More birds

The prediction was for low clouds, fog, and general gloom but that was gone by 9am.  It was cold but not windy, good bird watching weather.  The new cat ambled across the patio early, but I didn't see any other predators.  Pine warblers were particularly interested in the dish of mealworms.  Bluebirds made the rounds of feeders.  Blue jays would really rather have had barkbutter balls.  The orange crowned warbler went straight to the jelly.  

Fuzzy clouds blew past and out to sea.  A Carolina wren picked through the dish but didn't seem pleased.  Pine warblers tried to get past bluebirds to the mealworms.  A titmouse clung to the brick wall, seeming interested in a cavity in the grout.  I thought I saw a butterbutt but couldn't be sure.  A white throat foraged under the seed feeder.  Juncos were also hard to catch on camera.  The two female orioles showed up for mealworms.  A pair of house finches kissed beaks.  

A flicker landed up in the wild cherry.  Then a male red bellied woodpecker chased a downy away from the suet.  He had a noticeably red belly.  

 

Flicker

High clouds looked like a blend of cirrus and contrails.  One tiny patch of snow remained, not enough for a snowball.  A mockingbird tried for some suet while a blue jay watched from the trees.  A male bluebird ate seeds and may have bathed.  A myrtle warbler tried to boss other birds.  Both brown headed and white breasted nuthatches visited the seed feeder.  They didn't seem to interact but arrived sequentially. 

I spotted a flicker on the trunk of the dogwood across the pool steps.  It came down and poked through the leaf litter.  A titmouse visited in the late afternoon for barkbutter balls as well as seeds.  

Flicker

A red-winged blackbird visited with the starlings.   His back was still spotted so I suspect he was hatched last Spring.  I also saw a junco scurrying around among the white throats. A white wall of cloud stretched across the sky in the North.  It slowly slid North and disappeared.  There was enough periods of sunshine that if we had groundhogs and one had stuck its head above ground, It would probably have seen a shadow.   A few blue jays and warblers came for peanut suet nuggets, i.e. imitation barkbutter balls.

It's not uncommon to see a flicker out in the grass on in the trees, but today a female visited the feeders.  She landed on the bench, then clung to the post, eying the suet.  The starling on the suet cage refused to budge.  Then the flicker tried to land on the railing by the barkbutter dish but slid off.  So she settled for suet crumbs on the ground.  There she encountered a squirrel, but persisted.  

Cold and windy

The thermometer said 31° and the birdbath was frozen.  Songbirds were hungry and there was no suet.  Barkbutter balls disappeared quickly.  Pine and myrtle warblers and titmice wanted calories fast.  Blue jays were afraid the barkbutter balls would run out.  Starlings intended to make that happen.  White throats avoided the competition by foraging on the ground.  Two female orioles did compete and burned energy chasing each other.  A mockingbird was not pleased to find the birdbath solid ice.  I wondered if the ant moat was frozen too, but at least it was in the sun. 

Egrets lined up below the dam to catch the rising sun. A great blue heron perched in a pine tree in the sun.  In the afternoon, I saw a female bufflehead on the wind-roughened creek   Then a pied bill grebe paddled downstream.  It paused for a good scratch.  A cormorant surfaced and a pelican landed.  Then a whole flock of hoodies came swimming and diving up the creek.  In the late afternoon, egrets gathered along the sunny side of the lake. 

I poured hot water in the birdbath and it froze again.  That disappointed a bluebird.and a couple of goldfinches.  I also refilled the barkbutter dish.  A brown headed and then a white breasted nuthatch collected some seeds.  K hung a fresh block of suet which immediately attracted a warbler.  Then a red winged blackbird showed up and tried the barkbutter balls and the suet.  One of the orioles got a drink right above the blackbird.  (They are cousins, but I don't think there's much family feeling.)  Warblers and then a downy got some suet. 

Three doves foraged under the seed feeder.  Several starlings returned for suet.  One warbler boldly ate suet right beside a much bigger starling.  I spotted a flicker up in a pine but mistook it for a red belly till I saw the photos.  A downy found the second suet feeder.  A Carolina wren hopped around the trees. A little bird flitting among the saltbushes was a ruby crowned kinglet!  

