spotted purple.  Rain lilies bloomed at the foot of the dry creek.  The false indigo bloomed too.  

The brown thrasher pair and a mockingbird were lured back for barkbutter balls.  So was a titmouse.  The sky was a beautiful blue but the wind was strong.  The yellow cat prowled alongside the water, then darted after something in the azalea bush.  

A pair of mallards found the pool.  I yelled at them but when K shook the pool net at them they left.  Meanwhile, a crow landed, hopped down to the top step and had a drink not ten feed from me.  Clearly those birds do not see me as much of a threat.  A buzzard soared over the house.  

Crow bath

The male red bellied woodpecker clung to the glass dish in order to eat barkbutter balls.  The brown thrasher pair returned for the same reason.  A mockingbird dodged my camera but a blue jay ignored me.  The cardinals were still courting.  A goose family promenaded down the neighbors' back yard.  

The pool was opened today and the first one in was K's crow.  The bird stood on the top step and took a bath.  Milkweed flowers looked ready to pop open.   The little butterfly seemed to be circling the house because I always saw it headed in the same direction.  

 

Surprise shower

There was a little rain before I got up, but it dried and sunshine mixed with clouds.  A white breasted nuthatch, a mockingbird, and a red bellied woodpecker all escaped the camera.  A brown thrasher took its time and I took its picture.   A female bluebird made frequent visits.  (I still haven't seen any activity at the bluebird house.)  The squirrel was eating peppered suet again.  A titmouse got some seeds.  

One of the brown thrashers noticed the barkbutter balls that K put on the patio for the crow.   A blue jay found the dish feeder empty.  A crow swooped down on the barkbutter balls, scattering the other birds.  It wasn't greedy and a cardinal noticed there were some left.  

The surprise shower came after lunch.  The wind gusted and the sky darkened.  Rain streaked the North windows for about ten minutes.  Then the sun returned, accompanied by a bluebird.  A blue jay was close behind.  The red belly returned and this time I was lucky.  

Nuthatch

The sunshine was intermittent as there were a lot of clouds.  Some wind gusts flung the birdhouse around enough to addle eggs.  Today K tempted the crow with a buffet of seeds and barkbuter balls.  Both were found to be acceptable.  This particular crow had a noticeable beard.  I was whining about how little I had seen all day when a white breasted nuthatch kindly let me take some pictures.  A blue jay and a bluebird were in too much of a hurry.  

 

Pair of brown thrashers

A pair of brown thrashers visited several times on a lovely, sunlit day.  Despite the clear, blue sky, the temperature barely cleared 70° .  The breeze grew gusty at times.  A blue jay noticed noticed the barkbutter balls.  A bluebird ate seeds which were nearly empty.  The red belly fussed because I was too close to the seed feeder but a titmouse didn't care.  

At lunch, I spotted a tiger swallowtail resting on a dogwood twig.  It was right under the wild cherry so it might have been freshly emerged from a chrysalis.  Or it might just have been tired from laying eggs.  Eventually it took off.  

 

Cold

The day was gray and chilly with at least one shower and a fierce wind gust.  I saw all three woodpeckers at different times.  The female pileated was first, midway the red belly sneaked in, and the downy came last.  A brown thrasher showed up at least twice.  K's crow strutted up the steps to check if any fresh treats had materialized.  I caught a glimpse of something dark hovering around a red rose, maybe a hummer, maybe something else.  A few blue jays and bluebirds visited.  

Petrichor

Word of the day, petrichor is the name for the smell after a shower or light rain.  I learned this from a children's book, After the Rain by Eleanor Spicer Rice, but I wasn't that impressed with the book otherwise.  There was rain overnight but the day was sunny.  A blue jay posed on the railing.  The mockingbird didn't cooperate with the camera.  The female pileated came for suet.  

The milkweed buds were turning orange and an orange butterfly flew through the yard.  I saw a bud on the magnolia.  A Carolina wren inspected the feeders.  K tempted crows with french fries.  I saw the little butterfly I think was a Spring azure.  A bluebird visited.but the red belly was not willing to come to a feeder while I was outside.  The yellow cat sauntered up from the creek, then saw me and skedaddled.  

 

Showers & sun

Yesterday was really busy.  I glimpsed a white  breasted nuthatch on the seed feeder but I've nothing to show for it.  Cabbage whites flitted around and I saw a blue jay.  A squirrel has been eating the suet that was supposed to be too hot pepper flavored for squirrels.  The temperature warmed up and the wind wasn't so fierce.  This is where we held our celebration.

