Hanky-panky

A pair of mallards mated in the pool while another drake watched.  

 

Butterflies

A black swallowtail landed on the Solomon's seal, but didn't give me quite enough time for a photo.  The usual cabbage white made the rounds.  What I thought was a painted lady landed on the nandina in an awkward spot I couldn't get in focus.  It turned out to be a red spotted purple.  Rain lilies bloomed at the foot of the dry creek.  The false indigo bloomed too.  

The brown thrasher pair and a mockingbird were lured back for barkbutter balls.  So was a titmouse.  The sky was a beautiful blue but the wind was strong.  The yellow cat prowled alongside the water, then darted after something in the azalea bush.  

A pair of mallards found the pool.  I yelled at them but when K shook the pool net at them they left.  Meanwhile, a crow landed, hopped down to the top step and had a drink not ten feed from me.  Clearly those birds do not see me as much of a threat.  A buzzard soared over the house.  

Light rain

The rain fell all morning and off-and-on through the afternoon.  I hope it soaked in, even though it was light, because the year has been very dry so far.  At breakfast, the catbird returned with another.  I think this is the second bird.  They didn't seem very fond of each other, at least, I couldn't get them both in one photo.  A mockingbird was next.  It checked out the fresh suet.  I saw a Carolina wren but it was faster than my fingers.  

Mallard drakes paddled on the creek, leaving all the incubation to the females.  Bluebirds visited the seed feeder in the rain.  (K had covered the dishes.)   They hurried to grab a seed and go back to whatever they were doing.  Cardinals continued their courtship.  

 

Catching up

So little seemed to be happening that I skipped several days.  The weather was sunny but with a chilly North wind.  Last night, two little moths were drawn by inside light to cling to the window.  Since today was warmer, I spent the afternoon outside.  The sky was very blue with a few cirrus wisps.  

The sheet web spider seemed to have expanded its snare but I could not persuade the spider to appear.  The web caught a lot of non-food debris.  The mabel orchard spider was quite visible and active.  Its legs look green in the shade but black in the sun.  I also found a very small orb in the rosebush.  A cloudless sulphur flitted across the yard.  Even though butterflies appear to be moving without haste, they are very hard to photograph when they don't land.  I think the other flying insects I saw were wasps.  

A partially opened moonflower seemed stuck.  The moonflowers waited out the chilly evenings.  The beautyberries were at their peak.  The Siberian bugloss seemed to have finished blooming.  The saltbush seed fluff blew everywhere but the milkweed seed comas were not persuaded.  The hickory joined the dogwood in fall colors.  A bud appeared on the yellow rose.  I could hear a blue jay and crows but never saw them or what they were yelling about.  Maybe the black cat I saw later pausing below the steps to scratch?

A squirrel carried on with its tail, prompting me to wonder if it was in heat and trying to spread the scent.  Later I saw a pair of squirrels play-chasing up and down the redwood trunk, but I don't know if the same squirrel was involved.   A great blue heron grew upset with the disturbance.  I saw quite a few gulls or terns, not sure which, but they appeared small and white.    A cormorant paddled downstream.  Mallards paddled up, down, and across the water.  As sunset neared, a great blue heron stood on one of the dock posts.  

Storm coming

There was sunshine early but it grew progressively weak and watery and by evening the cloud cover was thick.  The yellow long-haired cat prowled around the far side of the pool.  The temperature was too low to swim so I tried to skim leaves with a pole, not very successfully.  The orchard spider caught some fuzz from the saltbush.  Mallards were having a good time out on the creek.  Tropical storms were predicted for the next few days.  

Still cool

The state issued a [DRAFT] Wildlife Action Plan.  The day cycled through sun and clouds.  A Carolina wren refused to cooperate with the camera.  The drake that was hanging around yesterday flaunted his white belly.  Other mallards did not seem impressed.  I wonder if he might be part domestic duck?  The saltbush bloomed and the tide ran high again.  

I went outside after dark to close the birdfeeders and saw many moons.  A second moonflower vine had a blossom and the first had three.  Overhead, the original moon was waxing gibbous with a colorful cloud halo.  

Sunny

I got excited by the sunshine but the gusty Northeast wind held the temperature down and discouraged me.  The tide ran very high considering that the moon was neither new nor full.  The only wildlife was the feral black cat, some mallards, and a cardinal pair.  The moonflower vine continued to bloom.  Sunset turned the sky gold.  There must have been some thin mist to catch the light.  

Rain fell, tide rose

It was a very dreary day, chilly too.  The rain made bubbles and splash drops in the birdbath.  A wet bluebird came for seeds anyway to keep feeding the offspring which perched on top of the post.  A Carolina wren pecked at the nubbin of suet..  

The tide flowed quite high considering that we are midway between full moon and new moon.  A mallard drake rested all alone on the dock which was partly submerged.  A brown headed nuthatch wanted a place at the seed feeder but the bluebird on the perch didn't cooperate.  A red bellied woodpecker showed up but either disdained the remnant of suet or else spooked. 

Might-have-seens

The first thing I saw was the black cat getting a drink from the pool cover.  Not long after, the yellow cat passed through.  A myrtle warbler enjoyed jelly.  Now that the bird count was over, I finally saw mallards.  I wonder where they were hiding?  But I am grateful that a good assortment of birds braved the wind to be counted.  Two Carolina wrens shared the seed feeder.  A downy ate a barkbutter ball.  The female oriole ate jelly.  Blue jays gobbled all the barkbutter balls they could.  Bluebirds were less greedy.  A goldfinch watched the seed feeder and finally ventured onto the perch.  Another followed.  A mockingbird investigated the mountain mint stubble.  A -pelican flew up the creek.  An orange crowned warbler sampled the barkbutter balls and the suet.  I also saw the male oriole and a red bellied woodpecker. 