 

Birds in the mist

The cool, misty air and gray light seemed to encourage birds.  White throats scurried around the mulch.  Pine warblers seemed famished.  They were joined by an orange crowned warbler.  A couple of male bluebirds wanted seeds.  A little flock hopped around in the trees but the light was too poor to identify them.  At least one was a robin but another might have been a house finch.  The female red bellied woodpecker took over the seed feeder.  

Muted colors were reflected by the flat creek surface.  Mallards slept on the water. A chipping sparrow joined the white throats.  A flicker explored a branch stump on one of the dogwoods. The male pileated was back for suet.  A mockingbird poked through the crumbs in the barkbutter dish.  A Carolina wren poked at the mulch.  A brown headed nuthatch tried to get past bigger birds to the seeds.  Even a goldfinch dropped by.  

Woodpeckers

The rain ended at breakfast but the day remained gray and turned misty in the early afternoon.  There was little wind.  Raindrops decorated bare branches like holiday lights.  White throats were out foraging at breakfast.  The female red bellied woodpecker decided to eat seeds today.  So did titmice, chickadees, and cardinals.  I spotted a yellow bellied sapsucker up in the hackberry.  Its yellow belly was very clear but its head was partly hidden.  A mockingbird played peek-a-boo in a dogwood.  

After lunch, the pileated woodpeckers found the suet, first the female, then the male.  When each landed it had its crest fully erect but quickly lowered the pompom into a point.  A Carolina wren ate barkbutter crumbs.  A gray squirrel leaped between trees.  When the pileated woodpeckers were full, a downy got some suet.  When I went to wash the towels, a little spider jumped off and hung from its safety line on the edge of the washing machine.  I snagged the silk with a paint stirrer and suspended it over the sink.  It looked like the spider I saw in the mountain mint last summer, the heptagonal orbweaver. 

In the afternoon mist, the sapsucker was back eating hackberries.  And then a flicker appeared making it all five local woodpecker species in one day.  It was confusing with the mist and backlighting to know which I was looking at since they were both in the same tree eating hackberries.  Neither was really designed to dangle from thin twigs.  Meanwhile, out on the creek there were buffleheads and hoodies.  

Four woodpeckers

Some fishing occurred at dawn.  I saw cormorants for sure.   The creek surface was roughened.  Up on the patio, a myrtle warbler wanted a drink from the drying birdbath.  The male pileated tackled the suet.  I got a glimpse of a white breasted nuthatch but it did not return. 

In the late morning, red winged blackbirds came back along with starlings and cowbirds.  By then the temperature had climbed enough that I refilled the dish feeders.  This time I put out barkbutter balls for a change.  A bluebird was watching.  A female yellow-shafted flicker landed in the dogwood but came no closer.  

A handful of hoodies paddled by on the far side of the creek.  A pine warbler studied the menu.  By this time the wind had grown very gusty and was waving whole pine trees.  The wind, or something, made birds cautious and easily spooked.  The red bellied woodpecker, for example, snatched a barkbutter ball and was gone.  I had to lie in wait for her.  Blue jays were even worse. 

A few white throats came to forage along with a song sparrow.  The male oriole finally settled in for some jelly.  A Carolina wren also poked through the mulch.  Downy woodpeckers squeezed in whenever the starlings left the suet.  That made four woodpecker species today.  Buds on the dogwood and the oak seemed to be swelling.  The newspaper started reporting on pollen last Friday. 

Windy

Because of the time change I was up earlier, before the day had shown what weather to expect.  A titmouse, a butterbutt, a song sparrow and two white throated sparrows were already seeking breakfast.  The creek was still and high with the new moon, but the trees it reflected were just gray.  Soon, though, there was sunlight and two brown headed nuthatches appeared.  Although only 20 minutes had passed, the creek surface had become rumpled.  Fierce-looking clouds boiled up from the horizon but they were all show and no storm.

The starlings arrived and began to argue about the food. The female pileated woodpecker scared them away.  Then a crow scared the woodpecker when it prospected for suet crumbs. 

Blue jays discovered that I'd put out mealworms.  Then the starlings had to have some.  The female red bellied woodpecker worked hard to extract seeds.  Bluebirds heard about the mealworms.  The male bluebird tried seeds as well.  He had one feather sticking out at an angle.  (I hope it drops somewhere I can find it.)  Orioles found the jelly. 

