Even warmer

The early bird was a myrtle warbler.  I was glad to see the song sparrow foraging.  A Carolina wren went straight to the barkbutter balls.  Two starlings picked through the barkbutter balls.  Bluebirds followed them.  Then a white throat ate some.  The dredgers brought in a two-story work boat for some reason I couldn't figure out. The sky was hazy but sunny and the temperature reached 78°.  The pileated swooped in for some suet.  A brown headed nuthatch slipped away before I had the camera ready.  

 

Lots of bluebirds

Clouds began to pull apart at breakfast and the day was fairly sunny.  The male red belly couldn't stay away from that suet.  Bluebirds sought out my mix of barkbutter balls and mealworms.  White throats were also tempted.  At least one Carolina wren got a share.  Pelicans flew over the dredging operation but I didn't get a picture.  The spoils barge bore the name Poseidon which I thought was tempting fate.  

Woodpeckers

The dredge started up so early that the rising sun cast its shadow on the bulkhead where it looked like a long-necked creature feeding.  Again the Carolina wren was the early bird eating mealworms like french fries.  A white throat followed.  Soon the male red bellied woodpecker arrived.  Then the male pileated woodpecker showed up, followed by the female.  Blue jays called their kin and settled for mealworms.  

At lunch a squirrel drank from the ant moat.   A white breasted nuthatch got seeds in spite of the pesky house finches.  Bluebirds heard about the mealworms and came for their share.  The mockingbird must have heard as well.  The female pileated came back for more suet.  Then the red belly returned.  I realized I haven't seen a downy woodpecker for weeks.  

While it didn't get as warm as yesterday, it was mild and the sky grew hazy white.  Luckily, the haze muted the sunshine and reduced glare.  The dredge turned and kicked up a frothy wake.  

Much warmer!

White throats roamed the patio hunting food.   Carolina wrens did too.  The mockingbird wasn't pleased with barkbutter balls.  I guess it wanted mealworms.  But blue jays were happy.  The creek had yellow caution tape strung all over to guide the dredge.  A couple of squirrels flirted but she wasn't quite in the mood yet.  The temperature touched 65°! 

 

Warming

Again, part of the creek had a thin coating of ice but the rest was a perfect mirror in the early sunlight.  The two Carolina wrens were early birds.  Bluebirds were close behind.  White throats resumed kicking mulch and dry leaves.  A cardinal argued with a bluebird over the contents of the dish feeder.  Surprisingly, the bluebird won.  Pine warblers made the rounds of feeders and furniture.  One foraged on the pool cover.  I could see birds in the bushes but only a cardinal was identifiable.  At lunch time several butterbutts showed up.  So did the dredge crew.  As the afternoon went on, the sky grew overcast. 

I learned that iNaturalist has a Bird Feeders group that added some of my photos.  

 

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.  

Butterbutts arrived

A little flock of yellow rumped warblers were all over the feeders in the early morning.  After that, I only saw one at a time.  The dredge was back at work now that the creek melted.  

At lunch I filled the dish with mealworms.  That pleased bluebirds, white throats, titmice, pine and orange crowned warblers, and Carolina wrens.  A brown headed nuthatch wanted seeds.  The temperature got into the mid 50s and the sky clouded over.  Sunset was streaky with stratus clouds.  

Insects were lured by the warmth.  I saw a lacewing on the window after dark.  

 

Many feeder birds

The dredge came around the bend below the dam, so naturally waterfowl disappeared.  The water looked very silty though the dark gray sky may have been part of the reason.  Since the rain had stopped, I uncovered the dishes and that drew birds.  A Carolina wren picked over the mealworms.  Then a pine warbler selected long ones, like french fries.  A pair of bluebirds were next.  Meanwhile a goldfinch got a drink.  A brown thrasher landed briefly on the dish.  Blue jays acted skittish and didn't want to leave the trees.  

Several pairs of house finches argued precedence at the seed feeder.  A white throated sparrow was tempted off the ground, but by then the mealworms were gone.  A titmouse was also disappointed.  I spotted a yellow rumped warbler up in the trees.  A brown headed nuthatch ignored the house finches.  Finally a blue jay flew down but it too was disappointed.  A junco foraged around the birdbath.  A titmouse in the dogwood ate something that looked like a  dead leaf rolled around a cocoon.  Too many twigs were in the way to be sure.  

I caught a squirrel leaping.  After the dredge stopped, I saw Canada Geese and a great blue heron.  

 

Nuthatches

Yesterday, I didn't see anything.  The yellow rosebuds beginning to unfold were the brightest sight on a gray day.   A dredge was visible around the bend below the dam.  The male pine warbler returned for barkbutter balls.  First a white breasted nuthatch, then a brown headed nuthatch showed up at the seed feeder. Squirrels made the leap between pine and redwood.  One got an aerial drink from the ant moat.  

