Grebe & phoebe

The early morning sun shone brightly on the placid creek.  Blue jays came for a breakfast of barkbutter balls.  A titmouse had the same idea.  The male red bellied woodpecker preferred suet.  I spotted what I think was a phoebe wading on the pool cover.  White throats were out on the pool cover too.  

A bluebird landed awkwardly on the bench back but he recovered his poise and visited the seed feeder.  A goldfinch also wanted seeds.  A crow was determined to get barkbutter balls and succeeded.  

A pied bill grebe was back and paddling fast.  I saw one at the beginning of winter and not again till today.  Supposedly they live here year around but maybe this one was migrating?  Mallards and gees were also out on the creek and an egret flew over the dam.  

Cold and windy

The thermometer said 31° and the birdbath was frozen.  Songbirds were hungry and there was no suet.  Barkbutter balls disappeared quickly.  Pine and myrtle warblers and titmice wanted calories fast.  Blue jays were afraid the barkbutter balls would run out.  Starlings intended to make that happen.  White throats avoided the competition by foraging on the ground.  Two female orioles did compete and burned energy chasing each other.  A mockingbird was not pleased to find the birdbath solid ice.  I wondered if the ant moat was frozen too, but at least it was in the sun. 

Egrets lined up below the dam to catch the rising sun. A great blue heron perched in a pine tree in the sun.  In the afternoon, I saw a female bufflehead on the wind-roughened creek   Then a pied bill grebe paddled downstream.  It paused for a good scratch.  A cormorant surfaced and a pelican landed.  Then a whole flock of hoodies came swimming and diving up the creek.  In the late afternoon, egrets gathered along the sunny side of the lake. 

I poured hot water in the birdbath and it froze again.  That disappointed a bluebird.and a couple of goldfinches.  I also refilled the barkbutter dish.  A brown headed and then a white breasted nuthatch collected some seeds.  K hung a fresh block of suet which immediately attracted a warbler.  Then a red winged blackbird showed up and tried the barkbutter balls and the suet.  One of the orioles got a drink right above the blackbird.  (They are cousins, but I don't think there's much family feeling.)  Warblers and then a downy got some suet. 

Three doves foraged under the seed feeder.  Several starlings returned for suet.  One warbler boldly ate suet right beside a much bigger starling.  I spotted a flicker up in a pine but mistook it for a red belly till I saw the photos.  A downy found the second suet feeder.  A Carolina wren hopped around the trees. A little bird flitting among the saltbushes was a ruby crowned kinglet!  

 

Frost

There was a pretty rime of ice on the money plant and mountain mint leaves but I don't think anything was killed.  The creek was glassy in the early light and the day warmed pretty quickly.  The sky was intensely blue though there were contrail streaks.  Male flowers on the pines joined the oaks in gilding surfaces with pollen.  Money plants formed buds and violets bloomed.  Azaleas began to flower but the blueberry buds would not be rushed. 

I spotted a pied-bill grebe on the creek but it dived and anyway vegetation fooled the camera focus.  A great blue heron supervised the turtles on the lake.  A great egret fished below the dam. 

Starlings took over the dish feeders.  A mockingbird drank from the birdbath.  Orioles savored the jelly.  in the bushes across the pool, two brown thrashers chased each other but I got no pictures.  Bluebirds eventually got some food.  A myrtle warbler foraged in the birdbath which had dried out during the day.  Then it hovered to peck suet.  Strange bird. 

Bees inspecting the rue for flowers were disappointed.  A black swallowtail only cared about the rue leaves that would feed caterpillars.  

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.  

Warm and full of woodpeckers

From breakfast through lunch, the pileated woodpeckers made several visits to the suet.  The male still hogged access, making the female wait till he was full.  She tried gleaning fallen crumbs but got bored and left.  That's why, when the male finally flew off, a downy tried to get a meal.  The female pileated noticed and hustled back for her turn.  At some point, a male red bellied woodpecker arrived but almost immediately panicked and flew away.  A starling slipped in briefly too. 

Other birds seemed intimidated too and only a brown thrasher ate barkbutter while the pileateds were eating suet.  Myrtle warblers watched from a distance.  A bluebird waited till the coast was clear.  Meanwhile there was some crow hanky-panky happening up in the trees. 

