Very warm

The temperature rose all morning.  The oak flowers emerged.  Confederate violets bloomed.  The money plants began to form flower stalks.  Daffodils and hyacinths were looking old.  Insects were flying, especially around the Carolina jessamine.  Some blueberry flowers were ready for bumblebees. 

The grebe continued to be very hard to photograph.  Turtles were out on logs enjoying the warmth.  I saw a few shovelers in the water nearby.  Only a few mergansers of either species were visible.  Maybe the others were out on the bay.  I did see a couple of osprey but missed the shot.  A big blue ball came bobbing upstream as I was leaving.  When I came back after dark, it seemed misty and there was no sign of the moon.

Windy

 A yellow rumped warbler scraped the bottom of the dish for breakfast.  The grebes showed up in decent light for once.  I caught a downy in the cherry tree.  The mergansers stayed down by the dam during the morning. 

 At lunch time the fishing birds moved upstream, closer to us.  I saw read breasted and hooded mergansers, and gulls.  Titmice visited the seed feeder with their chickadee cousins. 

Two crows chased a hawk out of sight before I got the camera aimed.  A harsh wind encouraged me to stay indoors till mid afternoon.  By then it had pushed the tide very low.  I found a bumblebee on the patio.  It moved very slowly, between the cold and the wind.

Dogwood and blueberries were opening flower buds. Clouds obscured the sun more often than the prediction implied.  But by late afternoon, it was calmer and in the 50s.  Sunset streaked the North with pink. 

Lots of birds

I was busy before lunch and got no photos of all the pelicans fishing.  They were making spectacular dives.  The sky grew more cloudy.  At lunch, the butterbutt hung under the feeder and stuffed itself.  Then it kept an eye out from a twig.  A robin also watched. Downy and red bellied woodpeckers took turns on the suet.  One dove had lost the contour feathers from one wing.  Blue jays crammed a row of bark butter balls down the length of their beaks. 

The red breasted mergansers hung out by the dam except when fish were sighted elsewhere.  A heron and a pelican flew in together. At least seven shoveler drakes were out on the lake.  Late in the afternoon I saw a male hoodie. 

 K threw out some fancy rice that she had begun to cook by mistake.  Only the doves paid any attention. One squirrel seemed scared of the rice.  My guess is that the rice smelled faintly beafy.  One of the pesky starlings turned out to be a female red winged blackbird. Other starlings watched me hoping I would leave. 

A female oriole visited briefly.  I wonder if it was the same one I saw before.  Then bluebirds arrived.  White throats scurried around.  The female red bellied woodpecker kept trying to eat suet like a pileated, while clinging to the post, but she couldn't quite reach it  She licked the suet with a long tongue.

Gray

I was away until late afternoon.  There was some rain mid day and flickers of sun around 3pm, but mostly it was just overcast.  Wind from the South brought the warm, moist air.  The forecast is for a week of on-and-off rain but no frost.

When I got home the kinglet was feasting on suet.  A downy woodpecker took over the feeder and the kinglet retreated to the camellia.  When the downy left, out popped the yellow rumped warbler to retake possession of the suet.  Eventually a titmouse seized its moment. 

A female cardinal appreciated a bark butter ball. I saw a flicker up in the trees but it was backlighted.  On the creek, a male red breasted (or possibly common) merganser was just a blur to the camera. 

Sunny all day

The birdbath was frozen again.  When I poured hot water in, I was able to pull out the ice with rotting leaves and other debris frozen in.  I also put out some mealworms and half a tangerine that had begun to go bad.

The hoodies were up early and busy fishing.  The creek surface was rumpled, unlike most mornings this time of year.  One female bufflehead zipped past.  A few pelicans flew over the creek along with gulls, including a great black back.  The common mergansers returned in the mid afternoon.  They were all four females. The water grew calmer as the tide went out, and out, until mud flats were exposed.  I saw a great blue heron on the dock next to the dam.

A Carolina wren flung seeds out of the feeder in search of shelled bits, or maybe bugs.  Its beak isn't suitable for hulling seeds.  A yellow rumped warbler made a brief stop on the step but didn't hang around.   Later a male pine warbler dug into the suet.  A downy dropped in but didn't stay.  Juncos were very late but when they arrived, they seemed to be everywhere.