We had a rain shower at breakfast today and visits from a blue jay and a crow.  Bluebirds and a mockingbird showed up at lunch. A titmouse joined the seed eaters.  I have been persuaded that the bush I've been calling sakaki, Cleyera japonica, is actually a cheap substitute, False Japanese Cleyera, Ternstroemia gymnanthera .  They are related and look very similar.  But I am not absolutely convinced.

Rainy day

A wet, dreary, chilly day brought few birds.  A male pileated woodpecker came for a late breakfast.  A Carolina wren joined us at lunch.  The camera fought with the water-spotted window.  

 

Gray

This day wasn't as warm as the last two but just as windy.  I saw bluebirds, blue jays, and not much else.  A squirrel ate "hot pepper" suet that's supposed to be squirrel-proof.  A left-over Cinco de Mayo squirrel, perhaps?

 

Windy

A mockingbird breakfasted on suet.  A squirrel coveted bird food.  Blue jays were thirsty.  I also saw a pine warbler and a bluebird drinking from the pool puddle.  A titmouse looked into barkbutter balls.  Our thermometer showed mid 80s but the wind kept it from seeming hot.  After lunch, I noticed that the hummer feeder seemed to be missing.  Somehow it had come unscrewed from the hook and fallen.  I put it back together and rehung it which may have been unwise.  A couple of hours later I saw a male hummer visit it.  I was too close to move and take a photo but the bird didn't stay long.  Was I too close or the sugar water gone off or the wind too much?  

Despite the wind, I saw a few butterflies, a dragonfly, and wasps.  Butterflies included the ubiquitous cabbage white, some kind of dark swallowtail, and some that were too quickly gone to guess.  Some kind of midge followed me into the house.  

Dragonfly

Today became sunny, quite warm, and very windy.  I was focused on getting photo proof that the white throats were still here and didn't realize I had chopped the head off a brown thrasher - I never saw it was there in the background.  A Carolina wren ate seeds and a bluebird ate what she found in the glass dish.  A blue jay picked at the barkbutter dust.  The bluebirds also ate seeds and the seed feeder perch kept rolling which flustered them.  The catbird was back.  So was the crow.  

A yellow dragonfly with rusty striped wings and matching eyes perched on a garden stake.   It was a painted skimmer, Libellula semifasciata, the first I've ever seen.  A very small butterfly kept circling the yard, never stopping for a photo.  I wasted many pixels.  My best guess would be a spring azure.  Wasps were flying around.  The male red bellied woodpecker ate mealworms while I was outside, a first.  A titmouse picked through the seeds.  

Migration map

Cornell says this week is the migration peak for our area.  Here is their map.  Meanwhile, the white throats have not left yet.  A crow paid several visits to the area where I sometimes spill food.  A mockingbird also joined the feeder crowd.  Blue jays were right behind.  A catbird returned.  Bluebirds were in a hurry.  

A tiger swallowtail flew around the trees, despite the wind.  The sunshine must have compensated for the cool air.   A cabbage white stayed lower in its flight.  

 

Light rain

The rain fell all morning and off-and-on through the afternoon.  I hope it soaked in, even though it was light, because the year has been very dry so far.  At breakfast, the catbird returned with another.  I think this is the second bird.  They didn't seem very fond of each other, at least, I couldn't get them both in one photo.  A mockingbird was next.  It checked out the fresh suet.  I saw a Carolina wren but it was faster than my fingers.  

Mallard drakes paddled on the creek, leaving all the incubation to the females.  Bluebirds visited the seed feeder in the rain.  (K had covered the dishes.)   They hurried to grab a seed and go back to whatever they were doing.  Cardinals continued their courtship.  

 

Catbird!

The catbird chowed down on the aged, desiccated grape jelly.  I had no idea that jelly would interest a catbird.  Then an actual cat sauntered past.  It was the yellow long hair.  After it was gone, a mockingbird fed from the dish of barkbutter & mealworms.  A blue jay, and the male red belly stuck to the barkbutter mealworm mix.  Later the catbird returned and tossed mealworms everywhere.  A squirrel thought about raiding the dish but decided to go elsewhere.  Bluebirds showed up at mid day.  

Something sat in the top of the hackberry and preened.  It turned out to be a freshly bathed blue jay which really fooled me.  Lots of butterflies came out even though it wasn't quite 70°.  I saw a tiger swallowtail, a silver spotted skipper, and some I couldn't identify.  A downy rejoiced in a fresh suet block.