Waterfowl

A wren dug into the seeds for breakfast.  So did a downy. I saw a goldfinch, but it got away.   A brown headed nuthatch also collected seeds.  K put our a fresh block of suet and the warblers found it.  The clouds lifted as time passed. At high tide, I spotted the orange cat perched on a stump at the water's edge.  

Pelicans fished along our stretch of the creek.  A variety of gulls fished too - herring, ring bill, and black back.  The sight of a great black back gull with a fish attracted a young pelican still in brown plumage.  A great egret flew upstream.  A cormorant photo-bombed a picture of a gull.  I saw another red breasted merganser.  A great blue heron stood watch below the dam. A mallard pair paddled across the water.  A female bufflehead dived.  

Robins

There was a light frost and a skin of ice on the creek at first, but the sun quickly warmed everything.  A little flock of robins landed to drink from the pool puddle.  I was not surprised they were thirsty because there's been no rain this month and very little in January.  A different flock squabbled in the back yard across the creek.  It looked to me like one vulture had something that the others wanted.  They spread out their wings and danced around like boxers.  I saw one with a black head and several with red heads.  An eagle swooped past and kept going.  

At the feeders we had a red belly, a blue jay, a Carolina wren, a mockingbird, a bluebird, a pair of orioles, a pine and a myrtle warbler.  On the ground, the song sparrow joined the white throats.  A crow promenaded past the door.   The blue jay scolded me for letting the barkbutter balls run low.  

A brown headed nuthatch showed up for lunch.  Most of the breakfast birds returned.  I also saw through the trees an egret and a pelican and a duck I couldn't identify.   That made me decide to do a third bird count from a window with a better view of the creek.  I was rewarded with a bufflehead, a pair of hooded mergansers, and a red breasted merganser.  Pelicans were easier to photograph and I could identify the gulls.  One was a ringed bill and another was a great black backed gull.  At least four cormorants were fishing or drying out.  

I finally succeeded in accessing eBird on the laptop and using Merlin on the phone. 

Changeable weather

The creek was lovely at breakfast, but of course it didn't last.  The wind brought clouds and ruffled the water.  The mockingbirds bustled around looking for food.  The female pileated woodpecker reduced the suet to a nubbin.  Starlings helped.  White breasted nuthatches came for seeds and were soon followed by brown headed nuthatches.  

Bumblebees were happy with the money plant.  A cabbage white agreed.  An odd duck bathed in the creek.  I think it was a red breasted merganser but vegetation was in the way and the bird was twisting around.  A sudden shower swept through right at supper time.  It barely got the pavement wet before the cloud moved on and we had a pretty sunset.  

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Signs of Spring

The sun shone and the creek shone back.   Starlings came early to finish off the suet.  A yellow rumped warbler hung around hoping for a chance at the suet.  Then a fish drive swept through.  It was a flock of red breasted mergansers again.  Either they were all female or the males were in winter drab.  I didn't see any fish, though - maybe they swallow them under water?  There were well over two dozen ducks.  A cormorant that joined the fun was distinctly larger.  A little while later the flock came straggling back downstream. 

A white throated sparrow perched on a dogwood branch.  A brown headed nuthatch visited the birdbath for a drink before seeds.  It was very picky and tossed many away.   A Carolina wren worked on the remnant of suet.  A mockingbird wandered around the pool cover, then took a turn at the suet.  

A blue jay wondered if I had refilled the dish feeders.  I hadn't.  Downy woodpeckers worked on the suet.  Red bellied woodpeckers appeared and disappeared without eating.  A pileated woodpecker made a brief inspection.  That motivated me to get the dishes refilled.  Later. K hung another block of suet.

After lunch the temperature reached 78 but there was a cool breeze.  I went out and watched insects.  There were lots of Polistes wasps harvesting wood pulp.  Carpenter and bumblebees were hunting nectar.  Cabbage whites also sought refreshment.  Later I saw a dark butterfly.  A squirrel ate tender oak leaves.  Rusty-red ants roamed the concrete looking for food, I suppose.  And then ... I saw a skink!  It was an adult with a regrown tail. 