Two squirrels managed to forage under the feeder (mostly) peacefully.  One squirrel chinned itself on the mealworm dish.  And then it carried off the half tangerine I'd stuck on the wire hanger.  The other squirrel found something good and hid up in the dogwood to eat it.

Sun to sleet

A Carolina wren explored every nook of the patio.  A couple of goldfinches visited in their plain winter plumage.  White throats and a few juncos scurried around the patio.  A sick male house finch hung around the feeder and birdbath. 

I saw cormorants and ducks fishing on the creek and a mallard pair that kept getting in the way. Fortunately photos revealed that the ducks were common mergansers. 

Wispy ice clouds became a streaky stratus overcast tat blurred the sun by mid day.  By evening it had thickened enough to block the sunset except for some golden streaks to the North. It began to sprinkle after dark and by 8pm it was sleeting.  A gusty wind made the icy rain sting.

Sunny and mild

Only a few birds joined us for breakfast. The yellow rumped warbler was up first.  A wren ate mealworms.  After a while a titmouse had some suet while several birds including the warbler flew around in the trees.  Something made V-shaped ripples in the creek and later I saw seven female mergansers fly downstream.

Doves were out when we got home.  Ruddy ducks napped and drifted, then paddled back without ever lifting their heads.  A great blackback gull flew downstream and let loose with a large quantity of guano.  A couple of kingfishers raged back and forth along the creek till one gave up and the other, a female perched on our dock.  Herons watched the water from different vantage points.  I saw the red bellied woodpecker around the middle of the afternoon, but had left the camera elsewhere.  A few buffleheads dived.  Sunset tinted streaky clouds gold while the cormorants flew home. 

Lively creek

The sky was gray when I finally got up but the overcast began to tear apart mid morning and by lunch the sky was blue. The temperature climbed and finally melted the birdbath ice. 

A great blue heron assumed its beak pointed skyward territorial posture under the bulkhead.  The tide was quite low. A couple of geese splashed down, then paddled fast with their necks stretched out level with the water.   Buffleheads, ruddy ducks, and hoodies were joined by female mergansers that were probably red breasted because common is less common here.  Cormorants joined the fishing.  Pelicans flew by a couple of times. 

Up at the feeders, birds were competitive too.  The yellow rumped warbler guarded the suet, driving off chickadees and harassing downy woodpeckers and titmice.  Many white throats foraged under the feeders and occasionally didn't wait for food to fall.  The oriole dug into mealworms.  The female red bellied woodpecker continued to act more timid than smaller birds.  Nuthatches dodged the fierce warbler. A pine warbler slipped in briefly.  Eventually the butterbutt discovered mealworms which gave it two feeders to monitor.  In the afternoon, two Carolina wrens came for mealworms.  I gave the oriole some jelly. 

In the late afternoon, a female kingfisher sat on the dock bench to swallow a sizable fish which went down slowly and swelled her throat.  Hoodies, buffleheads, and ruddy ducks bobbed on the water while a heron watched from the neighbors' floating dock.  Up on the lake a "gulp" of cormorants perched all over the dead snags with an egret above. 

Bright sun

The wind took care of that broken limb.  Something opened the feeder lid.  Other than that the storm passed without effect.  Pelicans and an osprey are watching the creek.  Crows are still gathering nesting.  The feeder is hosting cardinals, finches, chickadees, nuthatches, and titmice.  A Carolina wren sang for us.  Sparrows and juncos joined a dove on the ground.  The sky is blue and the wind is still strong.

Cornell has an interesting article on how sexual selection keeps cardinal males red year around.

Ducks with rusty-red heads were out fishing.  The crows' nest is near the juvenile eagle's favorite perch.  There was much cawing and screaming and circling, but of course the crows won.  A pelican sunned on a piling across the creek. 

Birds are back

They found we'd refilled the feeder.  On the ground, doves, sparrows, juncos, and the female towhee shuffled the mulch.  One dove has a long white feather sticking out behind - is it molting?  Nuthatches, titmice, chickadees, and cardinals tussled for a place at the feeder.  The Carolina wren sang from the post top. 

The sky had that March look - big soft-edged clouds, both white and dark, with bits of blue between.  A storm is predicted with possible snow.  In the morning the wind out of the West made waves on the creek.  By noon, overcast was complete.  Later a rainy mist blurred the furthest trees.  The rain has not been heavy but the wind makes up for it.  Trees are whipping back and forth while last fall's leaves are springing back into the air.  I think the wind shifted around because the creek has risen over its banks. 

