Rain

I woke up to rain which was welcome because this year has been too dry.  A female pileated woodpecker pecked at the suet during a lull.  The rain stopped  before lunch and a family of awkward fledgling titmice came for seeds.  The sun came out in the late afternoon.  A skink ambled along a timber.  

Pileated woodpecker

Temperatures in the 80s were a relief.  A female pileated woodpecker visited and hopped on the patio.  They are not built for walking.  I wonder if it was the fledgling?  At lunch a mockingbird visited.  Afterward, I had a swim and evicted a few beetles and an indignant spider.  A tiger swallowtail flitted overhead.

Then I went off to help table at an event at the zoo.  I didn't visit the zoo's animals but watched an aerial ballet of dragonflies.  Crows gathered on the dead top of conifer, maybe a spruce.  As we left at twilight, a rabbit dashed across the walkway.  I saw some swifts picking up the insect patrol as the dragonflies retired.  But I was plagued with fleas or noseeums out in the grassy field where the tables were.  I had forgotten to spray myself before leaving home.  

 

Pileated females

A Carolina wren greeted sunshine under a hazy sky.  A nervous cardinal grabbed a seed but son the dominant male chased him off.  The dominant pair then kissed beaks.  A house finch landed on the hummer feeder for no good reason.  Another squirrel misjudged its jump and fell, this time out of the redwood so at least thirty feet, but I didn't see a corpse.  A crow felt the need of another bath.  

I saw a tiger swallowtail and the little butterfly I guessed was an azure.  Four spiders needed to be evicted from the skimmer.  I also removed a couple of scarabs from the water.  A mosquito (or something with an interest in my blood) was annoying till I managed to splash it.  As I dripped afterward, a female squirrel - the one with the odd patch of pale fur - came close  in order to forage under the feeder.  A brown thrasher was more cautious.  

Two apparently female pileated woodpeckers landed.  One ate suet while the other sat on the roof and watched.  I guessed the one of the roof was a fledgling, no longer being fed by mama.  Sunset turned rose and purple but I didn't bestir myself for any pictures.  

 

Bugs

At breakfast, a pileated woodpecker visited the suet but left so fast I don't know which sex it was.   Again the afternoon temperature was in the 90s and the water was a little warmer.  I rescued spiders and beetles and one small wasp, very carefully.  Some of the spiders were goners as was a green stinkbug.  When I deadheaded a rose, I disturbed an assassin bug nymph.  The little butterfly made the rounds again.  

Cold

The day was gray and chilly with at least one shower and a fierce wind gust.  I saw all three woodpeckers at different times.  The female pileated was first, midway the red belly sneaked in, and the downy came last.  A brown thrasher showed up at least twice.  K's crow strutted up the steps to check if any fresh treats had materialized.  I caught a glimpse of something dark hovering around a red rose, maybe a hummer, maybe something else.  A few blue jays and bluebirds visited.  

Petrichor

Word of the day, petrichor is the name for the smell after a shower or light rain.  I learned this from a children's book, After the Rain by Eleanor Spicer Rice, but I wasn't that impressed with the book otherwise.  There was rain overnight but the day was sunny.  A blue jay posed on the railing.  The mockingbird didn't cooperate with the camera.  The female pileated came for suet.  

The milkweed buds were turning orange and an orange butterfly flew through the yard.  I saw a bud on the magnolia.  A Carolina wren inspected the feeders.  K tempted crows with french fries.  I saw the little butterfly I think was a Spring azure.  A bluebird visited.but the red belly was not willing to come to a feeder while I was outside.  The yellow cat sauntered up from the creek, then saw me and skedaddled.  

 

Rainy day

A wet, dreary, chilly day brought few birds.  A male pileated woodpecker came for a late breakfast.  A Carolina wren joined us at lunch.  The camera fought with the water-spotted window.  

 

Bright again

Sunshine returned but not warmth.  A cardinal sampled the jelly.  I missed a blue jay and a bluebird but the red belly cooperated.  White throats were still hanging around.  A squirrel had a badly abused tail, probably from a mating competition.  

The female pileated came back for the suet remnant.  Her crest was up, whether because the suet was almost gone or some other reason.  She seemed to freeze for a while on the post so maybe there was a raptor around.  

 

 

 

 

A cabbage white flew despite the wind but that was the only butterfly I saw.   A white breasted nuthatch came for seeds.  

Very pleasant

A crow came looking for a handout but nothing was ready.  It had a feather sticking up.  Then the female pileated arrived and tore up the suet.  A blue jay was only interested in barkbutter balls.  A brown thrasher felt the same.  A Carolina wren was less choosy.  In the afternoon, I spilled the bag of barkbutter balls and a white throat took advantage.  It was late in the day when I finally saw bluebirds.

A yellow jacket queen prospected around the birdbath.  A skink tiptoed across the lower patio but I didn't get a picture.  I also missed a tiger swallowtail, a silver spotted skipper, a red bellied woodpecker, and a mockingbird.  

Pileated woodpecker

The sky was gray all day and quite dark at one point, but there were only a couple of brief showers.  However, the temperature, which was comfortable at breakfast, dropped steadily down into the 50s.  Wind gusts made it even colder.  A bluebird showed up at breakfast and returned throughout the day.  Yellow flag iris opened.  

White throats dallied but arrived for lunch.  Carolina wrens also visited then.  I saw the pair flirting under a chair.  The cardinals were courting too.  After lunch, the female pileated woodpecker came for suet.  She dropped lots of crumbs to the delight of little birds.  

Warmer

A blue jay demanded breakfast.  The song sparrow hunted for its own meal.  A starling arrived after the dish was empty.  A white throat posed flaunting its field marks.  A downy worked to extract the last morsels of suet, but dropped some.  The sunshine felt warm but the breeze did not. 

