Fog

If we had groundhogs, which we don't, whey would have seen nothing.  The fog started sometime after lunch.  Pelicans continued to fish until the light dimmed after 5pm.  I took lots pf pictures.  A gull and a heron watched from the dock. Something tore away a circle of ground cover at the shoreline where our lot meets the next.  at first I thought a tree had been uprooted, but the surface was too level. 

Meanwhile, a sapsucker hiked up the wild cherry tree.  A damp myrtle warbler glared from a branch.  And the two fox sparrows appeared to clean up under where the suet had hung.  That inspired me to replace the empty suet cage. That upset the birds  and then the light failed before they returned.  

 

New birds!

The sky was patchy blue and white when the male pileated woodpecker arrived.  He felt the need to wipe off his beak on the post. Old ice and a refrozen skin of fresh ice covered all but the creek's channel.  The day got sunnier and warmer so the snow and ice melted.  On the creek, hoodies seemed spotlighted by the sun.  A great blue heron took over the dam and that part of the lake. 

A wet bluebird was first on the scene leaving me to wonder what had happened and if it would survive.  Warblers and finches were in no hurry.  Even a goldfinch paid a brief visit.  Then a white breasted nuthatch attacked the suet.  A brown headed nuthatch made off with sunflower seeds.  Sparrows and juncos were below picking up the fallen seeds.  A Carolina wren dug into the suet. A pair of fox sparrows rested in a dogwood that overlooked the shore.  Unfortunately, part of the background was the glaring white of a boat.  A mockingbird made sure to get a share of the barkbutter.

Cloudy

In the morning, nothing was stirring but the wind which roughened the creek and brought flickers of sunlight.  At lunch, I saw a few pollinators on the camellia.  Titmice sampled the suet.  A Carolina wren wondered where the bark butter had gone.  (I was washing the dish.)  The male downy woodpecker also had a go at the suet. 

In the afternoon, I could see a couple of turtles basking.  Mallards and geese had the creek to themselves.  The oak was lagging behind the other trees that had turned fall colors.  Even the Virginia creeper on its trunk was already red. 

When I went out to the kitchen, a fox sparrow was drinking from the birdbath.  I only saw a fox sparrow on one other occasion when one had stunned itself on a front window.  This one seemed to get along with the white throated sparrows, but not with a squirrel.  It hopped into the rose thicket and so did a white throat. About then a pine warbler began to work on the suet.  The last picture of the day showed the same sheet of gray stratus cloud cover as my first.

Ice and snow

The wind dropped so the creek froze over.  House finches and white throated sparrows came for a sunflower seed breakfast.  A yellow rumped warbler and a downy woodpecker pecked suet.  A cardinal showed up late.  Broken cloud cover blocked sunshine.

When I got back from swimming, the overcast was complete.  A female ruby crowned kinglet was hopping around in the arbor vita by the driveway, and me without any kind of camera, not even a cell phone.  I hurried in for the camera but the bird was gone.  I could not figure out what it was plucking off the branches.  A half dozen gulls circled over the driveway, I don't know why. 

Lots of other birds enlivened lunch.  A male red bellied woodpecker paused briefly on the redwood.  A fox sparrow hunted on the bank below the pool.  A female redwing joined a female robin in drinking from the pool puddle which was frozen but apparently they got some water.  A pair of juncos appeared as did a titmouse.  White throats were still foraging and butterbutts still battling.  A pair each of finches, cardinals, and downy woodpeckers came to feed. 

I tossed out peanuts but squirrels got them all.  One squirrel had a chunk out of the side of its tail.  A crow buzzed the patio, apparently for fun.  The falling tide left a shelf of ice down by the dam.  At least four egrets were hanging out there, as they often do when it's cold.  Two great blue herons chased down the creek and a cormorant flew overhead.

Snow started falling around 4pm and was sticking thickly after an hour.  Cardinals, white throats, and warblers continued to stuff themselves.  A large patch of snow collected on the creek ice.  We're leaving the feeder unbricked, and the snow unblemished.  Anything that ventures out tonight is welcome. 