More migrants

It was sunny and breezy and cold. Three bluebirds showed up but the pair made it clear that the third was unwelcome.  A male pine warbler found the suet and a goldfinch landed for comparison.  A flycatcher (kingbird or phoebe?) surprised me by fluttering outside the window facing the camellia, but quickly flew across the yard, and away.

A commotion by the dam outfall drew my attention.  Egrets and cormorants had apparently found a school and were fishing. 

During lunch, I saw a pelican cruise up, then down, stream.  A dredge chugged upstream.  A squirrel chose the roof of the bird feeder to give itself a scrub, first face, then tail.  A whole flock of white throats foraged everywhere.  After lunch, I spotted a cormorant with another flat, white fish that was not going down easily.

A little cooler

A morning dove was having a spa day at breakfast but I didn't see any other birds.  The dredge clanked away.  Seed parachutes from the milkweed were flying. 

I rescued several spiders, one was red and one was a mama wolf with her babies.  A palamedes swallowtail flew across the pool at lunch.  A saddlebags dragonfly circled while a blue dasher perched.  A hummer had a good lunch.

When I left to go to a meeting, an ominous black bar of cloud stretched across the Southern sky.  Three hours later it passed overhead but only a few drops of rain fell.  

In the late afternoon, a family of Carolina wrens discovered the mealworm dish.  I'm pretty sure I counted four of them though I only got three at a time in front of the camera.  They had to compete with a blue jay.  The hummer paid quite a few visits to her feeder and also investigated the milkweed.

Sunny & hot

The regulars came to breakfast, as did a titmouse, a dove under the feeder, and a Carolina wren at the mealworm dish.  In the afternoon, an osprey flew past the muddy creek - did I mention the dredge had arrived back at our dock?  No waterfowl today.  I heard a towhee but never saw it.  The hummer discovered the cannas. 

Some dragonflies were out hunting and I glimpsed an occasional butterfly.  One of the dragonflies was a saddlebags.  When we were picking blueberries I saw small green stinkbugs.   Lots of sweat bees and tiny wasps fell into the drink but after one stung me I attempted no more rescues.  I did fish out scarabs and tiger beetles.  A jumping spider raced back and forth on the coping, why I don't know.  Four glass snails floated in the water.  I moved them to the birdbath because I wasn't sure what shock chemicals would do to them.  I discovered the tiny green "inchworm" caterpillars that made lace of the hibiscus leaves.  We sprayed one stalk with oil to see if that would discourage them.  There were also very small insects that looked like miniature fireflies on the leaves.  I don't know if they were helping or hurting. 

Late in the day, a male goldfinch arrived at the feeder.  The dredge operator had left for the day and an egret appeared.  A dragonfly I think was a Halloween pennant perched on a twig outside my office window.

Sun and clouds

Several times the sky looked like an approaching storm, but in between the sun was fierce.  And a sprinkle around 7pm was all that actually happened.  Yesterday, I saw the farm booth at the Central Library and bought veggies that I cooked today.

A house wren and some titmice came early, along with the feeder regulars.  What the house wren was here for, I cannot guess since they don't eat seeds at all, unlike the Carolina wrens.  A hummer rejected the refilled feeder so I guess I did not get it clean.  I heard a towhee in the cherry tree and saw it fly away but it was just a blur.  In the late afternoon, a white breasted nuthatch came for seeds while we sat close by.  Egrets and other waterfowl of uncertain identity avoided the dredge which moved back into our line-of-sight. 

A variety of dragonflies were on the prowl, but the only one that held still to be identified was a blue dasher.  Similarly, the only butterfly I was certain about was a tiger swallowtail.  The water was full of scarab beetles, but only a few ground beetles and a couple of sidewalk tiger beetles.  I was too late to save a click beetle and a gorgeous metallic-green Augochloropsis bee.  Bumblebees and a few wasps enjoyed the lavender and the sunflowers.  The tiny red Southern purple mint moth was back in the rosemary.  Cicadas were beginning to buzz.  I noticed that the crape myrtle was overrun with Japanese beetles. Fireflies were out again in the twilight. 

Rain and sun

We woke to an overcast sky but there was intermittent sunshine.  Light rain fell around 1pm and there was a downpour an hour later. A few wind gusts were fierce. Another storm started around 4pm, this time with Donner und Blitzen. It lasted well over an hour. More rain fell around sunset. 

A family of titmice descended on the feeder for breakfast. The male goldfinch made a brief visit but ignored the sunflowers this time.  A hummer found the refilled feeder.  Doves looked for a handout between rains.  The fledgling cardinal hopped around the patio looking for food but not sure what was edible.  It kept trying sunflower hulls.  It also called for its parents to no avail.

I saw a few dragonflies and a cabbage white before lunch.  The dredge was pushed downstream as far as our neighbors and left there at the height of the rain.  Maybe this was to clear a path for holiday boaters or maybe it got stuck.

