Still warm

Thick fog cloaked the trees in the morning.  The yellow cat sheltered under a too small plastic table.  A mockingbird protested that we hadn't uncovered the glass dish of barkbutter balls or the jelly.  Well, it was wet from the fog.  A red belly ate seeds.  A white throat was disappointed that it had to forage but a song sparrow preferred to find its own food.  A Carolina wren just looked for the feeders that were open.  

The fog finally cleared by lunchtime (which was earlier than last week because we are saving daylight).  While I was outside a big carpenter bee buzzed around.  A myrtle warbler noticed that the barkbutter balls were now available.  But so did the blue jays and bluebirds.  I spotted the brown thrasher foraging under the oak.  A sparrow took a bath in the pool puddle.  

 

Foggy morning

The creek was flat with only muted colors to reflect.  A myrtle warbler blended into the mist.  A downy came for seeds.  The fog slowly dissipated and the rest of the day was sunny.  Blue jays and starlings gobbled multiple barkbutter balls while bluebirds ate one at a time.  The red bellied woodpecker was so quick I think it mus have just taken one.  White throats were busy. 

 

Morning fog

The pileated woodpecker was not deterred by the fog. After the fog dissipated the day grew very warm.  White throats came to forage.  The car thermometer registered 73°. 

Morning fog

The mist was soon gone and the temperature climbed from the 30s to 60°.  A lone hoodie drake paddled upstream.  And then we left too.

When we got home, bluebirds and warblers were having lunch.  A myrtle warbler posed by a violet that was deceived into blooming.  A thin, patchy cumulus blanket covered much of the sky.  A mockingbird watched me from a dogwood.  Blue jays also kept an eye on the feeders from a distance while I was outside.  

I discovered that one of the warblers up in the trees was a blackpoll warbler.  The clue was its yellow feet.  So there were at least four species of warblers hanging around: pine, yellow rumped (myrtle), orange crowned, and blackpoll.  A couple of buffleheads paddled upstream.  

Mist

I thought it was too damp for barkbutter balls or mealworms so all the birds had to eat was suet and seeds.  A mockingbird behaved strangely on the pool edge, bouncing and flashing.  A Carolina wren made a late breakfast visit to forage under the feeders.  Bluebirds worked on suet. 

I had an appointment in South Norfolk and passed through areas of fog in the afternoon.  When I got home, I toured the flowers.  There were red buds on one gladiolus spear.  The lantana and the crocosima started flowering and two buds on the white lily popped open.  The sunflower grew another inch.  

A feisty titmouse wanted a fair share of the food and even outfaced a nuthatch.  Chickadees came ins a steady stream.  Cardinals were more sporadic.  And the brown headed nuthatches got plenty of seeds.  A pine warbler was able to get a little suet.  

Foggy

The early warbler found a soggy breakfast.  A white breasted nuthatch was more cheerful over suet and seeds.  A hopeful goldfinch was back but the house finches were still mean to it.  However, they were beginning to court each other  The orioles fussed over turns at the jelly.  At some point the orange cup fell out and I think the jelly got dumped.  Bluebirds made sure to get their turns at the barkbutter balls. 

Downy stuck to the suet but the white breasted nuthatch also wanted some.  Then the pileated took over for a while. 

A little flock of juncos foraged under the seed feeder.  They were joined by the chipping sparrow.  Later a couple of white throats and a couple of doves hunted fallen seeds.  A Carolina wren found a spilled barkbutter ball and hammered it into submission.  Then an oriole chased it because it was close to the jelly dish.  I don't know what the blue jay found but it hammered something on a branch. 

Apparently the West side of the house has become the haunt of cats.  The yellow long hair was under the bench until it decided to chase the black and white cat.  

I didn't think it was warm but a couple of turtles crawled out on their log anyway.  A few pelicans patrolled the creek.  A morose-looking great blue heron huddled on the neighbors' floating dock.  Another stood on the turtle log after the turtles left.  And the fog faded to black. 

Still fishing

There was thick fog when I got up but it dissipated before I got any pictures.  Then the egrets arrived.  Cormorants created circular patches of gray on the creek surface that looked like ice floes.  Gulls swirled around the egrets.  Eventually the pelicans showed up. 

Bluebirds, blue jays, and pine warblers were pleased when I uncovered the barkbutter balls.  K hung a new block of suet which promptly attracted a butterbutt.  The downy woodpecker was not pleased. 

The song sparrow came to forage, as did juncos.  I refreshed the jelly and that drew a male oriole.  A pine warbler and the brown headed nuthatches made forays to get sunflower seeds when the cardinals, house finches, chickadees, and titmice weren't in the way.  

In the late afternoon, long after the fishing frenzy was over, a pied pill grebe floated on the creek.  The setting sun highlighted the bird and colored the water with reflections.  Geese and an egret watched.  

