National Mushroom Month

I had a meeting Tuesday evening and I forgot to post when I got home. The creek was quiet with a hint of Autumn.  It was humid and there was a little water in the birdbath.  There was another hibiscus flower on September 1st which I think is the latest ever.  A frog entertained me.  The polypore under the oak tree emerged and began to grow.  Hummers visited their feeders.  More beautyberries reddened.  The Nature Conservancy shared photos of fungi.  

Wednesday, I was busy morning and afternoon and meanwhile the temperature got into the high 90s so I swam late. I believe I glimpsed frogs on the concrete walkway around the deep end but, if so, they disappeared.  However, I found two skinks that had more-or-less rescued themselves.  An adult had wedged its toes into the crack under the coping but couldn't negotiate the overhang.  I gave it a gentle boost.  The other was half grown with a blue tail and had found one of the twigs I left for rescue purposes.  It only needed a little lift. A mosquito bothered me for a while and I may have killed it.  A couple of black beetles needed rescue and I found another pink and green caterpillar drowned.  Hummers and the male goldfinch and the seed-eating regulars visited.  In one day, the Berkley's polypore had doubled in size.  

Hibiscus blossom

I forgot to make an entry yesterday but it wasn't a dull day.  The male goldfinch seemed to be getting a drink every time I looked.  I camera-chased a tiger swallowtail.  Also I've been noticing wild cherry leaves carefully sculpted by caterpillars to hide that they've been partly eaten.  A spider was rafting on a sculpted leaf so I brought it to land.  It spun a bit of web then launched itself up into the dogwood, at least six feet up and away.  I thought it was one of the heptagonal orbweavers, but it was more brown with a butterfly shape marked in beige.  Turns out it is a butterfly orbweaver Araneus pegnia.  I also got pictures of the floating pine needles making occult symbols in the breeze.  A buzzard flew over and a hummer visited the fresh feeder.  

The morning looked nice but I had a meeting.  I think this may be the latest in the year that the hibiscus has bloomed.  There was a hummer and a goldfinch.  In the afternoon, I waited for some shade but almost waited too long and got sprinkled upon.  A cicada was submerged on the top step so I fished it out. Later I carried it up the steps for a photo and it began to revive!  iNaturalist identified it as a Northern dusk-singing cicada Megatibicen grossus.  

A frog in the skimmer seemed dead so I disposed of it.  Another in the pool was bigger and fairly lively, but I caught it. A determined mosquito bit me on my face since that was all it could reach.  I did my best to drown it.  I saw a monarch and a little skink as I dripped off.  I couldn't find any monarch caterpillars but the parsley plant I bought had a first instar black swallowtail caterpillar.  There were flashes of sunshine between the thunderheads while I was outside, but thunder and real rain began before 6pm.  It cleared after about half an hour.  

 

Accident

A storm overnight brought down leaves and needles but little rain.  The pool skimmer was packed with needles.  When I had removed most of them, I lifted out the basket and a frog jumped out and into the pipe leading to the pool filter.  I left the basket out in the hope it could swim back, but it didn't reappear.  Eventually I gave up and put the basket back in place.  I did catch another frog later and I rescued a heptagonal orbweaver.  And I think I must have fed several mosquitoes.  Earlier, a dragonfly hunted from a garden stake.  A dark butterfly passed by.  While I was dripping off, a very small skink with a very long tail ventured out, but I didn't have the camera.  Today was just as gloomy as yesterday and I didn't want to risk rain on the camera. The thirsty goldfinch was back.  

 

Cloudy

The sky often looked like rain but none fell and occasionally there was sun.  The male goldfinch was thirsty but also quick and hard to catch on camera.  I took the camera to the pool edge and got one frog inside the skimmer.  There were two but the other dived.  I eventually caught it.  The one that didn't dive tried to hide beside the camera, I guess because it was dark.  A black ground beetle rode a leaf around the skimmer.  I caught a dragonfly nymph in my hands and we studied each other, but I couldn't figure out any way to take a picture so I released it.  

As I dripped, a skink crossed the steps and climbed the retaining wall.  I counted 27 full size milkweed pods and didn't include some smaller ones.  but no caterpillars.  A cloudless sulphur flitted across the patio.  Hummers focused on the one-hole feeder and I discovered the bigger feeder was dry.  