Intermittent sunshine

Three squirrels were very active at breakfast.  One surprised a titmouse.  Another had a very rufous coat.  Other than that, I saw wrens and the regulars.  An egret landed by the dock and promptly stalked under it.  I glimpsed an osprey but it kept going. A cabbage white flitted around the lawn.  And I escorted off a pair of geese with no goslings in tow

It was sunny at lunchtime.  Butterflies were out, both white and orange.  Skinks were too.  We saw a five lined adult and a little blue tailed skinklet.   A buzzard soared over the creek. 

The  pool cover was taken off in the afternoon.  Meanwhile, the dredge made the creek milky with stirred up silt.  The geese spent considerable time preening it out of their feathers.  Then, when my back was turned, they marched the goslings up the hill and into the pool.  Of course they were too little to jump out again.  I put the brick on the step and tried to herd them, but the geese kept calling their offspring away.  So I left them to it and pretty soon all the goslings were back out.

In the late afternoon, dramatic clouds swept in.  It was very warm, but no thunderstorm developed then.  By supper time, the sky was fully overcast. After dark, the wind grew very loud and lightning flashed.  According to radar, the line of thunderstorms stretched back down to Georgia. 

Mist

A male goldfinch came to the feeder but was intimidated by a female cardinal and disappeared.  A female downy woodpecker got seeds from the feeder to hammer on the post.  A titmouse slipped in to get seeds when no other bird was looking.  The house wren continued to be busy with the wooden birdhouse.  Blue jays circled through the shrubbery and poked through the mulch.  The geese repeatedly tried to bring their goslings up to the pool level, probably to eat grass seed.  The dredge motor made a lot of noise and annoyed egrets. 

The goldfinch pair were back at lunch.  So was the downy.  The geese continued to hang around with their four goslings.  Blue iris blooms replaced the fading wood hyacinths.

The geese settled in at the edge of the spartina and were very reluctant to leave.  At supper, titmice and the female downy shelled sunflower seeds while the male cardinal fed the female. 

Open windows

I finally got a photo of the wren that's moved into the old birdhouse in the camellia.  It's a Carolina wren.  So the two old, repaired birdhouses have tenants but not the fine new birdhouse outside my office window.

It was warm and sunny at lunchtime.  Afterward I went outside.  I heard wrens and other birds but only saw cardinals.  A small green wasp was hauling a de-legged spider as big as itself - it couldn't fly, only hop.  I found a black swallowtail caterpillar on the rue and saw both black and tiger swallowtails in flight.  Also a pearl crescent, I think.  Dragonflies zipped around but never perched.  A bee fly was sitting on the rosemary.  The dredge was working downstream from the water tower.

By 4pm the sun had disappeared behind thick overcast and the temperature had dropped.  I ran around shutting the windows.  An egret stalked along the bank in the early evening.

Hazy

The first thing I saw was the dredge survey boat headed upstream.  It came back down around 10am.  The creek was quite placid with a few geese and a pair of hoodies and a pair of buffleheads. A gull was sitting on our dock and I saw other gulls land on the creek.   The great blue heron was down in its favorite spot on the dock with the bronze heron sculpture.  Then it plunged down into the creek.  I had never seen such a thing.  It looked very wet but fluffed up quickly. 

Up in the yard, the warbler continued to try to guard its suet.  A titmouse snuck in a visit to the sunflower seeds.  Two wrens took over the suet.  Later one serenaded the other from the dogwood.  Both downy and red bellied woodpeckers also visited the suet.  I saw a song sparrow briefly.

In the middle of the morning there was a loud bang on the new window and I turned around to see two birds in midair battle.  I suspect they were warblers but couldn't be sure.  But as I looked around, I noticed there were juncos on the ground right outside, a white breasted nuthatch in the cherry, and a blue jay making the rounds.

At lunch time there were lots of buffleheads on the creek diving.  A female cardinal visited the feeder and upset the warbler.  Two Carolina wrens explored the bunched up pool cover.

Cloudy morning

There was rain overnight apparently, which surprised me because the sky was so clear last night.  Dawn was pretty but then the sun disappeared.  The downy pair and the two Carolina wrens continued to defeat the warbler's best efforts to protect "its" suet.  I think I saw it chase another warbler away.  A song and a white throated sparrow showed up, along with a junco.  Then the tux cat came to bird watch. 

The sky cleared in the late morning.  Geese, mallards, and buffleheads paddled around the creek.  I later discovered that odd behavior by the female mallard was a courting display called "nod-swimming."

The dredge survey boat came upstream in the late afternoon.  A couple of brown ducks paddled on the lake above the dam.

Mostly rain

The rain was never heavy and the sky cleared for a time in the afternoon.  Buzzards circled against the overcast.  The usual three species were back.  A song sparrow pecked at fallen seeds.  A mockingbird sampled the beauty berries. The cat came to birdwatch but saw me and left. 

A barge came upstream, I think to survey the creek for dredging.  It was preceded by a flock of Canada geese.  Mallards were also out on the creek. Bees worked on the herb flowers while those little moths or butterflies or skippers flew around the yard without landing in sight.  The spider web caught a second leaf.