The temperature rose above 70° so in the afternoon I spent time outside without a jacket.  A strong south wind was pushing cloud shreds North while up where cirrus clouds form the wind came from the West.  It was gusty down where I was, so I was sometimes chilled.  That may be why the pelicans still came despite the temperature and sunshine.  

A squirrel found something to nibble that went from gray to orange as the squirrel worked.  I wonder what it was.  

Later in the afternoon, I saw the pied bill grebe.  Turtles covered the lake logs.  Two great blue herons kept their distance from each other.  But then one got into a staring match with a cormorant.  The cormorant expressed strong feelings at the heron and paddled away.  I think I saw a few dead fish washed up.  The barnacle incrustations on pilings appeared to have been scraped by the ice at the beginning of the week.  The full moon tide was so low that an egret stood well below the barnacle zone. 

Cold and gray

The birds were not in a sharing mood.  Bluebirds squabbled. Warblers chased each other all around the yard.  Starlings displaced all the others, even a red bellied woodpecker. A Carolina wren tried to stay out of trouble and get a meal.  So did a downy woodpecker.  A brown headed nuthatch managed to get a seed. 

Blue jays noticed I put out barkbutter balls today.They only want food they can carry away.  A mockingbird had some difficulty with the feeder.  A goldfinch showed up and got a drink.  Eventually the brown thrasher arrived.  It hammered the barkbutter as thought it was frozen. 

On intrepid turtle was out on the communal log.  Lots of pelicans came to fish.  Cormorants and hoodies joined in.  I even saw a pied bill grebe.  A squirrel ran through the yard with a mouthfull of leaves.  

Sunny

Though morning began with some ice, it soon became another sunny day in the 40s.  The mockingbird was up early.  A different cat, a tabby, came prowling.  Once it was gone, the bluebirds came out, then a brown thrasher and a Carolina wren.  Some camellia buds survived the two winter storms.  

Two mourning doves looked for lunch under the azalea.  Warblers, pine and myrtle, went back and forth between suet and barkbutter.  So did the bluebirds.  A mockingbird hunted where the doves had been, apparently after a hosta berry.  I spotted a female pileated woodpecker in the trees.  Of course, the white throats stayed on the ground.  And then at least three brown headed nuthatches monopolized the sunflower seeds, or tried to.  

The pelicans never stopped fishing all day but I missed a lot of shots.  Toward evening, two great blue herons kept watch on the creek, one from the dam the other on our dock.  I spotted a pied bill grebe in the last rays of the sun.  It dived and a cormorant came up.  Strange!  

Critters living dangerously

A female red bellied woodpecker had a go at the suet.  A squirrel worked on building another nest, this time with rattly magnolia leaves.  The temperature climbed past 70, but this was supposed to be the peak of the hot spell.  Yellow jackets took advantage of the temperature to feed on camellia blossoms.

I stole an hour outside after lunch and saw the sky getting cloudier.  On the creek there were a few buffleheads and a pied-bill grebe.  A squadron of geese flew downstream so low that one wing cut the surface.  An egret settled in at the lake.  

Crows screamed till they flushed some sort of hawk - the glimpse I got wasn't enough to identify it.  Actually, it was when the blue jays joined in that the raptor gave up.  A towhee tossed mulch behind the cedar then whistled as it ran down hill.  I think I heard another one in that direction.

After dark, a possum prowled around the birdbath ignoring us.  The dog slept through the visit.  K thought it was a very large possum but it looked normal to me.  Certainly it was a very bold and foolish marsupial. 

Windy & warm

I missed much of the morning, but the sky cleared and both the temperature and the wind rose.  I took a picture of the thermometer to prove we hit 70.  Gusts created leaf flurries and stripped the maple bare.  I wasted pixels trying to get the leaves in flight.  Taking a movie would have been more sensible but I didn't think of it.  

Mallards and a pied-bill grebe were out on the choppy creek.  A downy woodpecker was not deterred by the wind but something else spooked it.  There was a second flower on the paper narcissus.  I checked on the spider egg sack and it looked like it might have been opened.  But I couldn't get close enough to be sure.  

Busy day

I was stuck on Zoom for far too much of the time and yet I saw a lot of birds.  A white throated sparrow began the parade.  But I think it had conjunctivitis.  Then a brown thrasher settled on the bark butter and let me take many pictures. (The camera wanted to focus on the tree behind the bird.  I think that was because the tree was sunlit and the bird was in the shade.)  Soon the downy woodpeckers were busy on the suet.