 

Beautiful weather

The day was sunny and warm enough with a breeze and low humidity.  In the morning the sky was so blue it seemed to have a tinge of purple.  I found two live frogs and a dead amberwing dragonfly in the pool.  A glass snail may have been estivating.  A tiger swallowtail egged the cherry but I got only glimpses of other butterflies.  The camera caught a snout and a mint moth.  I heard a goldfinch and then it alighted for a drink.  But the second I moved, it was gone.  I fed a few peanuts to the squirrel with the tuft of pale hair.  It had scratched bare spots around its neck, maybe warbles.  

A blue dasher perched on the rosemary.  One hummer vigorously defended "her feeders" from another.  The mountain mint was no longer attracting pollinators and even the milkweed wasn't getting much attention except for very tiny insects.  Cicadas sang at least three different tunes.  I suppose I could use my phone to record and ID them.  A Carolina wren indulged in barkbutter balls.  A skink and I spotted each other on the steps and it disappeared immediately.  

Time outside

Morning was cloudy.  I spotted a morning glory flower.  A brown thrasher was an early visitor.  A female cardinal was beginning to lose head feathers and a male fledgling was getting orange, but with a black beak.  A female goldfinch was thirsty.  The molt-ragged Carolina wren had a barkbutter ball.  

Carrying the can of bug killer, I went swimming earlier than usual and found three frogs.  I evicted them but after I got out, they hopped back into the water.  A big, all-black bee was swimming frantically and I assisted it onto dry concrete.  Wind gusts tossed leaves into the water.   I put some peanut bits on the patio for the crow but a squirrel ate them.  The crow may have given up on us.  

After lunch, I went back outside.  There was more sun but a breeze and the shade made the heat endurable.  A blue dasher stood guard.  I saw two other dragonflies, one dark and the other yellowish, but I didn't get pictures to ID.   A hummer had a long feed before she saw something that sent her away.  Sometime later I spotted her preening on a dead twig in the dogwood.

A well-grown skink crossed the steps and later rain under my chair.  Its tail was not original but was full length.  A few wasps and bees and a duskywing skipper fed on the mountain mint.  A big dark butterfly never alighted and I couldn't guess if it was a red spotted purple or some kind of swallowtail.  A skipper with some orange joined the mountain mint crew.   

One wasp was new to me, a Tachytes guatemalensis.  

Three frog day

Yesterday, I spent a lot of time clearing storm debris from the water.  The surface was covered with pine needles and more had sunk.  An oak branch complete with acorns was on the bottom.  I didn't see much wildlife, only one frog.  However, I did find floating a dragonfly nymph exoskeleton so I'm hopeful that the nymph I saw days ago completed metamorphosis. 

A Carolina wren wanted a barkbutter ball for breakfast.  It was still in the midst of a ragged molt.  The juvenile cardinal was back.  Today there were three frogs but little else in the water.  Despite clouds, the afternoon felt very hot.  I saw a monarch flit past the milkweed without stopping.  I suspect that indicates a male looking for love.  A goldfinch got a drink.  

 

Thirsty

Another day in the 90s, but the wind shifted a couple of degrees North of due West.  Chickadees and titmice were thick at breakfast.  A downy joined them and a goldfinch arrived later for a drink.  A hummingbird showed up at lunchtime.  It sampled the milkweed as well as the sugar water.  Then a Carolina wren wanted a barkbutter ball, but not until I went indoors.  It was molting and looked rough.  It inspected the hummer feeder too.  I thought I saw a white breasted nuthatch but I never caught a picture to verify it.  A fledgling cardinal came to supper.  

I found another little monarch caterpillar eating milkweed flowers and got curious about whether insects are deterred by caterpillar toxicity.  This says, "Only about 5% of monarchs reach the last larval instar."  Three butterflies, a yellow, an orange, and a dark one, flitted over the yard but didn't give me a chance for a photo.  I think the yellow was a sulphur.  The orange seemed small for a monarch, so maybe a fritillary?  A fiery skipper made the rounds of the mountain mint.  So did the usual bees and wasps,  In the afternoon, dragonflies gathered.  A yellow one zoomed over me and disappeared, but a blue dasher and a widow skimmer used the perches.  