Polar gale

The wind gusts were roaring all night.  Apparently the wind kept the creek from icing over, but the birdbath and the pool puddle froze.  Usually wind keeps the birds away, but not this morning.  A flock of robins stayed in the yard the whole time I was counting for the GBBC.  I think there were a dozen.

The suet cage swung so wildly that the only birds who fed from it were two starlings.  A brown thrasher tried, but the wind was too strong.  Cardinals, chickadees, white throats, and a white breasted nuthatch visited the refilled seed feeder.  The butterbutts scurried around on the ground but still chased each other.  I saw squirrels but they stayed distant. Out on the creek there were geese, a dozen ruddy ducks, and a cormorant.  A gull tried to ride the wind. 

We were gone for most of this beautiful, if chilly, day.  As we were leaving, I saw a junco and a pelican.  I believe I saw a dear carcase on the road to Williamsburg.   Certainly there were vultures and gulls aplenty riding the wind.

When we got home in the middle of the afternoon the backyard was still full of birds so I did another count.  There were 14 red wing blackbirds, a brown headed cowbird, and 10 robins flocking together, drinking from the pool puddle.  A fox sparrow joined them.  Four starlings attacked the suet, scaring off the butterbutts and a downy woodpecker.  Pairs of cardinals, house finches, and towhees, and a lone chickadee came for seeds.  Under the feeders, a junco, a dove, and 3 white throats foraged. 

Out on the creek, the descending sun gilded a flock of a dozen ruddy ducks, 4 pintails, a pair of hooded mergansers, and 3 mallards.  I could see a great blue heron on a downstream dock.

Windy and wet

Morning was overcast without actual rain, but every surface dripped.  The wind was the first thing I noticed, whipping the plants as it tore South.  The creek was quite rough and the ice all gone but the temperature was lower than yesterday. Dock workers appeared during breakfast and I think they scared off the birds.  A line of geese formed on the creek to keep an eye on them.  Mallards joined in.  The feeders were unused except for a chickadee and a butterbutt.  But I look forward to being able to take photos from the dock once more! 

By lunch time the birds were over whatever kept them away.  The cardinals, finches, and chickadees were joined by white throats, juncos, a fox sparrow, a downy woodpecker, and the battling butterbutts.  A brown headed cowbird landed briefly on the seed feeder.  A white breasted nuthatch discovered the suet.  The wind dried things out somewhat.  A convoy of geese paddled upstream past the dock workers. 

Rain restarted after dark. 

Not yet melted

The bright sun has not raised the temperature.  The cold made birds hungry and thirsty.  I poured hot water in the birdbath several times while the sun melted a puddle on the pool cover.  The current opened the ice under the bulkhead across the creek which faces the sun.  Pelicans and herons flew by and an egret and mallards took advantage of the ribbon of open water.

Titmice were the early birds today, soon followed by white throats.  Then juncos and the regulars appeared.  The woodpeckers and the warblers argued over the suet.  Bluebirds were back at the puddle on the pool cover.  Two Carolina wrens showed up late in the morning.  And of course there were squirrels and crows.

During dinner yet more birds visited.  A couple of doves, one larger than the other, invaded the mulch.  Two, maybe three, yellow rumped warblers and a pine warbler chased around the yard being territorial about the suet.  The bluebird pair hung out in the dogwood with a house finch.  They all landed on the pool cover for a drink despite my thawing the birdbath.  Then two fox sparrows started kicking mulch in their favorite spot by the corner of the patio. 

Early birds & late

The sun rose in a blaze of red clouds.  It highlighted the tops of the pines and the commuting cormorants before rising past the crack in the clouds that let the light through.  Four or more juncos were up early hunting breakfast in the mulch.  A finch and a white throat went to the feeder.  A male cardinal gleamed in the bushes.  Then they all left.  The sky settled into a dirty white. 

