Hibiscus blossom

I forgot to make an entry yesterday but it wasn't a dull day.  The male goldfinch seemed to be getting a drink every time I looked.  I camera-chased a tiger swallowtail.  Also I've been noticing wild cherry leaves carefully sculpted by caterpillars to hide that they've been partly eaten.  A spider was rafting on a sculpted leaf so I brought it to land.  It spun a bit of web then launched itself up into the dogwood, at least six feet up and away.  I thought it was one of the heptagonal orbweavers, but it was more brown with a butterfly shape marked in beige.  Turns out it is a butterfly orbweaver Araneus pegnia.  I also got pictures of the floating pine needles making occult symbols in the breeze.  A buzzard flew over and a hummer visited the fresh feeder.  

The morning looked nice but I had a meeting.  I think this may be the latest in the year that the hibiscus has bloomed.  There was a hummer and a goldfinch.  In the afternoon, I waited for some shade but almost waited too long and got sprinkled upon.  A cicada was submerged on the top step so I fished it out. Later I carried it up the steps for a photo and it began to revive!  iNaturalist identified it as a Northern dusk-singing cicada Megatibicen grossus.  

A frog in the skimmer seemed dead so I disposed of it.  Another in the pool was bigger and fairly lively, but I caught it. A determined mosquito bit me on my face since that was all it could reach.  I did my best to drown it.  I saw a monarch and a little skink as I dripped off.  I couldn't find any monarch caterpillars but the parsley plant I bought had a first instar black swallowtail caterpillar.  There were flashes of sunshine between the thunderheads while I was outside, but thunder and real rain began before 6pm.  It cleared after about half an hour.  

 

Sunny day

The day was quite warm but the breeze made it very pleasant.  A female downy woodpecker had a seed breakfast.  A Carolina wren also visited.  Hummers found the new feeder, which was fortunate because the old one was empty.  (I'll put the other out tomorrow.) There were at least two hummers because I saw one chase another away.  I spotted one preening in the wild cherry.  

A  bird circling very high was a Mississippi kite. Another, I think, was a vulture.  Again, there were two frogs but they didn't put up much of a chase.  I rescued a spider from a mostly submerged twig.  The pool steps had a lot of drowned greenhouse millipedes.  A cicada's cast-off shell was lying on the patio.  I also found some cicada wings that had been discarded by whatever ate one.  There were plenty left to sing in the afternoon sunshine.  

The sky was mostly clear blue with clouds being hurried along by the West wind.  Occasionally, they cast sunbeams against the upper atmosphere.  I saw skinks of all sizes running errands and basking in the just right temperature.  Alas, they always dodged out of sight when I moved the camera   A blue dasher kept my space clear of small fliers.  

The butterfly milkweed had more pods developing than I have ever seen, probably because it wasn't feeding any caterpillars.  I think wasps got them.  Tiger swallowtails flew around the trees and a dark butterfly swooped through closer to the ground.  I saw something that might have been a snout heading into the dogwood.  A strange feather blew around the patio.  I thought it was white till I caught it and realized it was half black.  It was a big body contour feather so it came off a large bird, possibly the kite?  

 

Uncomon insects

An overcast sky looked like a storm was brewing, but it blew away. Then the sun was scorching and a buzzard soared ominously overhead.  A skink scuttled into a crack.  The blue was almost gone from its tail.  There were three frogs to chase and I caught them all.  I found an Asian horntail in the water along with an expired dragonfly nymph and a sidewalk tiger beetle that was still alive.  

A wheelbug climbed one of the milkweed pods.  Some dogwood leaves showed Fall color but I wonder if it was drought stress.  

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.  

Warmer

Again, a sunny morning was reflected in the placid creek, but later the day turned cloudy.  Blue jays and pine warblers got excited about the barkbutter balls.  White throats pursued breakfast everywhere.  A female oriole tried the suet.  Brown headed nuthatches sneaked past the other seed eaters.  Turkey vultures continued to circle over the creek.  A Carolina wren found crumbs in the barkbutter dish.  Three starlings were disappointed.  

At lunch, the female pileated demolished suet.  A mourning dove roamed the mulch.  A warbler and a wren had a stare-off over the suet.  Pelicans were thick - I saw three in the air at once.  After I refilled the barkbutter dish, a myrtle warbler had some.  Blue jays came back.  Bluebirds also showed up.  The red bellied woodpecker landed on the post but then froze as though sensing a predator.  The house finches on the seed feeder did the same.  

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.  

Soaring buzzards

 Two buzzards circled over the creek with each loop a bit further upstream.  

 

Lost-and-found spider

A variegated fritillary danced around the patio and a black swallowtail.  Later while I was swimming and couldn't take a picture, a monarch visited the milkweed.  I rescued a small skink with no tail and a large green caterpillar.  I did not see the caterpillar revive though.  A great blue skimmer dragonfly hunted from one of the garden stakes.   It appeared to me that the young spider in the window was beginning to get adult orange on its legs.  I've never watched that change before.  The spider I disturbed last week by the rose bush surfaced in a new web behind the bench.  