While I was in the water, I evicted two frogs and two spiders, and rescued a moth.  The dragonfly nymph was still active,.swimming very fast.  A thirsty squirrel dangled over the water to drink.  Either that, or it was having a Narcissus moment.  

Yellow bird

The goldfinch visited again and this time I got a photo, but of his back.  A dark skipper didn't settle long enough for a picture.  The usurper spider was still enthroned above the azalea.  I caught two frogs at the same time but one kept jumping back into the water.  The usual beetles floated around.  Meanwhile the sky was mostly gray and drops fell on me while I swam.  

Evidence of a mantis

The hibiscus set some more buds and opened one.  One of the benefits of a pool is that it catches things you'd never notice otherwise.  Today it caught the shed exoskeleton of a young praying mantis. Of course the water also caught the usual complement of scarab beetles and small wasps.  A lacewing had drowned.  I caught a frog and bid it depart before it became "dearly departed."  

A female great blue skimmer hunted from a garden stake.  Later a blue dasher did the same.  I thought I saw a yellow butterfly, but it was a goldfinch.  A mockingbird visited the barkbutter balls but got away from the camera.   I found two of the monarch caterpillars on the milkweed.  Bees and wasps went about their business on the mountain mint.  

 

Dragonflies

I was gone in the morning.  At lunch, a male widow skimmer used one of the bamboo stake perches.  Then I had an afternoon meeting so my swim was late.  More beetles, including a weevil, to rescue but not much else.  After I got out, I saw one or more dragonflies hunting over the pool. It (or they) zipped erratically at about dogwood height, apparently seeing lots of prey, but I never saw a dragonfly land.  I just had an impression of a pale tan body with no markings.  The sky had clouded over so the light level wasn't very high.  

I went outside hoping to get a picture of the dragonfly, but no luck.  Instead, a hummingbird visited the milkweed, then came and gave me a thorough examination, and moved on to the feeder.  I didn't see what happened next as I was staying still in the hope of not spooking it.  There were honeybees and leaf-cutter bees on the mountain mint.  At supper time, a male goldfinch visited. 

 

Humid

Light rain fell in the morning and the temperature was moderate.  I glimpsed a goldfinch but bigger birds scared it off.  At lunch, K fed the mother and child crows.  A brown thrasher was interested in the leftovers as well as what fell from the seed feeder.  A brown headed nuthatch sneaked around bigger birds to get seeds.  A molting titmouse was more easily intimidated.  

Mist collected on the orchard spider's web. I waited to swim till mid afternoon when surfaces were drier.  The usual beetles were swimming too including a green June beetle.  A duskywing fed on the mountain mint alongside bees and wasps.  They were joined by a gray hairstreak.  The sun began to find loopholes in the cloudcover but mosquitoes were beginning to fine me.  

Rain

A brown thrasher showed up early.  Goldfinches paid a brief visit. A mockingbird inspected the barkbutter balls.  A brown headed nuthatch got a turn at the feeder and then dropped its seed.  A bluebird watched.  The day was warmer than I expected under a mostly cloudy sky with a strong West wind.  One source predicted a thunderstorm but another said no rain.  

When I swam, there was even a little sunshine.  I rescued a spider and the biggest camel cricket I've seen.  It stupidly jumped back into the water so I rescued it twice.  I regret not having the camera.  The wind dumped a lot of tree detritus into the water, mostly from the red cedar.  After I got out and was dripping off, the light suddenly dropped and I hurried inside.  We got measurable rain, some lightning, and high winds.  A mockingbird ventured out but the barkbutter was soup.  

 

Goldfinch pair

The temperature dropped overnight and only rose into the low 70s during the day.  I stayed out of the water.  K put a fresh feeder out and a female hummer visited.  I poured some barkbutter balls on the ground for crows.  There were white flecks on one crow's right wing.  A crow took a bath but I don't know if it was the same one..  

A pair of goldfinches checked out the dishes but not the seeds.  Bluebirds, mockingbirds, and a blue jay came for barkbutter balls.  The tallest mountain mint stalks began to turn whitish.  

Zebra swallowtail

Another beautiful day of which I missed too much.  I had to rush off early to an appointment but afterward I went to Wild Birds Unlimited since I was in the vicinity.  I played with Merlin taking (bad) phone photos of goldfinches and a song sparrow while I waited for the store to open.  Back home, I admired the lilies in the front yard, white and dark red, also daylilies and a rainlily.  A skink descended the bedroom wall.  