A flicker hunted in the pine needles and dried vegetation of the far side of the pool.   A dove joined a squirrel in rooting through the mulch under the feeder. 

Pelicans patrolled the creek and one floated downstream.  By this time the tide had dropped though the wind was affecting it.  Warblers were here and there at lunchtime.  A white breasted nuthatch escaped the camera while my hands were full of lunch. The orioles had another dispute over jelly.  The male pileated took a turn at the suet.  A small flock of red-winged blackbirds clustered around the birdbath.  Three brown headed cowbirds, one female, were with the half dozen blackbirds. 

The wind got stronger as the day progressed.  Dark clouds continued to blow over.  The late afternoon sun lit up the trees in front of the clouds, then turned the clouds yellow. 

Springlike weather

Today was warm and sunny and full of birds.  A squirrel tried to burglarize the seed feeder.  The jelly was popular with warblers and orioles and was all gone by late afternoon.  Blue jays were happy the barkbutter balls reappeared.  The red bellied woodpecker thought so too.  

Pileated woodpeckers stuck with suet.  A handful of white throated sparrows looked for windfalls.  I spotted a red winged blackbird in the dogwood but it came no closer.  At least one pelican flew along the creek.  A couple doves walked around the patio.  Starlings ate everything except seeds. 

The long haired yellow cat was back, but seemed fascinated by something along the far edge of the pool.  Then it came over to the feeders and I told it to depart.  

I went outside to enjoy the day.  Two female orioles and a brown thrasher hung out in the budding red maple tree.  A mockingbird that I had been chasing with the camera finally held still in the tree.  Then I saw two flickers in the oak.  They displayed a white patch on the back at the base of the tail which I had not seen a flicker do before.  

I put out mealworms instead of more barkbutter balls that had been gobbled up so fast.  After I went back inside, a Carolina wren and then a bluebird showed up.  Clouds gathered.  A white breasted nuthatch came for seeds.  The short tailed squirrel got into something unpleasant that it tried to wipe off its face.  I wonder if it was a fragment of hot pepper suet.  Who knew a squirrel could be accident-prone?  The clouds made a colorful sunset.  

Clouding over

Lovely reflections floated on the creek in the morning.  A song sparrow appeared on the patio, the first one I've seen in months.  A Carolina wren also hunted around the patio and under the mountain mint.  A mockingbird flew in for a barkbutter ball.  The orange crowned warbler had the same idea.  Then a male oriole arrived, sampled the barkbutter balls, and moved on to the jelly.  

White throated sparrows kicked mulch under the seed feeder.  The song sparrow watched and noticed that K had left some seeds on the patio.  It hustled over and started cracking one.  That brought a white throat that laid claim the the seeds and shoved the song sparrow away. It sulked over by the mountain mint. Alas, my photos were blurred.  

Meanwhile the sky had clouded and the creek roughened.  I saw some hoodies and buffleheads but had no luck with photos.  Later several cormorants fished.  A flock of crows swooped in, alighted, and took off.  The songbirds assumed there was danger.  After a while two male orioles came out.  They did not appear to get along.  

The orange crowned warbler returned after lunch.  So did greedy blue jays.  Pine warblers also had some barkbutter balls.  I spotted a flicker up in the hackberry tree but vegetation was in the way.  A female bluebird came for a drink from the birdbath.  

After dark, on our way out I saw the crescent moon in the West.  Alas I had no camera along.  And considering the predicted weather, the moon will be past first quarter before it reappears.  

Spotted birds

At breakfast, the creek was burnished and glowing russet and green from sunlight on the bank.  Crows noticed the fresh barkbutter balls but had difficulty with feeder dishes designed for songbirds.  

The afternoon sun highlighted an orchard spider's web billowing in the breeze.  Bumblebees found the goldenrod.  A squirrel with a pecan gobstopper clung to the redwood bark. 

I think a turtle was basking on the lake log, but late summer vegetation almost filled my view.  Mallards rested on the dock.  Later a pair paddled away, flirting with head bobs.  