Breezy

There was an early morning fog and under it the creek was as smooth as glass. The gang of four crows came back and one found the barkbutter balls I'd left on the ground for the bird.  A brown headed nuthatch visited the seed feeder.  

The day got hot but the wind kept me from noticing.  I rescued a great many scarab beetles. One was much larger than the others.  When I moved it into a better location for pictures, it retaliated by mooning me.  I also saved a furious honeybee.  A great golden digger wasp was at work on the mountain mint.  A bumblebee worked on the asters. 

Fog

I remarked a couple of days ago that it had been a long time since we had a foggy morning,and lo, the weather gods listened.  Eventually, the fog turned to mist and then broken overcast.

Pelicans flew over the creek at lunch but not later when I had my hands on the camera.  Not that having the camera in hand helped when I saw a kingfisher - he saw me too.  Crows set up a hue and cry to harass a hawk and I missed that too.  I did not miss the turkey vulture that took a perch on the neighbors' dock. 

Paperwhite narcissus bloomed near the yellow rose buds.  Blueberry leaves were colorful but dropping fast.  Fern-like moss grew next to a smaller, simpler species.  While I was poking around in the yard, a flicker and a red bellied woodpecker had words.  A downy just grabbed a barkbutter ball and kept going.  I glimpsed a wren on the barkbutter too.  A squirrel tried panhandling and when that failed, feeder robbery.

Fog

The fog made the fall leaves in our yard seem bright even as it washed out the distances.  A  Carolina wren was hungry but then the tabby cat showed up. I shooed it away and it jumped impressively.  Then the red breasted nuthatches came for seeds.  I don't know how many there were but one had a pale breast and another was dark orange. 

The fog at home had dissipated by mid morning when we went to the Norfolk Botanical Garden.  We hadn't gone very far on the way before we were back in fog. I walked around and looked at a formal garden and a greenhouse of tropical plants, but spent the most time in the Japanese garden.  The only wildlife I saw was a couple of cormorants and some squirrels but the plants were interesting and I enjoyed the foggy landscapes.  

When we got home the birds made up for their lack at the Garden.  A yellow rumped warbler sampled suet and bark butter balls.  Pine warblers wanted both.  Even a downy woodpecker succumbed to the lure of bark butter.  A brown thrasher only wanted bark butter balls but it got kicked off by the red bellied woodpecker.  Then bluebirds wanted their share.  And a mockingbird arrived that was even ruder than the woodpecker.  It didn't eat anything but kept the others away.  The usual sunflower seed eaters were all present joined by a brown headed nuthatch in addition to the red breasted pair.  

The gray overcast began to break apart near sunset.  Hooded mergansers paddled on the creek then all flew away.  The kingfisher perched on the navigation sign downstream.  I went down to the dock to watch the sunset.  At twilight, a white throated sparrow came for a drink at the birdbath.  

Blue sky

The fog was back at breakfast. I missed shots at a brown thrasher and a blue jay that came for bark butter balls.  A titmouse and the red breasted nuthatch preferred sunflower seeds.  A couple of crows appeared to be very close friends but I don't think they were mating.  Dew-dotted spiderwebs festooned the rose but I didn't see them till I looked at the photos.  The feral cat prowled across the yard.  

By 10am the fog was gone.  The cloudless blue sky healed immediately when scratched by a passing jet.   A downy woodpecker went to work on the suet.  The nuthatch came back and posed very nicely.  

Lots of birds flew over, but aside from gulls and cormorants I'm not sure what they were.  The warmth of the last few days persuaded the canna to bloom, though I think its usual pollinators have left.  Two peppers are just about ready to pick.  I hope the green ones survive the transition indoors.  The slime mold fungus had grown and taken an imprint from a fallen leaf.  As an experiment, I gave it a bit of parsley to see if fresh greens would appeal.  

The late afternoon sun lit up the trees that were turning color.  The wind had been pruning the colored leaves so the trees seemed to stay green.  The last two days were relatively still so leaves didn't come down immediately. 

Morning fog

The fog did not deter a downy woodpecker.  By mid day we had thin clouds instead.  I found a snail on the doorjamb.  An ant colony decided the time was right to send forth its winged, fertile new generation.  

The creek was glassy all day. Geese and cormorants flew over me while I was on the dock.  A male kingfisher perched on the navigation marker to eat a fish.  I saw an egret on a snag above the dam.  

Misty

It was warm but the wet air felt clammy.  The fog made the light level low.  A wren ate suet.  A great blue heron perched on a snag in the lake. 

Uneventful

The day began with fog.  An egret haunted the dam.  There were pelicans but I didn't get get a clear shot.  Cormorants were also fishing.

