Crows

The sunny day was mirrored by the quiet creek.  A Carolina wren prodded the suet.  It or another watched from a dogwood branch.  A white throat foraged while the usual seed eaters congregated on the feeder.  After a bluebird showed its disappointment, I refilled both dishes.  But mostly, there were crows.  They perched in the trees and on the dock.  Something, maybe yesterday's fish, interested them at the water's edge.  Certainly the fish was no longer on the dock.  Mallards paddled around and earlier I thought I saw female buffleheads.  The crescent moon was very pretty on the way to church and returning home but I didn't have a camera.  

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.  

Sunny

Crows flew around but didn't pose.  I saw diving ducks but they dived before I could get an ID.  Toward sunset, cormorants flew past interesting clouds.

Chipping sparrow

We froze overnight again so there was new ice on the creek and a sparkle to the remaining snow.  Bluebirds were early birds.  To be honest, I was late arising so I don't really know which birds were up with the dawn.  Warblers tried to get a share of the barkbutter and suet.  White throated sparrows stuck to their foraging.  But on the seed feeder there was a surprise, a chipping sparrow.  The brown thrasher, like the mockingbird, only wanted barkbutter.  

Some odd-looking ducks hung out by the turtle log on the lake.  They were featureless dark above and bright white below the waterline, with narrow, merganser-like bills. Pelicans fished when the ice melted.  An egret haunted the lake while two great blue herons perched on neighboring docks on the creek.  

Skink

Why are crane flies so fascinated with windows?  I saw a black and a tiger swallowtail. And wasps and bees, of course. 

An egret appeared to hold a conversation with an oddly pale mallard.   A couple of geese brought their four goslings to eat our grass. 

I think a squirrel was eating green cherries.  Another turned somersaults off the redwood trunk and generally acted like it was intoxicated. 

A skink scampered past me and slipped under the pool cover.  A little later, it or another emerged and then froze, perhaps noticing how close I was.  It was definitely blushing.  One turtle sunned itself on a log. 

Blue eyed grass was beginning to bloom and a money plant was festooned with green coins.  The purple iris apparently bloomed without my noticing.  The Solomon's seal flowers seemed mostly done.  The coral honeysuckle was covered with flowers so if any hummer didn't like what was in the feeder, it would not go hungry.

Chilly wind

 It was very quiet at first, but then the white throats popped out.  A female cardinal rudely shouldered one off the feeder.  The single-minded downy woodpeckers stuck to the suet.  A myrtle warbler seemed forlorn though there was food for it today.

 Then a flock of crows dropped in.  Some of them appeared to have spent the night on lower branches as their feathers were streaked with white that looked like guano.

A few daffodils began blooming despite the chill. Flowers were scattered around the Carolina jessamine.  There were four pelicans on the creek at one time but they were too spread out to get in one picture. The buffleheads were back.  An egret landed along the water's edge.  The weird muscovy that hangs out with geese was by itself. 

Pine warblers came back looking for a handout.  One female oriole showed up, briefly. A brown headed nuthatch joined the chickadees' rotation at the seed feeder.

I went to the library to return books.  The dwarf flowering cherries at the library have a thick coat of lichen but the other trees planted at the same time do not.  I saw ruddy ducks in the lake by Lynnhaven House, across the road and upstream from the lake behind the dam.  When I got home, a yellow bellied sapsucker was poking holes into the pecan.

Boat excursion

Again everything was frosted and the birdbath a bowl of ice when I got up.   Since yesterday's Winter Wildlife trip was on land, I picked water for today.  At 8am, a fishing charter boat took about two dozen people out to the tunnel islands of the CBBT.  There was heavy equipment on the first two where a second tunnel is under construction.  The Northern pair of islands were less disturbed. The sea was quite calm. 