The birds have been stuffing themselves, almost like people panicking before a storm. A yellow rumped warbler stopped in after lunch which was the quietest time.  It has yellow on the top of its head, which I think is breeding plumage.   House finches came too.  Three female cardinals are not getting along any better than the two males.  The females are glowing with rose highlights on their brown feathers, like untarnished copper.  The wind rocked the feeder so much a cardinal gave up and left. 

On the creek I saw female mergansers and later a male bufflehead.  Pelicans fished, but mostly flew low to the water. A great blue heron perched on a piling till the wind got too strong.  You can see the rough water behind it.

March wind pushing clouds

Clouds have rolled down from the North over the blue sky when I got up.  It is gusty.  Gulls, cormorants and pelicans are flying over the creek while ducks and gulls drive a school of fish.  I believe the ducks are common mergansers which I've never before been certain I've seen.  One photo, though blurry, actually catches a duck under water!

On the feeder, nuthatches, titmice, finches, juncos, and white throated sparrows are pitching seed to more juncos, sparrows, and the female towhee below.  The two male cardinals are still jockeying for territory. A Carolina wren perched in the dogwood and sang.

Cloud cover keeps rolling through alternating with blue sky.  Someone else took a photo of the eagle I saw across the creek and sent it to Mary Reid Barrow.  A new reference book looks interesting, Flora of Virginia.

The late afternoon sun caught a pelican banking for a plunge.  It is now in breeding plumage with the dark neck and yellow head.  Meanwhile, the female towhee kicked mulch everywhere while sparrows and juncos dodged.  Chickadees were busy on the feeder.  A dove, much fluffed out, snoozed on the back of the bench.  

Gray day

The light is diffuse and directionless under uniform cloud cover.  Pelicans and gulls are patrolling the water and I saw an egret and a female merganser.  The female towhee joined the doves, squirrels, sparrows and juncos under the feeder.  I think there are quite a few nuthatches and I'm certain of at least three.  Several titmice also visited the feeder, along with the usual finches and chickadees.

At lunch, a male cardinal kept following another from tree to tree, annoying rather than fighting.  Other birds had little aerial spats.  The Carolina wren finally showed up.  Both sparrow species foraged in the mulch and the white throats occasionally flew up to the feeder. 

At dusk, a great blue heron flew in and took position on a dock piling.  By full dark the sky was beginning to clear and show stars.

Soft spring sky

Edgeless, fuzzy clouds are blowing East, bright on their Eastern side and dark on the West.  This is a sky I associate with Easter.  When the sun finds an opening, it highlights the trees against a darker sky.  Buzzards, pelicans and gulls are aloft.  Titmice, wrens, and a nuthatch have visited the feeder while doves, juncos, both kinds of sparrow, and the female towhee have rummaged through the mulch. A male bufflehead and some female mergansers are out on the creek.

By 9:45am, the sky had gone to plain overcast.  An hour later it was back to blue with sunlit cotton puffs.  A pair of nuthatches came for a snack. The male towhee put in a brief appearance.  The miniature daffodils have started to bloom.  Honeybees are visiting the rosemary.  I think the groundhog was accurate. 

I debated carrying the camera this evening but made the mistake of leaving it home.  The sun set in a gorgeous peach glow while streaky clouds to the South picked up the color.  Crows paralleled me down Witchduck, headed I believe for the great flock that meets at the junction of 64 and 264.  That flock was already swirling when I passed.  I would not be surprised if there were a thousand birds.  They were spectacular against the sunset, but a bit spooky.  Why are they there?  Then coming home, a huge yellow moon rose past bars of cloud. 

Warmer, still sunny

Pelicans and gulls are fishing our section of creek.  These are the great black back gulls that only show up in the winter.  Geese and ducks are also out there.  Sparrows and squirrels are busy on the ground.  Titmice, nuthatches, finches, and wrens have been to the feeder.  Juncos showed up mid-morning.  By then the streaky clouds at dawn were gone. 

It is very windy and that's keeping most birds away.  Only chickadees are venturing out to the feeder.  A flock of diving birds came driving a school of fish upstream and after a bit back down.  I saw red-breasted mergansers and cormorants for sure. The camera kept focusing on nearer vegetation so they are too blurry to post, but enough for identification.