A white breasted nuthatch came for seeds despite my proximity.   I snapped a picture of glimpsed movement and got a blue gray gnatcatcher!  Along the creek shore came a yellow crowned night heron, first this season.  It tread delicately through the goose deterrents. 

The sky was mostly clear but at sunset a small cloud picked up the orange light.  The newspaper today discussed the warm winter and prognostications for outdoor planting.  Ken Spencer said, "December, January and February — was a warm one. The average high was 2.2 degrees above normal; the average low, 3.7 degrees above normal; and the mean, 2.4 degrees above, according to the National Weather Service, Norfolk. All three months were above normal. The highest recorded temperature for the period was 77, on Jan. 26; the lowest low, 22 on Jan. 17. I counted 22 days in which the temperature was 32 or below. And of those, only 10 days were 28 or below, the weather service threshold for a hard freeze. Seven of those days came between Jan. 16 and 23. That was our winter."  He also spoke about the rain and wind, and no doubt wrote before this past week's drenching.  For gardening, he echoed the advice I posted a couple of days ago. 

Cold sun

Two mockingbirds came for breakfast.  Yellow rumped warblers were also up early.   The female red bellied woodpecker chose seeds but the male wanted suet.  His belly was redder than hers.  A junco visited but didn't come near the feeders.  I saw a white breasted nuthatch but it spooked and didn't come back.  White throated sparrows cleaned up the patio.  A female oriole checked the jelly dish.

Fierce wind gusts disturbed the creek.  A flock of female red breasted mergansers rolled through the water chasing fish.  Pelicans and egrets cruised over the creek avoiding the worst of the wind.  

4 and 20 blackbirds

It was sunny and very cold.  Daffodil leaves emerged nevertheless.  I was not up early and the blue jays and the red bellied woodpecker were waiting.  Bluebirds were not far behind.  Warblers ate suet since the larger birds were eating barkbutter balls. 

A flock of red winged blackbirds visited the suet and foraged on the ground.  A blue jay was disappointed that the birdbath was frozen.  I took a distant photo of what I assumed was a downy but it was a yellow bellied sapsucker.  The mockingbird came looking for a handout.  A real downy raised his red topknot at a male bluebird on the suet.  A female bluebird ate seeds.  The song sparrow foraged below.  The orioles kept an eye on the jelly. 

It was Squirrel Appreciation Day and the dog appreciated them the only way he knew.  Apparently it was a good fishing day.  Egrets gathered along the sunny side of the creek.  A flock of red breasted mergansers worked their way up and down the creek repeatedly all afternoon.   A few hoodies joined in, then some buffleheads arrived.  A great blue heron stayed up on the lake.  There were pelicans but they didn't land where I could see. 

Too many cats!

I don't know if people are being careless with their pets or if they are purposely dumping cats here, but this winter there have been cats I'd never seen before.  One is all black and the other yellow and long haired.  And the resident feral tuxedo cat showed up today too.  Fortunately the two new ones don't seem to be birdwatchers.  

Morning was cold, wet, and gray which didn't stop the downy woodpeckers.  The rain washed pollen onto the pool cover and made strange patterns, but it didn't fill the birdbath.  A white throated sparrow ventured out anyway, and I glimpsed a song sparrow.  Starlings were back - why doesn't the cat watch those?  

On the lake, shovelers were doing their carousel paddling trick to stir up the bottom.  It was too cold for turtles.  Down on the creek, a lone female bufflehead paddled upstream.  Three female hoodies passed two mallard drakes headed downstream.  

At lunch, the silly myrtle warbler was hovering at the suet again.  A Carolina wren inspected everything till an oriole bullied it off the barkbutter balls that I put out when the rain stopped.  The oriole filled her beak like a blue jay.  A few juncos poked through the mulch.  The sky gradually cleared.  A pine warbler wanted barkbutter balls too.   