The sun was bright but it was freezing when we started.  The temperature rose and clouds formed as the morning progressed.  Gulls and cormorants perched all over the rocks.   A few ducks bobbed in the water.  I recognized the buffleheads but the long tailed ducks were new to me.  Gannets were impressive in flight.    When we came back by the Southern islands, a deck hand tossed fish heads into the air over the wake to attract the birds.  Several pelicans appeared. 

At home in the afternoon, the sun was gone and it seemed chilly even though it was much warmer.  Maybe I was still chilled?  Downy woodpeckers, titmice, warblers, juncos, a nuthatch, and the seed feeder regulars visited.  They scattered frequently as though a hawk was around.  A goldfinch popped in but didn't see anything to suit a vegetarian.  Pelicans fished on the creek.

A new duck

Morning was so cold, six egrets and a heron lined up under the dam to catch solar rays and shelter form the gusty wind.  I was beginning to wonder if I would see any winter migrants this year beside buffleheads and hooded mergansers.  Today, hanging out with the mallards and geese was a ring-neck duck.  The wind also drove pelicans and gulls upstream from the bay. 

The birdbath was frozen and a squirrel kept its tail tight against its back for warmth.  A blue jay landed in the dogwood but all I caught was tail feathers. White throats bustled about the mulch.  Orioles and warblers competed for the suet and flustered the downy woodpeckers.  Titmice and nuthatches got fresh sunflower seeds, courtesy of K. I think crows dumped both of the hanging cups that I'd filled with bark butter balls.  

The sky was clear except for a few thin streaks in the West at sunset.  They flared orange while the rest of the sky glowed gold.  A sharp pointed crescent moon hung above, following the sun. 

Eastern Shore

Before I left, there was a downy woodpecker on the suet.

On the way over the CBBT, flotillas of dark ducks bobbed on the waves near the tunnel islands.  The wind tore spray off huge waves where the currents met.  Others in the car saw dolphins riding the waves.  Bits of ice fell from the sky but didn't stick as the temperature was several degrees above freezing.

Our morning meeting went well. The sleet had stopped by lunch time but the wind was still rough.  We went to a seafood place where I had conch fritters.  But then the afternoon meeting was delayed an hour. 

As we returned home, the setting sun colored a thin streak of overcast.  I saw two deer but they were barely visible in the shadow of forest.  Gulls, mostly great blackbacks, rode the thermals off the bridge asphalt. I saw a lighted fishing trawler in the distance.   It was quite dark when we reached land and dispersed.

Goslings

A few drops of rain fell in the morning, then the sky cleared.   The summer outfitted yellow rumped warbler was still around.  Downy woodpeckers worked on the last bit of expensive suet.  The cheap suet was only about half nibbled. I saw a red bellied woodpecker and a bluebird up in the trees.  Crows were hanging around for some reason.   Two goose families visited, one with the Muscovy nanny. They left a lot of poop, mostly where it would be annoying. 

Bees were flying and I thought I saw dragonflies, but they didn't land.  They certainly zipped around like dragonflies.  Yellow jacket queens searched for suitable nest sites.  A wasp visited azalea flowers.   Lots of turtles were out on logs catching the sun. 

April showers

A male downy came for a breakfast of suet.   One band of rain passed through after lunch.  The rain was light until suddenly it became a "frog strangler."  And then it was over.  The sky stayed threatening, but I did not get wet.

One redbud started blooming.  Violets, azaleas, sassafras, jessamine, narcissus and money plant flowers all awaited pollination.  Turtles and cormorants were warm enough not to mind the rain.  A yellow rumped warbler looked a little bedraggled as it ate suet.

A couple of geese came up the slope nibbling grass and accompanied by a Muscovy duck.  I stood up and they saw me and scuttled back down to the water.  I think I saw them last year with that duck,  I wonder if the duck hatched in a goose nest?  Some Muscovy ducks "dump" eggs in other nests and I did find accounts of geese raising ducks.

Catching up

Monday was a bus trip to lobby legislators from before dawn to bedtime.  Tuesday was getting ready and then driving to Richmond for more of the same on Wednesday.  And then driving back through rain Wednesday afternoon and arriving home just before sunset. Here's what little I observed of non-human nature.  (I saw plenty of human nature!)