Warm and wet

It was raining when I got up.  A downy mourned the lack of suet and ate a few seeds.  A couple of white throats ran around.  A myrtle warbler perched on a chair arm, maybe to remind me about empty feeders.  Mallards collected on the dock.

Sunshine appeared around lunch time so I refilled the barkbutter dish.  That brought bluebirds, blue jays, a myrtle warbler, and a female oriole. A pine warbler became interested in seeds.  The wind became very strong.  I noticed that the camellia buds had survived last week's freeze and were blooming.  A pair of ruddy ducks bobbed in the water beside the dock.  

Rain returned in the night.  According to the weather report, we were one degree shy of the record high for the last day of January.  However, the month was unusually dry. 

Windy

Dawn reflections were lovely.  I had a meeting during the best time for birds.  But the wind probably kept them grounded.  The day was sunny and back to a normal fall temperature.  I saw mallards and an egret and nothing else.  

Ouch

Another lovely sunny day, but I didn't go outside because something bit me badly and I wasn't ready to give it another opportunity.  I don't know which seat it occupied.  Mallards occupied the dock.  I counted fifteen.  

Dull gray day

This was the equinox but with the cloud cover, who could tell.  The tide seemed even higher today though the full mood was several days ago.  When the dock emerged from the water, it hosted 16 mallards.  Between the lack of sun, temperature in the low 70s, and wind, I didn't get in the water.  The frog on the rescue stick  was disappointed.  The change in weather delayed release of the milkweed seeds. 

A bird climbed around the feeder post in a nuthatch-like way but I could never see enough of the bird to be certain what it was.  It had black spots on white undertail coverts which isn't right for a white breasted nuthatch.  iNaturalist told me it was a black-and-white warbler.

Gale

A brown headed nuthatch visited us at breakfast along with chickadees and the rest of the usual seed eaters.  A blue jay ate barkbutter fragments in the bottom of the dish. The hummer kept watch over her feeder.  The yellow rose opened and the lanceleaf coreopsis had a flower.  

A sign of the changing seasons: mallards were napping on the dock.  Big birds circled over the creek and fought  their way upwind.  Clouds blew across the sky faster than a jet.  The wind found more leaves and needles to blow into the water.  Birds and insects were scarce in the afternoon and it wasn't very pleasant in the water.  But the hummer needed to refuel, wind or no wind.  A cardinal brought her son to the patio by the feeder and stuffed him with seeds.  

Hummingbird

At last, the hummer seems satisfied by my offering.  A blue dasher enjoyed the heat as he took up a post on a bamboo stake and feasted on no-see-ums before they feasted on me.  I found a snail floating in the pool.  Several spiders walked on water but other species had drowned.

Hibiscus sprouts popped up so I must get out the Neem oil.  Mysterious rings appeared in the creek at twilight.  A mallard drake cut through them and left his own wake.  

Unsettled weather

We had sunshine and showers and everything in between.   A blue jay worked on the suet.  This did not please the mockingbirds and a kerfuffle ensued.  A Carolina wren investigated all the possible food sources.  The black cat stared into the pool.  I don't know if it was thirsty or hoping for fish.  I'm thankful it hasn't shown much interest in birds.  A convoy of female mallards paddled upstream.  I thought there might be ducklings but they all looked like adults.  

The male pileated had a go at the suet.  I think the crows chased a hawk but I couldn't get a good look at what was going on.  A female bluebird was sad over the empty dish but I wasn't going to put food out just to let it get soggy from rain.  

Ice in the birdbath

I thought at first there was ice on the creek but it was just ruffled water.  The birdbath had long, thin crystals.  A Carolina wren came for barkbutter balls. 

Toward evening, mallards became very busy on the creek.  I could not see what inspired them to paddle from one spot to another so fast they left wakes.  Cumulus clouds blushed orange as cormorants flew past.  

Gilded creek

The sun was back today.  It was the new moon so the tides were stronger but the creek was placid in the morning light.  Later the surface became crepey like old skin.  In the afternoon, an egret chased off another.  The winning bird took up a post on a post at the end of the dock.  Later the egret fished while mallards paddled past.  Squirrels played follow my leader (my pheromones, more likely) from the redwood to the hickory and on around the other trees.  A flock of geese paddled upstream through golden reflections of the oaks above the dam.  

Pretty day

It was warmer and breezier and a few clouds passed by.  Chickadees kept the seed feeder busy. Plenty of leaf color dressed up the trees.  A female mallard slept on the dock.  Flying bugs glinted in the sun.  Falling leaves fluttered.  A couple of round, little birds did too.  Unfortunately, my only photo was blurred but I could make out a big black eye and a yellowish wing.  I think it might have been a ruby crowned kinglet, but I can't be sure. 

Windy

The creek was rumpled, not reflective.  But the sky was still blue and the South wind blew warm. In fact, it matched the record again - 84°. A gull played with the air currents.  Mallards occupied the dock.  Overnight, a lot of maple leaves began to turn.  I saw flying insects catch the sunlight, but couldn't tell what they were.  Wasps, most likely, or maybe small lepidoptera.  The female downy was back but something spooked her and there was a lot of peering around first one side of the feeder post then the other.  If the cold front comes through tomorrow, the birds may be a lot more hungry.