A bird I glimpsed and snapped turned out to be a thrush, probably a hermit thrush.  But a different spotted bird showed up a little later -- a female flicker.  They were both after dogwood berries but the flicker watched all around while I took a dozen pictures before it finally reached for a berry. Got it!.  A mockingbird got a barkbutter ball and escaped while I was watching the others.  Of course the cardinal clan ate seeds.  One of the male fledglings was beginning to get a black mask.

Hawk strike

Titmice were bold when I put out mealworms for their breakfast.  Two gulls floated on the creek, one the herring gull, the other immature and flecked with brown.  

We took the dog for a walk at the botanical garden.  The daffodils were part their peak, just as at home.  The most interesting flowers were weeds in the grass, including an escaped grape hyacinth.  Birds were scarce except for the Canada geese to which the dog made objection.  

Back home, I noticed the reflection of a pelican that was perched on a post.  I saw a red bellied woodpecker hiking up tree trunks, but vegetation messed with the focus.  Then a blue jay popped up.  A bit of forsythia survived and bloomed.  It will have to come out, like the leucojum.  

As we ate lunch, a flicker showed up in one of the dogwoods.  After it flew, the red bellied woodpecker landed in the same spot.  Two white throated sparrows reappeared after several days' absence.  Then the song sparrow followed.  Then a chipping sparrow landed on the feeder but something spooked it.  The female orioles were back.  So were juncos and bluebirds and warblers.  And starlings.  

In the afternoon while I was in the living room I heard a very loud thump, then a somewhat softer one.  I hurried to the back and was in time to see the disappearing tail of a Cooper's hawk with a smaller dark bird in hot pursuit.  I don't know if the hawk got anything, but the dish feeder with the mealworms was swinging wildly.  I went outside to see if the hawk had stopped around the corner of the house, but no.  I did see a female hoodie on the creek.  And I felt drops of rain on the rising wind so I gave up and went back to my email.  By supper time everywhere was quite wet but the rain still seemed very light.  

March wind

The wind was stronger a couple of days ago, but I really felt it today.  It didn't seem to bother the pileated woodpecker.  After he left the suet, he interacted with a flicker up in the oak.  Bluebirds wanted fresh barkbutter balls.  As soon as I put out more the orioles came back, then blue jays. 

A robin just wanted water.  A female house finch puffed up so much I thought I was looking at a different bird.  A handful of red-winged blackbirds came to forage.  A white breasted nuthatch wanted a turn at the seeds.  A brown headed nuthatch had an easier time of it. 

Something small floated on the creek, keeping the same spot despite wind and current, but I couldn't get it in focus.  The feral black and white cat made itself comfortable on my chair.  Fortunately, the dog was ready to go outside.  It took him a minute to home in on the cat but then he was off like a rabbit. 

The wind was really fierce on Tuesday.  I hardly saw any birds.  Toward evening as the light was failing, a white breasted nuthatch was frustrated by a cardinal that had taken over the seed feeder.  

Chilly gray day

Rain dripped through the morning.  Moments of sunlight cut through the afternoon clouds.  Again, I waited to put out food in the dishes.  In addition to the regular birds, I saw a flicker, a cedar waxwing, and two red winged blackbirds. 

Gray

The day began mild like yesterday, but a cold North wind put a stop to that.  The patio birds were hungry but I saw very few waterfowl.  A flicker probed the grass and a red bellied woodpecker tested a tree trunk.  

A sick house finch had me worried that it might be contaminating the feeder and birdbath.  It was a little too lively to catch.  A goldfinch, brown headed nuthatches, bluebirds, two orioles, and lots of warblers came to feast  Juncos, whitethroats and song sparrows foraged below.  

Blackbirds and woodpeckers

The sun shone all day while small clouds flowed rapidly East. It didn't seem windy at ground level though it was colder.  Pelicans continued to fish but the other birds were fewer and less frequent so I think that the fish they were after must have dispersed. (I was wrong!) A few buffleheads paddled after the bigger birds. 

I paid more attention to the song and feeder birds.  Woodpeckers stayed fairly distant.  I saw a red bellied woodpecker hiking up a pine trunk.  A flicker preened on the hackberry trunk.  I think the downy finished off the suet.  Three red winged blackbirds and a female cowbird foraged under the seed feeder.  And a male oriole enjoyed some jelly.  

Bluebirds, warblers, a Carolina wren, brown headed nuthatches, and a mockingbird visited feeders while juncos, white throated sparrows, and a song sparrow hunted on the ground.  Of course the cardinals, house finches, chickadees, and titmice come every day.  