On Monday, after the sun rose, we were enshrouded in fog.  Finally it occurred to me to get my camera out, and of course, that's when the fog dissipated.  Tuesday morning I was home and it was cold enough for ice in the birdbath and on the creek.  Bluebirds joined white throats, titmice, starlings, downy and red bellied woodpeckers at the feeders.  A heron fished where the current had worn away the ice.   Clouds got heavy around sunset as we arrived in Richmond.

 I got home on Wednesday as the sun burned through a veil of stratus clouds.  By then the temperature had risen to the upper 60s.  There was just enough light to see ducks on the creek.  At first I only saw a pair of mallards but then a diving duck popped up.  I couldn't get a decent picture but I think it was a merganser.

Bright day

Bright sun on snow was rough on photos.  There were interesting squirrel and bird tracks in the snow when I went out to open the feeder.   The creek was iced again. A Carolina wren hopped right on the feeder as soon as I went back in the house.  A female red bellied woodpecker headed for the suet but got away from my camera.  It was followed by the male downy.  Then the yellow rumped warblers got in the act.  Titmice also came for breakfast.  White throated sparrows werre around but in smaller numbers than before all this weather.  Doves and juncos congregated in the snow.  The butterbutt actually dislodged the downy from the suet. 

Herons were thick in the open ribbons of water.  The ring necked duck was back along with several ruddy ducks, all diving for food.  A small flock of mallards threaded their way up one of the channels in the ice. 

I had a meeting in the afternoon and the light was fading when I got home.  Herons, buffleheads, hoodies, and ruddy ducks were still fishing. 

Icy

When I got up, the creek had a skin of fresh ice on the shady side. Egrets lined the water along the dam where they got the morning sun and were sheltered from the Northwest wind.  A Carolina wren was disappointed by the ice in the birdbath.  I poured in hot, but that soon froze before a chickadee could get a drink.  White throated sparrows were more hungry than thirsty.   A song sparrow didn't hang around. Yellow rumped warblers and  juncos scurried about.  An olive gray warbler had me wondering but it was probably a much duller female pine warbler.  The male was certainly in evidence. I glimpsed the kinglet but didn't get a photo. 

Downy woodpeckers never visit the birdbath.  In fact, I don't know if they can land on a horizontal surface or walk around.  The female red bellied woodpecker took over on the suet.  The feral cat reappeared after lunch and all the songbirds disappeared.

The ring necked duck was back.  Buffleheads dived for fish and showed off their pink feet. Herons lurked in the shallows.  I saw a female red breasted merganser.  And a pelican flew down the creek and landed in the water.    A cormorant caught something that look like a chunk of a baguette. 

Ice fog

The warmth continued and most of the snow melted overnight, except where it had been heaped up.  But the creek ice was slower to melt, even after the passage of the ice-breaking fisherman yesterday.  The far half was open water where it passed our yard, with an occasional ice floe drifting downstream.  That was enough to bring out the ducks.  Hoodies showed up right away.  One was an immature male. 

The kinglet returned. So did white throated sparrows which had been avoiding the feeder frenzy.  Downy woodpeckers came for their suet.  Pine and yellow rumped warblers, bluebirds, Carolina wrens, and juncos all visited in the morning.

A flock of ring-billed gulls swirled over the creek.  Buzzards circled higher up.  A male ring-necked duck paddled with the mergansers for a while.  A few geese paid a brief visit.  Then I saw what I believe to be a black duck.  Since it was with the mallards it was easier to see it was different.  A crow ate something (a fish?) on a dock piling while another complained.  Four great blue herons joined the other fishing birds.  One walked around on the ice and broke through.  It was able to get out and clean up. 

I went outside during a brief spell of sunshine but was chased back in by rain.  After that, more rain came in waves.  And when it fell on the ice, it turned to fog which blew around like a ghost.  An ice jam developed downstream where the dam abuts the last dock.  The light level declined and the camera refused to see what I saw. 