Sunshine brought the turtles out.  The household that built the new dock next to the dam finally set the purple martin birdhouse up but I don't think they mounted it high enough or in a good spot.  A flock of red breasted mergansers fished up and down the creek and back again.  I saw six females and one drake.  Hoodies were also paddling around but diving less.  Then a female kingfisher appeared.  I might have stared too hard because she took off.  

Dandelion winter

The day began with a frozen birdbath and ice on the creek, but the melt set in quickly.  A downy woodpecker was already at work.  A myrtle warbler popped up next.  White throats followed. 

I put out jelly for orioles and a squirrel got into it.  Blue jays went for the bark butter balls.  Starlings noticed that my clever upsidedown suet had slipped to merely leaning.  I fixed that.  A pine warbler had a tough time with the repositioned suet.  A female oriole did finally come to eat (the second serving of) jelly.  It was a lemon yellow one, not the female with the richer, darker yellow-orange,

Robins drank from the pool which was not iced over.  A junco looked at seeds frozen in the birdbath.  The Carolina wren investigated crannies. 

An egret prowled along the bulkhead at low tide.  Herons flew along the creek - I think the one behind was chasing off an interloper.  I saw some pelicans but got no pictures. 

During lunch, a flock of red breasted mergansers chased fish upstream. Hoodies and buffleheads joined in. A red breasted nuthatch finally sat still for a portrait session.  After looking in every direction, it leaped to the post and peeked around. 

When I went out to run an errand, I noticed dandelions blooming along the road.  They take advantage of every warm day. They are so adaptable, they will probably survive our species. Toward evening, the tide sank very low.  A cormorant wrestled a fish that seemed far too big.  The bird dived so I don't know who won. 

Flocks

 A titmouse snatched a seed for breakfast.  The orioles and warblers had suet.  A Carolina wren went to the seed feeder and then to the suet.  But the female downy hopped on the suet cage and the pine warbler left.  So did the wren after a moment.  Then an oriole joined the downy.  Eventually the male oriole ventured out and the suet looked like a circus.  But the female oriole had a hissy fit and got the whole suet to herself, at least till another female hopped on.  White throats stayed on the ground.  A goldfinch made a brief visit but ate nothing, like a vegan at a barbecue. 

 A hoodie drake sailed downstream.  At least a dozen crows took over the yard.  Five lined the roof like a bad omen come to roost.  They took off and starlings arrived.  I scared them off and both flocks gathered in the oak.  I sat close to the glass to keep them away and saw red breasted mergansers and other fishing birds chasing a school of fish upstream, then back down.  They churned a path through the middle of the creek, but the vegetation kept throwing the camera focus off.  On the way back they were slower so I could plan for gaps in the twigs. Pelicans flew over their wake. 

I put out jelly in a separate dish from the fresh tub of bark butter.  It took the orioles less than five minutes to find the dish.  The clouds broke up and let the sun through in the afternoon.  But I decided I had to catch up with my responsibilities so what the birds did, I do not know.  The night ski was clear and the air was sharp.  Half a moon, stars, and a planet watched me get lost and retrace my steps in the dark. 

New moon

A couple of geese marched onto the patio after breakfast.  Despite still being in my robe, I went out to chase them.  The breeze was chilly under a cloudless sky.  Downy and red bellied woodpeckers also visited.

The summer-suited, yellow rumped warbler returned before lunch.  So did the red bellied woodpeckers.  Titmice were after seeds, as usual, but also had a little suet.  One sat on the mealworm dish rim, but I think it had brought a seed over to  work on.  The house wren reappeared and again checked into the suet cage.  By that time there were lots of clouds.

Later in the afternoon, two female read breasted mergansers plowed through the water chasing something.  A brown thrasher lurked briefly in the dogwood.  It's been months since I last saw one.

As I came out of my meeting downtown, the new moon and an evening star were close to setting. The "star" was of course the planet Venus.