The pair of Carolina wrens shared the suet.  They either enjoy each other's company or they don't trust each other out of sight.   In the afternoon, one preened on a dead branch in the dogwood.  A buzzard circled overhead.  Toward evening, a white breasted nuthatch came for seeds.  

 

Osprey?

Morning was still misty and I missed a Carolina wren and a brown headed nuthatch.  A red belly landed on the post but then spooked and flew off to the trees.  I think it was a female.  A mockingbird perched in the camellia.  White throats hunted in the mulch.  One perched on a rose cane.  A pale female bluebird watched from the feeder hanger.  An egret stood atop a dock post.  A blue jay foraged among the daffodils.  When I took fresh jelly out, I was surprised to see two small handkerchief spiderwebs revealed by the moist air. 

By lunch, the mist had dissipated.  The sun was hot though the breeze was not and the highest temperature I saw was 67°.  The Carolina wren ate suet.  A buzzard swooped low across the yard.  I also saw what I'm sure was an osprey but vegetation foiled me.  I had better luck with pelicans.  A cabbage white flitted across the yard.  I found the spiderwebs again and saw loose silk threads blowing from the rose canes.  Crows got very excited about something down by the dock but I could not see what.  A male bluebird paid a supper visit to the seed feeder.  

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. 

Red bellied woodpecker

The trees were still when I got up but soon the wind shook them and threw leaves at the windows.  The temperature read 32° and the tide was very low -- below the barnacles.  (There was no frost.  Yesterday's humidity was down in the 20s!)   The mockingbird headed straight to the ant moat as there wasn't any water left in the birdbath.  White throats danced around it hoping to kick up a seed.  A very plumped-out bluebird surveyed the scene while a pine warbler pecked at the suet.  Then bluebird and warbler shared seeds.  

The barkbutter dish held nothing but some oats.  A Carolina wren made do with suet.  At lunch time the mockingbird feasted on jelly.  The creek had risen to cover the lowest board on the bulkhead but the surface was flat and shiny.  A pelican made a couple of passes over the water but I didn't catch it on pixels.  

When the temperature got up to 40° I went out and filled the barkbutter dish.  A squirrel drank from the ant moat.  A buzzard passed over the house and creek.  And at long last a female red bellied woodpecker visited.  She had eyes only for the barkbutter balls but I expect she'll notice the suet eventually.  A female cardinal bellied down on the seed feeder perch so her feathers covered her toes.  It took surprisingly long for the blue jays to show up for barkbutter balls.  

West wind

The six monarch caterpillars will need more leaves soon.  I hope I can buy a plant.  I saw butterflies, dark ones, a sulphur, and the ubiquitous cabbage white.  An American snout perched on a dragonfly stake.  A field cricket hopped around on the concrete.  A paper wasp circled over the pavement.  A blow fly rested on a leaf.  

There were no clouds to show the gusty wind's direction but it brought warm air that emptied out the creek.  A buzzard flew across the intensely blue sky.  The kingfisher was back on the post.  It dived once and caught a small fish.  

Solar power

A male goldfinch paid an early visit.  Later, a monarch egged the butterfly milkweed.  Fiery skippers joined the bees and wasps on the mountain mint.  A buzzard circled.  I checked on the three Argiope spiders and all were OK.  A slaty skimmer perched near me and snatched invisible bugs out of the air.  The Southern purple mint moths infested the rosemary again - I need to deal with that. 

The wind was very gusty and thrashed the leaves off trees.  The hot sun so energized the insects that I missed quite a few.  Something that might have been a hummingbird moth swooped down on the mountain mint then shot over the house.  I glimpsed rusty wings and some yellow on the body, and it had a vertical profile.  Later, I saw another duskywing skipper.  

The hummer, or hummers, seemed unfazed by the wind.  A lot of sugar water got drunk.  One I thought might be a male perched on a dead twig atop the wild cherry despite the wind.  It was a very dark hummer, for sure, but with no hint of ruby. 

A blue dasher joined the slaty skimmer.  And I realized that what I had assumed was another wasp was actually a female Eastern amberwing, Perithemis tenera.  Also, I glimpsed what I thought was a male widow skimmer, at least I got an impression of black and white wings.  Sometime after 5pm, the weather shifted from hot wind pushing cumulus out of the SSW to a slow-moving overcast. 

Warm and a little wet

This was Lunar New Year in large parts of the world.  Here the new moon was invisible behind clouds. At lunchtime the outside thermometer read 71°.  The sky was mostly overcast but there were moments of sunshine.  The aggressive myrtle warbler flaunted its yellow rump.  Nevertheless, a pine warbler got plenty of suet.  A white breasted nuthatch collected seeds. 

