Carolina wren

A male oriole had jelly for breakfast.  Bluebirds ate seeds.  The jelly also attracted a myrtle warbler.  A Carolina wren peered in the window, then turned around and ignored us to work on an itch.  White throats were predictable. 

A cabbage white defied the wind.  The wild cherry began to leaf out, joining the oak and dogwood.  There were buds on the redbud trees.  Under the bright sun, the temperature rose to 71° and stuck there, but the wind chilled.  I saw egrets and herons on the creek and the osprey up in the pines.  We potted the pimento peppers.  

 

Spring fever

This early Spring has made me lazy.  Yesterday slipped away without a post and it wasn't for lack of photos or interest.  Both days were sunny with a nippy breeze, especially Saturday.  The oak, peach, and redbuds flowered, the wild cherry began to leaf out, and buds burst on a dogwood.  Sweet gum buds looked ready to pop and I found fig leaves!  Buds were visible on the blueberries but not yet open.  Fortunately there were early bumblebees. 

The female orioles remained and a male showed up.  At least two bluebird pairs visited the feeders.  Myrtle warblers fussed over pecking order.  Blue jays stuffed their beaks.  Downy woodpeckers were faithful to their suet.  Starlings scattered food everywhere.  Red-winged blackbirds were much better behaved.  A few robins remained from the flock in the pecan. 

Pelicans fished on the creek but I never got a good shot. The sun reached a lot more of the patio and flowerbeds.  The moon was well up and looking fat by the time I took my library books back on Saturday.  

A mockingbird greeted the Sunday sun.  Then a blue jay wanted breakfast.  Orioles started arriving, then bluebirds.  Robins came back to drink.  The female orioles were much more assertive with the male than they were a month ago.  He definitely ate last.  Red-winged blackbirds briefly returned.  And of course there were starlings.  

I saw a junco.  A white breasted nuthatch was more interested in suet than seeds. The first grackle I've seen in years popped up but didn't stay long.  And a cedar waxwing accompanied a robin to the birdbath!  

Wood ducks

At last, the plastic came off the windows in the morning.  Mid day was beautifully warm and sunny.  Something dug lots of little burrows in the front grass.  They look like anthills but I suspect ground nesting bees.  I did see a couple of ants walking up a window. 

The array of flowers had changed a lot in four days.  The early daffodils were nearly done and even the dutch hyacinths were past their prime.  I went around the house to admire the redbuds and upset some birds who thought that was their space.  A myrtle warbler peeked at me over a magnolia branch.  Both the redbuds and a peach sapling were in bloom.  Violets, buttercups, and birdseye bloomed in the grass.  I could see flower buds on azaleas.  Even the moss had sent up spore stalks.  

Fewer turtles were out than yesterday.  A young brown pelican flew upstream and returned not much later.  After I was back inside I notices a pair of wood ducks at the water's edge.  Unfortunately a clump of wild onion kept confusing the camera.  Then I spotted a second pair about ten feet away.  All four ducks were having a spa day, bathing and preening, and also snuggling.  Wood ducks dive quite well I observed.  Eventually the first pair sailed away and the second pair hopped onto the dock for a rest.  A mallard drake was hanging around, probably up to no good.  The wood drake came to the same conclusion.  I'm not so sure about the female, though she got in the last word.  We really need to get a wood duck box! 

I startled pileated woodpeckers that fled too fast for me.  A red bellied woodpecker was also wary, but I managed not to offend.  The sky clouded up as the afternoon grew later so I gave up on greeting the full moon. 

Tenants moving in

Despite the rain bluebirds were busy with the bluebird house.  As I made the beds, I also saw a blue jay and a brown thrasher hanging around, watching the bluebirds move in.

Lots of birds showed up at lunch.  A pine warbler didn't remain still long enough, especially as the camera was coping with rain-streaked glass. The brown thrasher reached the fresh block of suet more easily.  But a considerably smaller downy woodpecker got frustrated and leapt onto the suet, causing it to spin around which was more than the brown thrasher was prepared for.