Egrets appeared later.  Two took up positions on the bulkhead.  Later three flew together downstream.  Then a song sparrow perched atop the ceder at the corner of the patio.  A pelican cruised over the creek.  Then everyone arrived.  Four titmice alternated feeders.  The downy woodpeckers took turns.  White throats and the regulars also spent time on the feeder.  A fox sparrow poked through the mulch under the cedar.

Before noon, the overcast broke into a mackerel sky and not too long after the sun burned through while patches of blue appeared in the North.  When we got home, the sick finch was sitting on the feeder perch and the feral cat was underneath watching it intently.  I yelled at the cat who fled but the finch paid me no attention.  Once the cat was gone, it got a drink then flew off into the sakaki.  Cormorants and mergansers were out on the creek.

Later, the regulars, white throats, juncos, and downy were all present.  I ran errands while the sky continued to clear, but when I got home it was time for the cormorant commute. Sunset was orange with streaky clouds. 

Dank

That's cold and wet, not thanks in German.  The pelicans fished up and down the creek and I saw a heron and an egret on the wing.  Around the feeders, titmice and downy woodpeckers joined the chickadees, finches, and cardinals.  Below, there were white throats.  The rain that began around 9am did not deter them or the squirrels. This male downy waited in the dogwood while the female ate, then took his turn in the rain.  I wonder if they don't feed together because the one waiting is a sentinel? 

We were joined at lunch by a host of songbirds despite the cold rain.  The woodpeckers, titmice, white throats, and juncos were back.  A little gray bird picked lots of something off the azalea next to the window.  I'm told it was a female orange-crowned warbler, not a blue-gray gnatcatcher.  A fox sparrow poked around under the yellow rose bush where I've seen it before.  Doves and a blue jay dropped in. 

In the late afternoon the sky cleared.  A Carolina wren stayed busy on the seed feeder.  Then white throats, juncos, and even finches settled on the mulch and birdbath while chickadees hit the feeder.  The creek was flat at low tide but there were no ducks.  Flying cormorants and gulls caught the setting sun.

Wet

It was not raining at breakfast and there wasn't much wind either.  But thunderous-looking clouds passed overhead.  White throats were joined by a fox sparrow, maybe the one who hit the front window.  The male downy woodpecker returned to the suet and a squirrel tried to get some but gave up.  Maybe the overnight rain dampened the pepper smell until the squirrel got close?

Geese were joined on the creek by a male hooded merganser and a smaller duck, maybe a ruddy?  Cormorants, a great blue heron, and several egrets flew above. A blue jay hung out in a dogwood across the yard. 

By late morning, the South wind had grown much stronger.  Dark clouds moved fast across the overcast sky while the last leaves blew down.  White throats kicked wet mulch while finches headed for the feeder.  A pelican flew upstream, then mallards paddled the same direction.  The temperature reached the 60s though the wind and rain prevented it being pleasant. 

There was an interval without rain around 4pm.  White throats, woodpeckers, and squirrels came out, as did some kids in shorts down on the dam.  I think I glimpsed a butterbutt and a flock of cedar waxwings (I think) landed in the redwood.  A pelican circled.  All were sent scurrying by the next wave of rain. 

Frozen

The sky was hazed with streaky clouds.  Rainwater in the birdbath had turned to ice and there was frost on the mulch and dock.  The creek was clear, however, and placid.  Hooded mergansers, buffleheads, and Canada geese were out early.  This rather Goth female spent considerable time bathing and preening. 

A fox sparrow hit a window in the front of the house.  It staggered off a little and slowly recovered.  I left it alone aside from photos. 

As I was cooking, I saw a dark eyed junco foraging in the mulch with a white throated sparrow.  Chickadees were busy with the feeder.  The temperature already rose quite a bit and the birdbath melted.  The hermit thrush reappeared briefly.

Chickadees continued to visit through lunch.  We spent the afternoon at a party and when we returned home is was cold again.  The first quarter moon was bright overhead, undimmed by the clouds flowing out of the West.