A moth clung to the kitchen window after dark, but the temperature was predicted to go downhill and freeze tomorrow night. The moist Southwest wind would become a frigid gale from the Northwest, if the meteorologists were right. 

Breezy and fishy

The creek was not placid this morning.  Geese, cormorants, an egret, and other waterfowl all took off downstream.  I spotted what appeared to be a very small duck later, but might have just been an odd angle.  A brown thrasher tossed mulch under the cedar.  Then a couple of squirrels began foreplay up and down the trunk.

At lunch time, a flock of cormorants were driving fish up the creek.  They were accompanied by gulls, egrets, and at least one great blue heron.  Pretty soon the whole hullabaloo came back downstream.  When they continued down past the dam, I got a glimpse between the tree trunks of a pair of hooded mergansers.  What kind of fish they were after was a mystery. Puffy cumulus clouds began to appear in the blue sky. 

Just before sunset, again, a kingfisher appeared, only this one was male.  He caught dinner and took it across the creek into the shade. 

Hot again

The sky was overcast when I got up but within two hours it had cleared.  A titmouse came early but did not return.  The feeder which was rejected by a hummer yesterday was acceptable today.  I don't understand.  At least three kinds of dragonflies perched around the patio: a bar winged skimmer, a widow skimmer, and a blue dasher.  I saw a small butterfly flitting around the hackberry but it did not land to be identified.

A duck trailed a line of new ducklings downstream past the dredge.  A honeybee looked for nectar but ignored the lavender the bumblebees favor.  Two basilica orbweaver spider (Mecynogea lemniscata)webs glittered in the sun, one in the hibiscus and one in the rue.  The widow skimmer hung around all day.  I wish she had been big enough to tackle the fly that bit me. 

After dark thunder rumbled.

Hazy

The sky was blue but not crisp and the day was warm but not as hot as yesterday, with a gusty breeze.  The geese started us off.  There were two families and the pair with two small goslings was accompanied by a Muscovy duck.  Dragonflies were everywhere.  I saw a few butterflies, mainly cabbage, but a small blue and a colorful one that was probably an American lady. 

Around mid morning a white breasted nuthatch began coming to the feeder.  I was never ready for it and it did not linger so I only got one photo, and that of its back.  Skinks came out at lunch time.  A Carolina wren stopped in at the mealworm dish.  A great crested flycatcher lurked in the sakaki.  And a male blue dasher took up post on the garden stake. 

Then we discovered a swamp darner with a broken wing at the front door.  A female goldfinch got a drink from the hummer feeder but the hummer turned up her beak at it.  So much for the Audubon seal of approval. A yellow crowned night heron walked across the dock.

A female blue dasher replaced the male on the stake.  It was obelisking.  A swallow passed over, also after flying insects.  An emerald female pondhawk got away twice.  Wasps and bees were ubiquitous as well.  A black and gray bee may have been a solitary leaf-cutter.  I saw a wasp fly into the birdhouse but I didn't see it come out. 

At supper, we had a Carolina wren again, the regulars, and under the cedar a brown thrasher.   

First humingbird!

The creek was still under a white sky.  Down by the dam it looked scummy, probably with pollen.  The fresh mulch did not deter the white throated sparrows, but it did hide fallen seeds.  A Carolina wren ate mealworms out of the dish feeder.  The regulars came for seeds though a male cardinal hopped around on the pool cover as though chasing something. A starling had a look around but didn't find anything. 

On the way back from the pool, I saw a brown thrasher across from the school.  At home I heard a house wren trilling but couldn't see it.  The clouds clumped up so sunshine came and went.  And then, the female hummer arrived.

In the afternoon, an egret stalked along the bulkhead.  A trio of bachelor Northern shovelers paddled on the lake.  As the day wore on, it got windier.  And the sun set behind a smear of cloud.  Titmice came for supper.

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.