Gull games

The wind was somewhat diminished but still pushing the tide into the grass.  Our living shoreline looked quite flattened.  I saw no birds but a few seed eaters until late when there must have been a school of fish in the creek.  Gulls skated on the air, twirled and skimmed the water.  To the Northeast, the clouds looked pleated.  Geese huddled in the lea of a dock.  A cormorant splash-landed.  A great egret landed on the dock, then shifted to a piling where it got its feathers back in order.  The light got a little better and there was even a bit of color to the clouds at sunset.  

 

Still blowing

High tide, driven by the wind and moon, was up in the grass.  The gusty wind was wet but there wasn't measurable rain.  A morning glory bloomed anyway.  Seed eaters got too hungry to wait out the storm.  A brown headed nuthatch joined the regulars.  

In the late afternoon, gulls played with the wind over the creek.  I think they were laughing gulls in winter plumage and larger ring billed gulls or maybe herring gulls.  But the light was bad and the window misted, so I couldn't be sure.  Cormorants were out fishing so I suppose that's what brought the gulls.  A great blue heron flew from the water's edge.  One of the larger saltbushes blew over.into the grass.  

Blue sky

Birds were thick at breakfast.  The glass dish full of barkbutter balls hosted titmice, bluebirds, blue jays, Carolina wrens, pine warblers and a white breasted nuthatch.  However, a brown headed nuthatch cared only for seeds which those pesky house finches wouldn't share.  It drove the nuthatch to drink.  A couple of juncos foraged on the ground and tried the seed feeder.  A yellow rumped warbler poked through the dead vegetation.  A male red bellied woodpecker on the suet flaunted his red belly. 

The dredge was back at work disturbing the creek.  Squirrels played follow-the-leader from tree to tree and across the bouncy pool cover.  Not all the squirrels were willing to leap from redwood to hickory.  Both kinds of nuthatch were back for lunch.  The day was sunny and seasonable.  At sunset, which came all too soon, clouds of cormorants swirled and headed every which way.  

Sunny

The sun was back.  I glimpsed what I thought were two winter ducks but too much vegetation was in the way.  Mallards were easier to see.  At lunch, a bird, probably a warbler, visited the barkbutter balls but my hands weren't clean and anyway it was in shadow.  As the sun got low, the cormorants flew to roost.  

Cormorant flock

The day began overcast and wet but the sun was out by noon.  The wind wasn't as strong.  The temperature rose into the lower 70s and wasps feasted on the camellia flowers.   I counted six buds and three open flowers on the yellow rose.  An insect was investigating the buds but wouldn't stay put to be identified.  Chickadees and a couple of titmice ate seeds.  A squirrel cleaned up below.  

I must have missed them pursuing fish upstream but around 2:30pm a big flock of cormorants came paddling and flying downstream, some bathing or churning up the water.  They streamed past for several minutes.  One pelican photo-bombed a picture and several gulls circled over the creek.  Mallards watched from the bank.  

Creek action

This was a lovely day, warm and sunny, and not too windy.  The creek was busy but the feeders were not.  I saw some bees, or perhaps yellow jackets, buzzing around the roses.  Trees were coloring up and beginning to lose leaves.  The solomon's seal turned hay-color.  Pelicans fished but I got no pictures.  A kingfisher landed on a dock post but saw me first and flew away.  Cormorants didn't care.  K cleaned the guano off the window.  

In the late afternoon, something plunged after a fish and, while the photos were overexposed, it looked to me like a black crowned night heron.  Then an egret flew across the creek.  Cormorants commuted to their roosts and sunset arrived at 5pm.  

 

Pelican

Yesterday, a pelican fished in the creek but I missed getting a picture because at first I assumed I was seeing a heron fly past.  But when it plunged, I knew better.  It looked quite brown to me so maybe it was young.  Birds flitted among the trees but I couldn't identify them or catch them on camera.  House finches visited the feeder which was nearly empty.  Scattered leaves began to turn on the oak and the maple.  Today all I saw were mallards and cormorants.  The morning sky was very blue but later it grew hazy and then became streaked with clouds.  

 

Still sunny and chilly

Thursday a cormorant landed on a dock post and hung its wings out to dry.  When it first flew in for a landing, I thought it was a buzzard.  The sky was a brilliant blue.  While I was on the phone before lunch Friday, a stream of titmice came for seeds and a Carolina wren for barkbutter balls.  I hung up and that was the last I saw of them.  A moonflower opened but only part way.  A squirrel ate dogwood berries.  