The temperature sneaked above 70° at lunch before dropping back to the upper 60s.  While I only saw a bumblebee, I expect the birds found more insects to eat.  The regulars visited the feeders but didn't seem especially hungry. The male pileated wanted some suet but little remained.  Annoyingly, a brown thrasher on the barkbutter dish kept its back to me.  A pair of doves perched in the oak.  Bluebirds ate seeds.  They like something in the mix I bought from WBU.  A crow hoped to find something tasty.  

Chilly

Today looked lovely but it was cold to the touch.  I had meetings morning, afternoon, and evening so I only saw birds at mealtimes.  K kept them fat and happy with mealworms and barkbutter balls.  A white throat sat on a chair arm until we got the point.  The red belly male just worked on seeds.  A white breasted nuthatch stopped me as I came in the door.  Bluebirds showed up at lunch.  A male downy ate seeds just like the red belly.  A starling wasted barkbutter balls.  

In the afternoon, a mockingbird couple checked out the menu.  Trying to get them both in the frame, I got overexposed blurs.  One monopolized the suet and the other seemed agitated.  Later The male pileated landed so it was a three woodpecker day, all males.  

Green day

The storm went with the night and morning was full of sunshine and birds.  The temperature had dropped to 40, but not to the predicted freeze.  Sparrows foraged with a couple of doves.  A Carolina wren ate barkbutter while a myrtle warbler waited.  A female bluebird chose seeds but a blue jay stayed with barkbutter balls.  Then the bluebirds wanted barkbutter balls too.  

The male pileated came for lunch.  I hope he takes some back to the female.  Then a starling found the barkbutter balls almost gone.  So it tried the suet the pileated was eating.  The woodpecker didn't seem bothered but the starling was taken aback, literally.  

Overcast

Occasional sunshine and more frequent wind gusts punctuated a mostly overcast day.  I saw 78° on the thermometer again.  The pileated woodpeckers made repeated visits to the suet.  White throats polished off some barkbutter but there was plenty for a pale pine warbler.  

Daffodils were in full bloom, not just the dwarf clumps.  Other bulbs were sending up leaves.   A pelican flew upstream past the silent dredge equipment.  I noticed that the Argiope egg sack looked deflated so perhaps the spiderlings took advantage of the warm wind to spread out.  

The male red bellied woodpecker returned but spooked before he got any suet.  Then the female pileated showed up, so maybe that's why he left.  A cormorant paddled past the dredge barge.  Others flew to their roost under heavy clouds.  

 

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.

 

Spa time

Morning was sunny.  The male pileated was an early visitor.   To my surprise, a mockingbird partook of the jelly.  Bluebirds and Carolina wrens wanted barkbutter balls.  Later, so did a myrtle warbler, then a blue jay, then a white throat.  Meanwhile other sparrows took advantage of the warmth for a bath.  One was a song sparrow.  

A starling looked beautiful in the sunlight, even if it was eating way too much.  The sky was hazy and clouds came and went.  Cardinals also wanted a bath.  A brown headed nuthatch just wanted seeds.  The female pileated got a turn at the suet.  A dove searched through the mulch.  In the afternoon, the temperature dropped and the sky got gray, then misty.  

 

Even warmer

The early bird was a myrtle warbler.  I was glad to see the song sparrow foraging.  A Carolina wren went straight to the barkbutter balls.  Two starlings picked through the barkbutter balls.  Bluebirds followed them.  Then a white throat ate some.  The dredgers brought in a two-story work boat for some reason I couldn't figure out. The sky was hazy but sunny and the temperature reached 78°.  The pileated swooped in for some suet.  A brown headed nuthatch slipped away before I had the camera ready.  

 

Gray

The rain ended but the overcast persisted.  The pileated pair argued about pecking order. When they left a Carolina wren took over the suet.   A myrtle warbler pecked forlornly at the barkbutter crumbs.  A mockingbird was getting ready to do the same when a starling knocked it off the dish.  All that for nothing.  A junco foraged under the seed feeder along with sparrows.  

Out on the creek, a ring bill gull rested on a post.   A pine warbler watched from the feeder hanger while a wren chased crumbs in the glass dish.  Then a white throat had to have a look.  Then a bluebird and a starling.  The starling moved on to the suet.  Both wrens took turns on the feeders.  Meanwhile two female orioles queued up for the jelly.  

All day rain

K left the jelly and barkbutter covered so the menu was reduced to seeds and suet.  The pileated pair were fine with that.  A Carolina wren, a myrtle and an orange crowned warbler also ate suet.  Bluebirds just left.  White throats picked through the dead, wet vegetation. I glimpsed a junco and a song sparrow as well.  The male red bellied woodpecker hung under the suet.  Pelicans and gulls flew past the dredging that returned to our section of the creek.  

Warmer

Again, a sunny morning was reflected in the placid creek, but later the day turned cloudy.  Blue jays and pine warblers got excited about the barkbutter balls.  White throats pursued breakfast everywhere.  A female oriole tried the suet.  Brown headed nuthatches sneaked past the other seed eaters.  Turkey vultures continued to circle over the creek.  A Carolina wren found crumbs in the barkbutter dish.  Three starlings were disappointed.  

At lunch, the female pileated demolished suet.  A mourning dove roamed the mulch.  A warbler and a wren had a stare-off over the suet.  Pelicans were thick - I saw three in the air at once.  After I refilled the barkbutter dish, a myrtle warbler had some.  Blue jays came back.  Bluebirds also showed up.  The red bellied woodpecker landed on the post but then froze as though sensing a predator.  The house finches on the seed feeder did the same.