At lunch, a gorgeous zebra swallowtail fed on the milkweed flowers.  The crow demanded treats.  A mockingbird was camera-shy.  A Carolina wren was perky.  Then I had online meetings.  

A white breasted nuthatches joined us for supper but was unwilling to share with a titmouse.   

Fog

Yesterday evening's mist was thick fog by this morning.  A starling showed up early.  A myrtle warbler lurked at the edge of visibility.  White throats foraged in wet mulch and a song sparrow got up on a dead vine for a better view.  A Carolina wren ate barkbutter scraps.  A goldfinch just observed.  Bluebirds were around in the fog but I only got photos once the sun had cleared the vapors away.  I heard a pileated woodpecker calling and saw it land but I was in another room.

 

Bird buffet

Morning began with a pileated woodpecker and blue jays.  Three starlings visited but were unsatisfied and didn't stay.  A white throat pecked at the residue in the barkbutter dish.  A Carolina wren got inside the dish.  Meanwhile a goldfinch landed on the suet with a pine warbler.  The goldfinch must have realized its mistake and joined the house finches for seeds.  House finches are bigger.  

The overcast sky developed blue rents.  A pair of buffleheads drifted on the creek.   Lots of little birds use the azalea by the side window as a launchpad for the feeders, but it is very hard to get photos of them.   White breasted and brown headed nuthatches picked out seeds.  I refilled the glass dish with a mix of mealworms and barkbutter balls.  The pine warbler was pleased.  A downy sampled the suet.  The song sparrow found what I dropped (deliberately).  Bluebirds noticed that the dish was refilled.  The female oriole had jelly and a drink.  

Pelicans and gulls were very busy on the creek but the only ducks I saw were the bufflehead pair and another female.  A great blue heron stalked along our shoreline.  By then the sky had cleared but the light was going.  

Waterfowl

A wren dug into the seeds for breakfast.  So did a downy. I saw a goldfinch, but it got away.   A brown headed nuthatch also collected seeds.  K put our a fresh block of suet and the warblers found it.  The clouds lifted as time passed. At high tide, I spotted the orange cat perched on a stump at the water's edge.  

Pelicans fished along our stretch of the creek.  A variety of gulls fished too - herring, ring bill, and black back.  The sight of a great black back gull with a fish attracted a young pelican still in brown plumage.  A great egret flew upstream.  A cormorant photo-bombed a picture of a gull.  I saw another red breasted merganser.  A great blue heron stood watch below the dam. A mallard pair paddled across the water.  A female bufflehead dived.  

Fog

Happy Lunar New Year and Mardi Gras.  At breakfast a light fog grayed the distant pines. It didn't seem to trouble the pelicans flying low over the creek.  Gulls, too, were fishing.  The committee of vultures took to the trees.  The two mourning doves returned.  Downy and red bellied woodpeckers came for the feeders.  So did a wren, a pine and a myrtle warbler, a brown headed nuthatch and starlings.  Blue jays flew past but returned for breakfast.

The sun finally got through at 10am.  Then a junco appeared on the seed feeder.  Where was it during the bird count?  Bluebirds enjoyed the sunshine.  A goldfinch also wanted seeds.  The pelicans kept on fishing, apparently with success judging by the splashdowns.  Cormorants had the same idea.  

 

GBBC start

A sunny, breezy morning, just above freezing, brought plenty of birds to count.  I was glad to see the song sparrow again.  A Carolina wren pecked suet.  The bullying myrtle warbler was ever-present.  Bluebirds came for the barkbutter balls.  A goldfinch dithered before sampling seeds.  Then the red bellied woodpecker took over the seed feeder.  I spotted a downy up in the wild cherry.  She soon flew down to the suet.  A myrtle warbler got into the jelly.  Blue jays raided the barkbutter balls.  The bluebirds moved on to seeds and a mockingbird picked at the barkbutter balls.  .  

I counted birds again at lunch, starting with a pine warbler.  A Cooper's hawk hid in a knot of branches.  I saw it land or I would never have noticed it.  The tangle of branches made getting a picture impossible but the birds knew.  Nuthatches arrived after the alarm faded, first brown headed, then white breasted.  I didn't count it, but I caught a squirrel in flight!