Hot!

Still too much wind for good bird watching. The white throats stayed low to the ground.  One of the white morphs looked very spiffy while a tan morph looked like it needed new feathers.  Downy woodpeckers didn't let the wind stop their visits to the suet. 

The money plants were blooming like mad and the azaleas started. The turtles were out basking.  Again, I saw two female red breasted mergansers hanging out together. I was away most of the day.  On my way across the HRBT, I saw a swallow gleaning insects close to the road.  On the way back somewhere around Lightfoot I saw what I think was an eagle.  In neither case could I take a photo. By the time I got home the light had gone.  The white throats were still scurrying around and a male cardinal was eating seeds from the feeder.

Gray sky

A female red bellied woodpecker breakfasted on suet.  Then the downy got a turn.  White throats foraged on the ground. A couple of female red breasted mergansers paddled and dived their way upstream. Telltale paw prints on the pool cover let me know a raccoon had visited, probably for a drink. Flower stalks emerged on the purple iris.

There were lots of busy birds in the front yard, but it was hard to get them to pose.  Cardinals stayed in the evergreens.  A yellow rumped warbler hopped past the car.  Another, much further along toward summer plumage, flitted from limb to limb in the juniper.  I saw a flower bud on the clematis.  And the chionodoxa was flowering.  Bumblebees were at work making blueberries.

Sunny, still cold

White throated sparrows were not cooperating at breakfast.  downy woodpeckers and chickadees were willing to be photographed, but they always are.  I saw a couple of osprey flying over Broad Creek on the way to church.  A blue jay landed almost beside me, though outside the window I was inside, but when I tried to get the camera going, off it flew. Despite the cold, turtles were soaking up the sun in the afternoon.  A cormorant pretended to be a figurehead on the prow of the log. 

A pair of mallards napped by the water's edge in our yard. The Muscovy was still hanging out with the geese only on the other side of the creek.  Toward evening, I saw something that looked like a kingfisher take off from the neighbor's dock.  Red breasted mergansers were still diving in the creek.  In the twilight, a great egret was visible at the dam outfall.

Cold wind

The cat came by, its belly hanging low.  Pregnant?  After it disappeared the white throats reappeared.  A male downy worked on the suet.  A blue jay got away without a photo.  So did two ospreys that zoomed upstream.

A red breasted merganser paddled downstream.  A yellow rumped warbler was growing a black mask for breeding season.  Another still had a gray face.  I chased, with the camera, a gnatcatcher through the trees. 

A different kind of hawk was run off by crows.  It had a pale underside with no markings that I could see.  And it had a stick in its beak.  I did some weeding and seeding and then came back in to get warm.  The wind grounded all the insects except flies. 

Blue sky

It was chilly especially in the shade and wind.  But I saw spider threads catch the sunlight.  Bumblebees were all over the jessamine but a few worked on the blueberry flowers. 

Titmice came for seeds, as did white throats, on the feeder and under it.  I had a running battle with squirrels over the mealworm dish  They won.  But the butterbutts got some too.  A wren was interested but the squirrel was in the way.  A blue jay helped itself.  A starling was blocked by the squirrel.  Another squirrel was doing back-flips off the cedar trunk again.  And a male cardinal proclaimed from high up in the oak, among the flower strings like a ruby set in gold.

A few mergansers, both red breasted and hooded, but all female, paddled around on the creek.  I saw a male bufflehead early in the day. 

The yellow daffodils, including the dwarfs, were finished but the "fried egg" narcissis started to open.  To my amazement, one of the money plants was already in bloom!  A pine twig fallen on the ground was embellished with ruffles of lichen. 

Rainy

There were showers before lunch and again before sunset.  The rest of the day just looked like it was thinking about raining.  But it was the wind that kept the wildlife out of sight.

