A hot week

Yesterday was still hot.  A pine warbler considered the barkbutter balls.  Then blue jays arrived, and white throats.  K spilled some on the patio for a crow.  The pines and oaks shed pollen.   Flower bud spikes appeared on the wild cherry.  

Today was supposedly the last of the heatwave.  Azaleas opened but jonquils withered.  A cabbage white flitted through the vegetation.  A white throat checked to see if the dish had been refilled.  Two more hopped around in a dogwood.  Another perched by the fence.  Blue jays noticed when I refilled the dish.  

High wind

Another hot and hazy, sunny day was alleviated by strong winds.  The dogwood blossoms were done, even the curly mutant flowers, and the wind sent petals skipping.  The male pine floweres had fallen to the ground.  A starling picked at barkbutter crumbs.  A blue jay thought about it.  A Carolina wren ate suet, then checked on the barkbutter dish.  A red bellied woodpecker also wanted suet.  I saw a downy and a pileated but didn't rush for the camera.  

I planted moonflower seeds that I'd carefully nicked and soaked - fingers crossed.  While I was outside, a very red-faced skink wondered if I was safe to approach.  Flying insects caught the sunllight and I hoped they were dragonflies.  One may have been a ladybug.  Bluebirds came for seeds.  

Woodpecker trio

Blue jays were happy I finally got around to refilling the barkbutter dish. In fact, they mus have posted a sentinel to keep watch.  The white throats were beginning to look ragged, molting for the breeding season, I suppose.  The male pine flowers have been spewing pollen all week but I finally saw some female flowers emerging.   They're the ones sometimes called candles.  The oak flowers had turned brown and were dropping. 

The pileated flew up to the post while I was outside and though I didn't move the bird spooked, so no photo.  After I came back in, a red belly arrived, then a downy.   The downy went for seeds since the bigger red belly wanted suet.  He looked different from the red belly male that I saw before.  This one hasn't much red on his belly.  The day was hot as predicted, up in the 80s again, but there was sunshine because the overcast was very thin.

A small dark butterfly eluded me as it fed and flitted.  Then I was fooled into thinking I saw a new bug when it was a violet bobbing in the breeze.  Somewhat later, a cabbage white did a good imitation of a falling dogwood petal.  A skink with a very red head sauntered along the step wall.  

Cooler

The temperature dropped over night and rain fell at some point.  More clouds than sun kept the day a seasonable temperature.  Although I put out barkbutter balls the birds did not show a lot of enthusiasm.  I missed getting a picture of a brown headed nuthatch.  Blue jays, a myrtle warbler, and a bluebird ate some barkbutter balls.  White throats stayed busy.  The pines were covered with male flowers, gilding everything with pollen.  The oak flower strings began to brown and rosy miniature leaves poked out above.

The tree is gone

Finally a male downy joined the female in consuming the suet.   However, a white breasted nuthatch harbored suet ambitions.  A tawny, long-haired cat watched the feeders till it saw me.  It was quite leonine.  A nervous bluebird snatched a barkbutter ball and fled.  A molting goldfinch appeared to have fleece pantaloons. 

The tree removal was remarkably quick considering how long we waited to have it done.  And no sooner was it finished than the rain began.  Juncos and sparrows hunted in the mulch.  A Carolina wren hung underneath the suet, making an umbrella of dinner.  Pine and myrtle warblers quarreled with each other but had no luck dislodging the wren. 

A tree fell

And I didn't hear it.  It was the pine at the water's edge where the night heron liked to perch.  I think it was doomed because ordinary high tides had been inundating its roots.  But it fell toward the creek, so it was the landward side that let go.  

In other news, the rain was mostly drizzle and mist but it was cold.  We skipped from summer to winter or so it felt.  Birds came for seeds, including a brown headed nuthatch.  The hummer feeder was flooded and the barkbutter balls were flooded, so sunflower seeds were the only thing on the menu.  I could see flutters in the trees so maybe other birds were eating berries.  

Gusty

It wasn't windy at breakfast but by lunch the trees were whipping in all directions.  Old leaves blew up the steps, then back down or off to the side.  The creek surface wrinkled as wavelets ran in different directions.  With fewer obstacles, the clouds moved steadily East. The wind did not seem to bother the pileated woodpeckers, but smaller birds stayed low.  A starling landed on the suet, then a crow landed on the roof and glared at it and they both flew away. 

A cabbage white took shelter from the wind behind a clump of narcissus.  The hackberry began leafing out much earlier than usual.  Flower buds appeared on the wild cherry and the sweet gum.  And one of the pines looked about to burst into pollen.  The wind tore flowers off the neighbor's camellia and flung them on the dead leaves and pine cones under our trees. 

In the corner by the hose spigot, a Carolina wren popped up and disappeared.  A white throated sparrow foraged back there.  Then the cardinals shared a tender moment.  A male bluebird watched. A pine warbler got some suet without being bullied.  A female red bellied woodpecker went for the other suet block by the back window. 