A male pine warbler slipped in early to get some suet before the downy woodpecker took over.  Too soon, the myrtle warbler showed up.  A brown thrasher hid in the sakaki.

A hoodie pair paddled upstream on glassy water but I couldn't et a clear shot.  A great blue heron ornamented a dock post, its feather queue blowing downstream. 

Drizzle

It was still quite mild and calm, but wet.  A pair of Carolina wrens didn't like the wet but were hungry for suet.  Titmice came for seeds. 

A hooded merganser and perhaps a bufflehead floated by.  A yellow crowned warbler landed on the suet.  Then the male red bellied woodpecker arrived.  

Crows gathered for some reason.  Something kept touching the creek surface from beneath and making ripples.  Eventually a cormorant emerged. The day ended in dense fog,

Warm

Dawn had a hint of mist that didn't last.  The sun lit up reflections in the placid creek.  There was little activity at breakfast. 

After lunch, a song and a white throated sparrow foraged in the mulch.  For some reason, there seem to be only tan morph white throats this winter.  I know there was a white morph when they first arrived but I haven't seen it since. 

Downy woodpeckers worked on the suet.  K took the ant moat down and discovered the water had jelled somehow into a brown goo.  I think I've got it clean again.  A pine warbler tried to get some suet but a downy came flying out of the blue and batted the warbler away.  The downy didn't even stay to eat.  The warbler just transferred to the bark butter dish. 

Two myrtle warblers fussed over who got to eat first and went chasing around the yard.  One decided to eat camellia pollen.  A bluebird watched all this, then left.  A Carolina wren evaded the camera. 

Boaters disrupted the buffleheads on the creak.   I found a slime mold under the maple tree.  As I rested from clipping nandina berries, a downy worked up the courage to come to the suet.  I could hear it talking to itself softly.  Later I saw a bird in the oak that I thought was a downy, but it wasn't.  Instead, it was an immature male yellow bellied sapsucker.  Weirdly, it would fly away from the oak, hover flapping for a moment, then fly back.  I was unsuccessful in photographing that behavior. 

A few wasps were lured out by the day's warmth, but the solstice was only a week ago and the sun set before 5pm.  I forgot to look for the moon.

Even foggier

The blanket of fog was thick enough to condense and drip.  It lifted very slowly and became a white sky.  I think it made the birds anxious that there might be a hidden predator. A song sparrow cautiously looked for seeds under the chair, then checked the bark butter dish that I neglected to refill. The red bellied woodpecker decided to risk the suet.  A sickly house finch spent a long time at the feeder, probably contaminating it.

One of the squirrels ate some camellia flowers.

A kingfisher streaked past without stopping.  A bufflehead drake slurped something from the surface of the creek, just like a mallard or a Canada goose.  Ii couldn't see anything, but he kept at it all afternoon.  Finally he preened and rolled over in the water.  A couple of turtles climbed onto their log to enjoy the warm air and muted sunlight.  A couple of gulls dived into the creek opposite the dam outfall, but there was too much vegetation in the way for me to be sure what that was all about.  The creek was flat and glassy most of the day.

Morning fog

The fog was apparent when I got up, peaked around 8am, and burned off by 9am.  Birds were slow to appear.  A song sparrow ventured out to the seeds I'd scattered.  A white throated sparrow followed. 

The sun caught the male red bellied woodpecker at the suet.  The downy woodpeckers weren't having that so they came too. 

Two Carolina wrens wanted bark butter.  The squirrel with the  sore flank was being followed by another in a manner that suggests she's about to go into heat.

A pine warbler, a myrtle warbler (AKA yellow rumped, butterbutt), and an orange crowned warbler all wanted lunch.  The ruby crowned kinglet reappeared, seeking suet.

A couple of bufflehead drakes preened on the creek.   The sky was mostly clear but stratus clouds blurred the late afternoon sun. 

Warm

Morning was a misery of drizzle and fog, but not cold.  The sky cleared in the middle of the afternoon, but soon more clouds blew in. A pelican flew patrols over the creek.

Two Carolina wrens tackled the suet nubbins but one soon dropped off.  Eventually the downy woodpecker demanded his suet back.

A flock of robins and at least one bluebird flew across the creek from our trees.  My best guess was that they were eating sweet gum seeds from the dangling gum balls. 

Fog

Titmice showed up for breakfast. The fog wasn't as evident over our creek, but when I crossed the Lesner bridge, both bays were enshrouded.  It was much foggier on the way down Great Neck than it had been on the way up Independence. 

Downy woodpeckers came for lunch.  On the creek, a great black-backed gull wrestled with a large catch.  A great blue heron watched from the neighbors' floating dock.  Buffleheads were out but the light was fading.  The feral cat kept birds from their bedtime snacks. 

The waxing moon had an ice halo.