A Carolina wren was not pleased with the soggy bark butter balls.  A crow visited but everything was uncomfortably small.  Then a female oriole settled on the suet. The wren moved to its favorite perch in the dogwood.  The wind got in its feathers and made it look furry.

Raindrops like jewels dotted the purple witch hazel.  Water off the roof made waves in a bucket.  The fig put out leaves.  The redbuds contrasted with the yellow pompoms.  One strange result of the all day rain was finding an earthworm hiking across the bedroom carpet around 7pm.  When I tried to pick it up, it clung to the carpet with bristles and segment edges and I may have damaged it somewhat before tossing it outside. 

Equinox?

Morning surely did look like Spring with rain-washed greens and a sky that cleared, then clouded up again around 8am.  The cat sat on the pool cover making the birds scarce.  Eventually, it moved on and the wren began to sing.  Downy woodpeckers decided the coast was clear. 

The afternoon shot from Spring to Summer. HOT! It got over 80°.  We went for a walk so I could take the pictures I missed yesterday.  Field pansies dotted the grass.  Lesser celandine invading the neighbor's yard looked lovely.  Redbuds were in their glory.  Chionodoxa, also invasive, had found space in several adjoining yards.  The original mixed them with grape hyacinths. 

I was a sweaty mess when we got back.  But that gave an excuse to spend a couple of hours cooling off on the back patio.  The gold oak blossoms against the intense blue sky were breath-taking.  Several butterflies crossed the yard but the only one I could identify was a cabbage white.  Paper wasps and carpenter bees examined every crevice. 

A blue jay and a red bellied woodpecker each tried to sneak past me to their respective treats, but I got them on "film." The downy woodpeckers ignored me and as a result feasted.  The myrtle warbler sulked.  White throats found interesting things in the leaf litter.  A male bluebird perched high in a front yard tree - so high I saw him from the back.  The song sparrow lurked in the sakaki.  A titmouse snatched a bark butter ball. 

Two skinks darted out from the pool cover, one apparently chasing the other.  I think someone was flying a drone, but the camera focused on the foreground.  
 

"Spring Equinox 2020 in Northern Hemisphere will be at 11:49 PM EDT." That's today by 11 minutes. I think that qualifies as tomorrow, given that each time zone is theoretically15 degrees/one hour* wide. *K corrected me. 

 

April showers

A male downy came for a breakfast of suet.   One band of rain passed through after lunch.  The rain was light until suddenly it became a "frog strangler."  And then it was over.  The sky stayed threatening, but I did not get wet.

One redbud started blooming.  Violets, azaleas, sassafras, jessamine, narcissus and money plant flowers all awaited pollination.  Turtles and cormorants were warm enough not to mind the rain.  A yellow rumped warbler looked a little bedraggled as it ate suet.

A couple of geese came up the slope nibbling grass and accompanied by a Muscovy duck.  I stood up and they saw me and scuttled back down to the water.  I think I saw them last year with that duck,  I wonder if the duck hatched in a goose nest?  Some Muscovy ducks "dump" eggs in other nests and I did find accounts of geese raising ducks.

Wet

There were only scattered clouds at first.  The air was cold enough to make my breath smoke.  A squirrel was acting squirrelly at breakfast.  It was doing backflips off tree trunks and other silliness.  Spring madness, showing off for an unseen audience, some kind of squirrel catnip?  Blue jays were happy I restocked the mealworm dish.  Downy woodpeckers appreciated the reduced competition for suet. 

On the creek red breasted mergansers continued to patrol and fish.  There have been more of them hanging around longer this year than I can remember. The redbuds were beginning to swell and turn pink.  I found some puffballs emerging through the moss and looking so much like feces I had to pry one up to be sure.  By mid morning the sky was overcast.

Yellow rumped warblers, juncos, and white throated sparrows joined us for lunch.  Then a light rain began.  Carolina wrens were not discouraged.  They even figured out how to reach the suet.  However the light grew weaker and the camera struggled.  I was amazed that a butterbutt picked such a cold, rainy day to bathe.