Despite the intermittent sunshine, I saw no turtles.  However, I did see a pair of wood ducks land in the creek and paddle upstream.  Another bird in the water looked like the pied bill grebe but it had its back to me.  Four great egrets arranged themselves around the dam.  They were flaunting fancy breeding plumage but appeared more interested in fish.  A big one jumped beyond their reach.    A great blue heron flew in and disturbed their order.  

The clouds had been looking quite stormy and K said they were spitting rain.  Then the sun slipped below the cloud layer and lit up the far trees.  The remaining clouds turned peach, then rose while everything was bathed in a warm red light. 

Cold again

The wind shifted around to the North and, after a warm week, seasonable temperatures felt cold.  The overcast thinned to let sunlight through now and then but the day was more cloudy than not.  Barkbutter balls lured yellow rumped warblers and made them thirsty.  Blue jays took more than their share but the male red bellied woodpecker got some.  A bluebird acted territorial and drove another away from the barkbutter balls.  Then he hung around in the dogwood just in case the other bird came back. 

A couple of white throated sparrows scurried around the patio.  A dove was slower. And a couple of juncos hunted for fallen food.  The male had a sprinkle of white feathers around his eyes.  The female had a bath.  Why did she wait for the temperature to drop? 

Buds were swelling and turning green on the sweet gum.  A male bluebird investigated the gum balls.  I observed before how much a sweet gum pod resembled a coronavirus but today I noticed a new candidate - the male pine flowers.  Can pollen be far behind?    

The juvenile brown pelican raised its wings when trying to swallow the fish it had caught.  Egrets were actively fishing.  When one landed near another I expected hostilities but they were warily tolerant of each other.  The low new moon tide exposed marine invertebrates.  Crows prospected in the mud.  In the evening, several clouds of cormorants flew downstream. 

Gusty

With all the outdoor items secured, we awaited the remnants of Hurricane Laura.   A squirrel made off with an entire green pine cone.  The hibiscus wasted at least nine blossoms on the blustery day.  A blue jay checked out the menu. 

After lunch the clouds looked very fierce but moved very fast as well.  They alternated with sunshine.  The wind did not deter the wasps or a buckeye.  An adult skink had a regrown tail.  A murder of crows gathered noisily, but I had no idea why.  Hummers ignored it.

I found a third monarch chrysalis, this one dangling from the rose bush.  There was rain around 4pm but it didn't accumulate to much.  The sky was mostly clear by sunset as birds flew home and dragonflies sieved the air of gnats.  Cicadas were very loud. 

Mild

It wasn't nearly as warm as yesterday, but still warmer than expected for this time of year.  A female oriole popped up early on the suet.  Then the male red bellied woodpecker took over.  I wonder if the reason only one comes at a time is that they are trading off incubating duty?  The downy woodpeckers come together, but not out of love apparently. 

Titmice were hungry for everything.  Blue jays got the best of me again. But a Carolina wren kindly posed.  The myrtle warbler tried to find the wrens.  White throats searched for fallen seeds.  The female red bellied woodpecker arrived a couple hours after the male. 

A buzzard flew over the flat water.  A housefly showed up indoors.  One pine tree showed flower buds.  Soon everything will be dusted with gold. 

More sunshine

A great blue heron flew upstream over the glassy creek.  A Carolina wren came for mealworms.  A white throated sparrow kept to the shade under the azalea.  I swapped out the suet block and put the old one in the new hanger I bought for the front patio.

At lunch time a smaller flock of cormorants fished, but not with the frenzy or other birds of the last several days. Mallards were out on the creek along with geese. 

Later a katydid landed on the window.  I also saw bees on the rosemary.  The pine trees are loaded with cones.  I wonder if that will attract different birds?  Toward evening, a kingfisher dived several times from a piling.  A male hoodie paddled around with the cormorants and geese.

Lots of fishing

Pelicans cruised the creek and a crow chased a gull.  A male bufflehead and cormorants fished from the surface.  I also saw a couple of egrets.  It was a gorgeous fall morning and the sun made everything glow.

The junco came back along with chickadees.  A yellow rumped warbler flitted about.  A woodpecker hammered the neighbors' gazebo.  Little brown jobs I suspect were brown creepers hopped up the oak trunk.  Blue jays called as did several birds I didn't recognize.  A buzzard soared.  Bees and yellowjackets were busy and buzzed me twice. The pine trees are loaded with cones so some birds and squirrels will eat well. 

After lunch we went over to Lake Lawson Natural Area.  It was really warm!  Where the road crosses the water we saw egrets and ducks.  When we walked back the ducks were gone.  A flock of robins rushed around the treetops.  A pileated woodpecker called.  There were other birds but they wouldn't come out and pose. As we were leaving, I saw a white cabbage butterfly flying. 

When we got home, ants were swarming in the mulch - creepy!  The moon was waxing toward full against a clear blue sky.  Much later around 11pm, it was still shining brightly, but clouds were streaming past out of the North.