The pileated woodpeckers were back.  An intrepid warbler tried to share the suet.  A bluebird watched from the wild cherry.  More warblers gathered.  A female oriole was disappointed in the empty dishes, but there was rain in the forecast. 

After lunch, I sat outside and startled a white breasted nuthatch on the seed feeder.  A pelican coasted over the creek.  The clouds looked ready to storm.  A female red bellied woodpecker explored the double trunk pine.  Buzzards circled over the creek below the dam.  

The sun returned for a short while as the Northeast grew dark.  Starlings hung around waiting for food to happen.  Brown headed nuthatches came for seeds.  The rain finally arrived after 4pm.  

Really warm!

Everything was wet this morning, but whether there was rain overnight or just heavy dew, I could not tell.  The temperature was in the 60s at breakfast and the 70s at lunch.  The overcast broke apart in the afternoon and we got some sun.  The female pileated woodpecker came for breakfast.  

A clementine had started to rot so I put some of the un-rotten part in the dish with the jelly. Three female orioles came for that.  There's a definite pecking order among them, the darkest orange goes first.  The orange crowned warbler only wanted jelly.  A very dark myrtle warbler poked in the mulch.  Maybe it was wet?  Today, I was ready and caught the red bellied woodpecker.  

I saw pelicans, including on that crashed into the water in front of us at lunch, but no photos.  A great blue heron perched where the pelican was yesterday.  I counted ten turtles enjoying the heat on their log.  Two white birds (gulls?) chased each other around the sky.  A buzzard soared and circled.  

A song sparrow and a white throated sparrow and a cardinal hunted in the grass on the hillside below my window.  The pileated climbed trees.  I saw lots of the birds in the trees but most of the time twigs in the way messed up the camera focus.  

Gusty

The sun was back but a cold North wind kept me inside. It roughed up the creek and pushed the tide higher.  There were lots of puffy clouds all day.  Crows and a buzzard went about their business.  I harvested another pepper.  The setting sun cast an orange light on the clouds.  Cormorants commuted to their roosts.  

Molting time

There were a lot of bird visitors today and lot of them looked run ragged.  I guess that when the offspring's appetites get big, cheap take-out from the bird feeders is welcome.  The goldfinches still appeared quite elegant - perhaps they haven't started nesting yet.  But the titmice were a molting mess and the pine warbler looked like he'd been used to scrub pots. 

Both white breasted and brown headed nuthatches came for seeds.  The mockingbirds flew back and forth diagonally across the back yard, cursing.  It seemed like they were headed for the blueberries but being thwarted.  And then I saw something new, an eastern kingbird.  It may have been attracted to the wild cherries, or to bugs attracted to the fruit. 

The weather was cloudier and not quite so hot.  Skinks seemed to prefer it.  Bees, wasps, skippers and snouts, a leatherwing beetle, and a female amberwing dragonfly all congregated on the mountain mint.  

The male hummingbird returned.  Cornell's Living Bird magazine had an article on how hummingbird feathers change color depending on their angle to the light.  A female also visited the feeder.  A buzzard soared against the clouds. 

Warmer

The creek reflected a beautiful day.  Quite a few cormorants popped up, rippling the reflections.  Pelicans fished throughout the day, as did a flock of hooded mergansers and a bufflehead.  One of the cruising pelicans turned out to be an egret.  A pelican napped on the boathouse roof, across the creek.  Four buzzards circled over a spot downstream. 

A white breasted nuthatch alternated between suet and seeds.  A brown headed nuthatch came later in the day.  Bluebirds and mockingbirds preferred the barkbutter balls. Myrtle warblers ate whatever they could get but pine warblers were scarce.  Meanwhile the cat lurked behind the bench, but the birds knew it was there.  Our dog explained that it was unwelcome. 

Juncos white throated, and song sparrows scurried across the ground looking for food.  Sometimes the myrtle warblers joined them.  The paler female oriole showed up for jelly.  I went after the rose canes that kept photo-bombing pictures of the creek.  Scrambling down through the leaves and mulch was not the best idea I've had.  At twilight, the evening cormorant commute was backed by bars of cloud.  

Gray

A yellow rose bloomed and the red aster put out more flowers.  The maple began to turn reddish orange. One dogwood was ahead of the others in turning fall color but they all were edged with dried out brown..  The fungus looked a bit moldy but maybe it was dispersing spores.  The creek was placid, contradicting the wind prediction.

The titmice were back, along with a nuthatch.  The overcast probably made the air cooler - it barely climbed above 70°.  Rain is supposed to return after dark and last into Wednesday.  A great blue heron used our dock as a fishing stand.  A great egret occupied the next dock downstream.  A buzzard circled low over the creek which disturbed the heron but not the egret.