On the creek, the little buffleheads were hanging out with the geese.  The kingfisher perched on the neighbors' dock.  Later a great blue heron stood on the bulkhead and an egret rested on our dock.  I saw a hoodie drake preening around the middle of the afternoon.  The grebe put in a brief appearance. 

During my rushed lunch, pine warblers took over the suet.  Then, curiously, the goldfinches evicted the warblers and appeared to eat suet.  So much for a vegetarian diet.  Meanwhile, a red breasted nuthatch sneaked past to get to the sunflower seeds.  After the goldfinches gave up, a Carolina wren took over the suet.  Suddenly, a white breasted nuthatch appeared.  It was chased off by the red bellied woodpecker.  

Great blue heron

Something caused a downy woodpecker to freeze on the post for a while.  I found a slug on the bark butter ball feeder.  Then there was a moment of drama: a great blue heron swooped down on another that was standing on the bulkhead and shoved the other bird into the creek.  The victor proceeded to do a heron war dance above while the vanquished hiked upstream below the bulkhead.  I wasn't fast enough to catch the confrontation, but I did get photos of the territorial display. 

At lunch, I saw the pied bill grebe again.  Afterward, titmice and a red breasted nuthatch joined chickadees and house finches on the sunflower feeder.  A Carolina wren took a bark butter ball.  But focus was not my friend.  I spotted a turtle on the lake, not on the preferred log because that was occupied by a goose.  The lake water was rushing to the dam though the creek was fairly placid.  Maybe that was because of the overnight rain?  Toward evening I saw a few hoodies. 

Clear skies

Clear and cold.  A brown thrasher came three times for bark butter balls.  I was waiting the fourth time, which never came.  At lunch, a pied bill grebe was visible on the creek.  It turned slowly in circles.  

A Carolina wren visited the feeders.  The red breasted nuthatch made many trips to the sunflower seeds.  Downy  woodpeckers stuck to suet.  A few hoodies fished under the bulkhead. 

The cloudless sky gave me a good look at the crescent moon.  

Migrants arrive

After breakfast, a hooded merganser drake paddled upstream all by himself.  He was almost two weeks early.  I expect them around Veterans Day.  The feral cat sashayed across the pool cover and pretended to hunt something under the azalea.  

So far downy woodpeckers have been the only birds interested in the suet block.  It's been a while since I last saw a red bellied woodpecker.  During lunch, I spotted a pied-bill grebe on the creek.  Someone's trash drifted past it.  Storm clouds circled the horizon in the middle of the day but nothing came of them.  The wind was not so fierce as the last two days but, with a temperature that barely made it to 60°, it wasn't pleasant outside.  

A house finch drove its kin and smaller birds from the sunflower seed feeder.  The red breasted nuthatch managed to get a turn and I managed to get a picture.  Not a very good one.  A Carolina wren got right into the bowl of bark butter balls like it planned to hatch them.  Most of the clouds disappeared before sunset and the remaining cumulus puffs turned peach color.  

Sunshine and COVID 19

It was very strange to know that many other people are now "homebound."  I saw neighbors out in their backyards and exploring the dam-and-watertower park.  Contrails proved that civilization had not come to a halt. The natural world was uninterested in human terrors.  I saw a butterfly, a beetle, paper wasps and yellow jackets, and a small black bee. A different butterfly appeared, an American Snout  Libytheana carinenta.

Out on the creek, a pied-bill grebe paddled around till I got up for a better look and it dived. Six turtles basked on their log.  Buds were swelling on the hackberry.  Dogwood blossoms were opening.  The first azalea flowers opened.  The oak trees were decked with gold tassels and one had red leaves unfolding.  Violets were blooming everywhere. 

Bold Carolina wrens fed well.  The cat lurked.  Red bellied and downy woodpeckers ventured out.  The butterbutt watched over the suet. 

Lovely weather

I was in virtual meetings morning and afternoon, but at breakfast I saw blue sky with wispy clouds and placid water reflecting sunlit trees.  The yellow rumped warbler continued to defend the suet from any bird it could intimidate.  That did not include the downy woodpeckers who also believe the suet belongs to them.  