Catching up

So little seemed to be happening that I skipped several days.  The weather was sunny but with a chilly North wind.  Last night, two little moths were drawn by inside light to cling to the window.  Since today was warmer, I spent the afternoon outside.  The sky was very blue with a few cirrus wisps.  

The sheet web spider seemed to have expanded its snare but I could not persuade the spider to appear.  The web caught a lot of non-food debris.  The mabel orchard spider was quite visible and active.  Its legs look green in the shade but black in the sun.  I also found a very small orb in the rosebush.  A cloudless sulphur flitted across the yard.  Even though butterflies appear to be moving without haste, they are very hard to photograph when they don't land.  I think the other flying insects I saw were wasps.  

A partially opened moonflower seemed stuck.  The moonflowers waited out the chilly evenings.  The beautyberries were at their peak.  The Siberian bugloss seemed to have finished blooming.  The saltbush seed fluff blew everywhere but the milkweed seed comas were not persuaded.  The hickory joined the dogwood in fall colors.  A bud appeared on the yellow rose.  I could hear a blue jay and crows but never saw them or what they were yelling about.  Maybe the black cat I saw later pausing below the steps to scratch?

A squirrel carried on with its tail, prompting me to wonder if it was in heat and trying to spread the scent.  Later I saw a pair of squirrels play-chasing up and down the redwood trunk, but I don't know if the same squirrel was involved.   A great blue heron grew upset with the disturbance.  I saw quite a few gulls or terns, not sure which, but they appeared small and white.    A cormorant paddled downstream.  Mallards paddled up, down, and across the water.  As sunset neared, a great blue heron stood on one of the dock posts.  

Summery day

The creek was flat as a mirror but dusty with pollen.  A pair of Carolina wrens joined us for breakfast.   Then a mockingbird dislodged the wren on the suet.  A squirrel foraged with the white throats.  A cardinal and a bluebird, both males, disputed the use of the seed feeder.  Blue jays stayed with their favorite barkbutter balls.  The male red belly felt the same.  

The black and white cat prowled around the pool.  By then it was very warm.  I started planting seeds.  I saw a cormorant trying to swallow a fish.  Bachelor mallards paddled around.  An egret fished below the dam.  The female pileated came for an evening suet snack.  

Fog

I like morning fog but this didn't burn off.  Instead it congealed into gray overcast.  A heron was almost invisible perched on a piling.  A cormorant blended into the gray water. Another tried to dry out on the piling where the heron had been.  A hoodie pair were easier to see, at least he was.  Later the piling held a ring-billed gull. 

A bluebird came for seeds and a red belly for barkbutter balls.  A blue jay didn't find much left in the dish and tried some seeds instead.  A white throat perched on a hickory twig.  A mockingbird watched from the roof before flying to the barkbutter dish.  A Carolina wren chose suet. 

Courting season

Dawn was slow and clouds reflected pale orange light.  An egret monitored the creek from a dock post.  But I couldn't see anything -- the high tide had a dull, wrinkled surface.  Eventually a cormorant paddled past.  I saw a white breasted nuthatch but it was too fast for me. 

Two Carolina wrens checked each feeder between them.  Again a female bluebird wanted seeds.  A male house finch joined her.  White throats continued their mulch kicking.  A blue jay had to confirm that the barkbutter dish was really empty.  A mockingbird also inspected the empty dish.  Another mockingbird showed up and the two flew at each other.  I don't know if it was rivalry or true love.  A myrtle warbler watched from the bench back.

By lunchtime there was sunshine in a bright blue sky.  Geese were earning their reputation for foolishness, chasing each other.  I refilled the barkbutter dish so we would have entertainment at lunch.  Sure enough, blue jays wasted no time.  The bluebirds still preferred seeds.  So did a brown headed nuthatch.  

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. 

Water birds

The sunlight on the creek seemed a bit muted as though filtered by haze.  An early pine warbler tried to beat other birds to the food.  White throats were up early as well.  Blue jays discovered that I had refilled the barkbutter dish.  A myrtle warbler discovered the fresh jelly.  A mockingbird glowered at the seeds and a cardinal sampled the barkbutter balls. Then they switched sides.  

A mourning dove drank from the pool puddle and then foraged under the seed feeder.  The temperature rose into the upper 60s and the snow was reduced to one lump of shoveling.  The sky was cloudless though not a deep blue.  A Carolina wren ate suet.  Then a male red belly wanted suet.  An oriole visited the jelly.  