After breakfast I saw a female red breasted merganser on the choppy water.  A female red bellied woodpecker worked on the nubbin of suet.  Four white throated sparrows and a female junco scouted around the patio.  The male cardinal took his favorite perch in the dogwood. I spotted a yellow rumped warbler in the cherry.  It then sampled the mealworms. 

A squirrel, sex undisclosed, also went after mealworms despite the load of cayenne-flavored peanut butter I garnished them with.  I chased off the rodent who then perched in the dogwood to keep an eye on me and the food. Later, rain made the wire hanger slippery and frustrated the little robber. 

Gray

Dawn was a bright orange glow reflecting off thin flat clouds, but by mid morning the sky was overcast. I got home around 11am.  Juncos and white throats scurried around in the mulch.  A blue jay scolded from the oak.  Downy woodpeckers squabbled in the dogwood.  The sun peeked through a rent in the clouds and a white throat seized the moment for a short bath.  I battled with a squirrel that wanted to eat all the mealworms.  When it wasn't sitting in the dish, a yellow rumped warbler managed to eat. 


A light rain fell toward the end of the afternoon.  Waterfowl became abundant.  Buffleheads and red breasted mergansers dived from the surface while osprey, gulls, and pelicans plunged from the air.  Cormorants spent most of the time sub marine except when they perched on snags by the lake to dry out.  They fussed over who got what spot on the log.  Northern shovelers ignored them, as they were busy straining the lake water for food.  No turtles today.  The grebe continued to play hard-to-get in a photo. 

I glimpsed the female bluebird putting nesting material in the birdhouse.  Titmice and chickadees hammered their seeds in the trees outside my window.  The reddish squirrel at leaf and flower buds while a mama squirrel collected nesting material.  When I closed the feeder, the moon was visible, but very fuzzy behind a layer of cloud. 

Cold

The sun was bright but the wind peeled all the warmth away. Nevertheless, the turtles came out to bask.  Northern shovelers pinwheeled around the lake, feeding.  A great blue heron watched the creek below the dam.  Pelicans cruised over the creek, occasionally plunging into the water.  Buffleheads, red breasted and hooded mergansers were after smaller fish.  Curiously, I saw no female shovelers or male mergansers. 

Downy woodpeckers ignored everything but the suet.  Two yellow rumped warblers didn't get along.  The female red bellied woodpecker finally managed the upsidedown suet.  White throats and doves foraged on the ground.

I went to the library and admired the lichens on the ornamental cherries.  When I came home the male bluebird was guarding the nestbox. 

Windy

The wind pushed clouds across the sun and ruffled the creek.  Few birds ventured out.  I put mealworms out very early, but all that attracted was a yellow rumped warbler.  The female red bellied woodpecker was afraid to hang from the suet cage.  A crow landed but didn't get far with the feeders.  A pine warbler perched briefly but was gone by the time I switched the camera on. 

Water flowed out of the lake, sparkling across the rocks at low tide.  But I only saw one red breasted merganser in that prime fishing area. A fuzzy waxing moon was visible after dark.  The cold wind roared. 

Long day

Buffleheads and geese were hard to see against the glittering, sunlit water.  White throats and juncos hunted for fallen sunflower seeds.  A blue jay looked for mealworms while an anxious red bellied woodpecker dithered about the suet.  And then we left.

When we came home 8 hours later under an overcast sky, the yellow rumped warbler was monitoring the suet.  It tried sunflower seeds but not for long.  A pair of bluebirds were indignant that the mealworm dish was empty. I refilled it but they did not return.  Instead, the warbler got its fill in between starling raids.  Downy woodpeckers continued to demolish the suet. 

Pelicans sailed above the creek and occasionally plunged, but there was always a screen of twigs in the way.  A pair of mallards got a drink from the pool cover.  The drake nibbled an itchy spot.  A female red breasted merganser rolled over in the water to get at an itch.  Female hoodies zipped past on their own business.  I caught a brief glimpse of a grebe.  It was after sunset the last time I saw a pelican plunge - how could it see into water?  No moonlight penetrated the clouds.