More birds

Clouds came and went and came back.  All I saw in the morning was blue jays streaking across the yard and two great blew herons that flew South over me and the dog.  But at lunch, a white breasted nuthatch wanted sunflower seeds.  So did many chickadees and a few titmice, cardinals, and house finches.  

The wind blew hard all day and the tide ran quite high.  Milkweed seeds emerged from the pod and began to fluff out.  The hackberry turned lemon yellow, a few cherry leaves were gold, and the hickory was toasted butterscotch.  Dogwood leaves reddened where they weren't crisped by the lack of rain.  Sweet gum leaves were getting red as well. 

A Carolina wren got away from me but not a song sparrow.  I think I saw a flicker because that's the only bird that's yellow on the underside of its wings.  It was banking into a left turn and going fast.  I caught a butterbutt and a mockingbird among the dogwood berries.  And then the battery gave up.  And when I swapped in the charged battery, the camera just wouldn't!  So I missed some shots at blue jays and the nuthatch, and finally gave up.  A couple hours later the camera was done sulking, but the birds were done too.  

Spotted birds

Thanks to the drop in temperature, there was a lot of activity in the beautyberry bush, the dogwoods, cherry, and hackberry.  A thrush and a catbird were busy eating beautyberries.  A mockingbird ate dogwood berries.  I think something was even after the redwood cones, but I'm not sure what species were working on the others.  And there was enough cold North wind that sometimes I couldn't be sure if the movement was bird or breeze.  I think the blue jays were after acorns.

A squirrel showed up with a warble, just when I thought they'd escaped that misery this year.  Nuthatches were loyal to the sunflower seeds.  A flicker flew from the closest dogwood across the pool to the cherry but I saw no sign of snacking.  Its pompom rump displayed in flight and its yellow shafted tail at rest.  And it was the second spotted bird I spotted. 

A great egret perched on a dock piling while two drakes and a female mallard dabbled.  Mysterious ring ripples popped out of nothing and spread across the creek.  I think the fallen pine shifted because it looked like more of it was on the dock.  A great blue heron landed on the neighbor's floating dock, claimed ownership, then went stalking downstream. 

The now moldy fungus looked sinister and skull-like - triceratops skull, that is.  Apparently the weather was right for milkweed seed dispersal.  I collected some.  The camellia opened its first flower.  The saltbush was frosted with feathery white flowers.  

Damp

While the day was quite cloudy, it didn't rain.  The air was warm but very damp.  A female pileated woodpecker at breakfast called my attention to the empty suet cage so I went outside and refilled both of them.  It didn't take too long for the woodpecker to return.  When it had finished, a flicker landed on the feeder post but spooked so quickly I could get no proof.  I had never seen a flicker come to a feeder before.  I also saw doves wandering around, pine and myrtle warblers, and the cat. 

 At lunch, a female cowbird landed on the seed feeder roof.  I wonder if it planned to follow some hapless bird back to her nest.  A female junco alighted on the seed feeder.  Since the closest place juncos breed is the Appalachian Mountains, it would be a long way for the cowbird to follow!  The female pileated returned.  A female bluebird got a drink and a barkbutter ball.  

Later, I glimpsed a male flicker under the leafless beautyberry bush.  A female red bellied woodpecker also wanted fresh suet, as did a starling.  A Carolina wren hunted for suet crumbs underneath.  Only one twig on the maple made seeds.  The purple iris bloomed.  Some azalea buds opened.  

Woodpecker trio

Even though the GBBC was over, I found myself counting birds.  The male red bellied woodpecker was ready for a suet breakfast.  So was a yellow rumped warbler.  Bluebirds were also early birds.  

The day got up over 70° under an overcast sky.  Turtles climbed out of the water despite the lack of sun.  I counted three juncos.  The brown thrasher returned after taking most of the weekend off.  And then the female pileated woodpecker arrived for a suet lunch.  Meanwhile a male and a female oriole discovered the grape jelly.  The feeder did not turn out to let them perch easily or to support their weight.  

After lunch, back in my office, I spotted a pair of flickers down by the creek.  A tufted titmouse also poked through the leaf litter. The day got more and more gray,