A pelican flew up the lake.  A flock of about ten hooded mergansers drifted around the dock.  The hoodies paddled off downstream which was when I got a count of them.  The drakes hadn't been visible before.  A female bufflehead popped to the surface and saw the other ducks disappearing.  She paddled after them as fast as she could, but soon resorted to flying.  Cormorants were silhouetted against the evening sky.  

Great Backyard Bird Count

We had a bright sunny, but much cooler, day to start the GBBC.  I filed two checklists, one for breakfast and one for lunch, because I had meetings in between.  The creek glowed at dawn.  Blue jays were early.  So were starlings.  A Carolina wren worked on the suet while an oriole female took a drink above.  Then they shared the suet.  A myrtle warbler watched.  A downy woodpecker wanted a turn with the suet.  White throats minded their own business on the ground.  At some point the suet cage chain came unhooked but the hook caught and kept it from falling.  Instead it swung madly with every movement of a bird.  A cormorant, a hoodie, and a ruddy duck fished on the creek.  A pine warbler got seeds.  

Warming

A gray sky promised a rise in temperature.  The birds ate all the food and left.  A cardinal and a white throat poked through the snow to see if any seeds had been missed.  Since the creek was still frozen there were no waterfowl except the evening cormorant commute.  

Not so cold

Yesterday's clouds were gone and morning was chilly.  The creek was mostly iced.  A blue jay stared at the barkbutter dish before settling in to eat.  White throats kicked mulch throughout the day.  At lunch, a bluebird was disappointed to find the barkbutter balls gone.  A pine warbler pecked at the empty suet cage and a downy glared at it.  They were left to make do with seeds. 

Ice still covered a lot of the creek and I didn't see ducks or pelicans, just geese.  A great blue heron chased another.  At dusk, the cormorants and egrets flew to their roosts. 

Quiet day

Today was cooler but less windy.  When I put out barkbutter balls a pine warbler noticed right away.  A myrtle warbler was more interested in suet crumbs.  So were the white throats.  In the afternoon a male bluebird ate seeds and a pine warbler worked on suet.  

The evening cormorant commute was very busy.  On the creek, several pair of hoodies preened.  A female bufflehead paddled past them.  A great blue heron watched from on top of a piling.

Wet

Birds rushed to get a snack just before the rain started.  The mockingbird needed a drink.  The male downy wanted some suet but the female took seeds..  Titmice and chickadees went for seeds too.  A warbler chose barkbutter balls.  A white breasted nuthatch grabbed a seed to hatch.  Then the reds, cardinal and finch, landed on the seed feeder. 

For a while the light dropped but the rain wasn't heavy.  Then the wind picked up.  Another band of rain passed through around 2pm just as predicted.  The sky finally cleared around 4pm and the sun lit up the bend of the creek.  The kingfisher showed up on her favorite post.  Cormorants and an egret commuted to their roost past tinted cloud remnants. 

Oriole!

At dawn, the water looked like molten copper.  It was reflecting light that fell on the pine needle carpet on the bank above.  Not too long afterward, a female Baltimore oriole landed on a garden stake.  She looked at the barkbutter dish where other birds were grabbing breakfast but didn't join in.  After she flew away, a hawk swooped down on the feeding birds.  I don't think it caught one, but it certainly scared them.  The tide ran high again. 

Blue jays got over their shock and returned to the barkbutter balls.  Brown headed nuthatches wanted seeds and water.  The rust-colored squirrel was not put off by the hot pepper suet.  A Carolina wren checked out the seed feeder.  White throated sparrows hunted whatever fell to the ground.  A white breasted nuthatch grabbed big peanuts from the seed feeder.  

There were more clouds than the prediction called for, but nothing came of them.  A pine warbler landed on the barkbutter dish.  The male downy tackled the suet.  A junco foraged around the birdbath.  I kept watching for migrating ducks but all I saw was a plastic bottle.  A few cormorants fished off our shoreline.  More flew across the sky.  A bright, fat, just past full moon rose through the trees but I wasn't ambitious enough to go outside for photos. 

I sprayed the crevices of the chair where I thought the thing that bit/stung me so badly was lurking.  Afterward, I teased a dead bug out of a seam and took pictures of it.  Unfortunately, it looks like an earwig, Forficula auricularia, and those are harmless, so I don't know if the chair is safe or not.  What also puzzles me is what the biter/stinger was living on for weeks in the upholstery, besides me.