A gray squirrel sunbathed on the pool cover.  White throated sparrows poked around in the mulch.  Leaves from bulbs were popping up through the pine bark and I found a couple of daffodils blooming.  I thought I glimpsed an osprey flying upstream.  The clouds got thicker and darker after lunch.  I went outside and tried to be inconspicuous, but the woodpeckers and a Carolina wren were not convinced.  A turtle also came up for some sun.  A pied bill grebe swam upstream, mostly under water. 

Gusty

At breakfast, the creek was shiny with reflections.   Juncos foraged under the seed feeder. 

I took the suet cage down to clean it before putting a fresh block of suet out.  Naturally, an orange crowned warbler picked that time to come looking for a treat.  It did not return when I put the fresh suet out, but a downy woodpecker soon found the feeder. Carolina wrens turned to the bark butter balls while the suet was gone. 

A large flock of blackbirds, many with red epaulettes flashing, shot across the creek and over the yard, headed into the wind.  That was all I saw of them.  The song sparrow took over foraging for seeds under that feeder. Chickadees and titmice took seeds to the camellia to hammer open.  A pine warbler found the bark butter dish feeder. 

The day was gorgeously warm and sunny, but every few minutes a gust of wind peeled the warmth away even though the wind was from the South.  That wind might have been why so many pelicans forsook the bay for our creek which had also become choppy.  But apparently pelicans could see through the rough water to the fish below.  Cormorants were fishing too and so was a pied bill grebe. 

Windy

It was sunny all day and the temperature was mild, but the wind stripped the warmth off exposed skin.  A Carolina wren greeted me at breakfast.  White throats were busy as well.  A half dozen cormorants fished their way upstream.

The warblers, myrtle and pine, came for lunch as did a lone red-winged blackbird.  A red breasted nuthatch once again got seeds without getting photographed.  The goldfinch watched from the pine tree.  Crows played with the wind.

The house finches had a little drama - one of two males brought the female a gift.  He was allowed on the feeder perch with her, but not the other male.  A titmouse just wanted a seed but got caught up in the play.

I went out to weed which naturally upset the birds.  I found a nice clump of pincushion moss Leucobryum glaucum.  There were some robins in the trees and I think I saw a cedar waxwing.  I definitely saw a pied bill grebe.  And by then I was half frozen and came in.

A grebe-ous day!

White throats were busy breakfasting.   Then crows showed why we can't have nice things.  They ate all the jelly and stole the bark butter tub, dumping the dish and hanger on the ground.  Juncos stayed in the trees.  But blue jays came to investigate.  Warblers still had their suet.  Downy woodpeckers insisted it was their suet.  

I saw a pied-billed grebe on the creek.  it posed very nicely, showing its size relative to a mallard and even lifting a foot out of the water for proof.  The mallards were feeling amorous, at least the drakes were.  A great blue heron waited beside the dam.  Cormorants swam around and looked a bit like the grebe from the back. 

Indoors, I noticed there was spiderweb around the house plants.  I didn't see any spiders, or any prey either. 

Bright and still

The creek is a mirror and the trees that still have leaves are glowing above and below.

By lunch, both the temperature and the breeze have come up. A male kingfisher visited the dock. A pelican splashed down beside it, startling the kingfisher off. Clouds of black birds maneuvered overhead. A merganser pair paddled upstream. Bees are still harvesting rosemary nectar. And I think I hear a grasshopper.

Chickadees can't count. As I was sitting on the patio, with no birds stirring, Kathleen came up to me and then walked away. Immediately the chickadees started flying to the feeder as though I had disappeared.

Toward dusk the water was again still. A grebe went diving and popping up all the way up the creek. Great numbers of cormorants were flying to wherever they roost, some over the dam, some upstream, and some down. Crickets got loud as the sun set.

Curious titmouse

As I was working at the sink, a tufted titmouse was watching from the camellia bush outside the window. It hopped around to get a better look at me. Unfortunately, there's a screen on that window, so no photo.

The sun has returned and grebe and a cormorant were on the creek, and a chickadee on the feeder. Later, the creek was visited by pelicans and a kingfisher, as well as gulls, ducks and geese. At dusk a black and white bird bigger than the Canada geese paddled upstream. A part-Muscovy duck?

The snowbells are beginning to bloom. We inherited them with the yard and I've never been able to nail down their proper name, but Googling "snowbells" brings up the right images.