Spotted birds

At breakfast, the creek was burnished and glowing russet and green from sunlight on the bank.  Crows noticed the fresh barkbutter balls but had difficulty with feeder dishes designed for songbirds.  

The afternoon sun highlighted an orchard spider's web billowing in the breeze.  Bumblebees found the goldenrod.  A squirrel with a pecan gobstopper clung to the redwood bark. 

I think a turtle was basking on the lake log, but late summer vegetation almost filled my view.  Mallards rested on the dock.  Later a pair paddled away, flirting with head bobs.  

A bird I glimpsed and snapped turned out to be a thrush, probably a hermit thrush.  But a different spotted bird showed up a little later -- a female flicker.  They were both after dogwood berries but the flicker watched all around while I took a dozen pictures before it finally reached for a berry. Got it!.  A mockingbird got a barkbutter ball and escaped while I was watching the others.  Of course the cardinal clan ate seeds.  One of the male fledglings was beginning to get a black mask.

Spotted birds

Thanks to the drop in temperature, there was a lot of activity in the beautyberry bush, the dogwoods, cherry, and hackberry.  A thrush and a catbird were busy eating beautyberries.  A mockingbird ate dogwood berries.  I think something was even after the redwood cones, but I'm not sure what species were working on the others.  And there was enough cold North wind that sometimes I couldn't be sure if the movement was bird or breeze.  I think the blue jays were after acorns.

A squirrel showed up with a warble, just when I thought they'd escaped that misery this year.  Nuthatches were loyal to the sunflower seeds.  A flicker flew from the closest dogwood across the pool to the cherry but I saw no sign of snacking.  Its pompom rump displayed in flight and its yellow shafted tail at rest.  And it was the second spotted bird I spotted. 

A great egret perched on a dock piling while two drakes and a female mallard dabbled.  Mysterious ring ripples popped out of nothing and spread across the creek.  I think the fallen pine shifted because it looked like more of it was on the dock.  A great blue heron landed on the neighbor's floating dock, claimed ownership, then went stalking downstream. 

The now moldy fungus looked sinister and skull-like - triceratops skull, that is.  Apparently the weather was right for milkweed seed dispersal.  I collected some.  The camellia opened its first flower.  The saltbush was frosted with feathery white flowers.  

Hurricane Zeta

Zeta landed on the Gulf Coast yesterday and streaked diagonally across the Southern states, aiming at Delaware. I was online with people in other parts of Virginia where it was raining mid morning.  The rain didn't start here till 2:30pm but the wind was already very gusty at noon.  It was also very warm.  Zeta traveled at over 50mph and was out over the Atlantic by evening.  I have never heard of a tropical storm crossing a thousand miles of land in one day. 

The day began with a pretty sunrise but became overcast quickly.  The feral cat arrived after breakfast.  A downy woodpecker wanted suet but spooked.  A red breasted nuthatch made several trips to the sunflower seeds between wind gusts.  But it was too fast for me.  A blue jay asked for bark butter balls.  

The wind gusts peeled all the gold leaves out of the oaks and drove them like a blizzard.  They formed drifts on the creek.  On the front porch we found a hermit thrush that had hit the wall or window.  I left it to recover or die.  The sky began to clear after 4pm though the wind stayed strong.  

 

 

 

 

Lovely Mothers Day

The temperature ranged from too warm in the sun to slightly chilly in the shade when the wind blew.  I heard a great crested flycatcher but couldn't see it.  Wrens were also playing coy. The hummer however was easy to photograph.I spotted what I believe was a hermit thrush at the far end of the pool. 

One pair of geese were down to one gosling which I threatened to eat if they didn't leave, especially after they photo-bombed my picture of an egret.   An osprey circled over the creek and flew upstream. 

Lots of skinks were out enjoying the warmth.Toward evening the feral cat became very interested in something, probably a skink, that slipped under the pool cover.  A paper wasp constructed a nest in the corner of the front patio.  I saw several butterflied, including a tiger swallowtail, and at least one dragonfly, but the were all too fast for me. 

The bluebirds (also thrushes) were visible from the front patio.  One was drying off after a bath.  At one point I thought I saw a hawk, a large bird with a pale belly, fly away.  Then the brown thrasher demonstrated that it was the culprit that threw mulch onto the driveway.  A blue  jay discovered that I had bought more bark butter balls.  The cardinal pair were still courting. 

Rain

A pileated woodpecker teased us at breakfast.  It made several fly-bys and landed on the post once, but bolted without eating any suet.  I never got even a bad photo. The downy woodpeckers were fine with the new suet arrangement, but the red bellies were more dubious.  Eventually they got it.

Juncos, sparrows, and a Carolina wren foraged for fallen bits.  A yellow rumped warbler wanted suet but hadn't figured out how to get it.  Blue jays, and starlings went for bark butter balls.I saw a thrush at the far end of the pool, but rain, low light, and distance limited the camera. It probably arrived on the South wind along with yesterday's oriole.

Red breasted mergansers and gulls fished. Light rain started and stopped repeatedly during the day.  The sky stayed overcast all day. 

Wind from the Northeast

The moon was between new and first quarter but the wind pushed the high tide into the grass.  Clouds covered the sky.  Cardinals were out and about, but not much else was stirring.

When I came home around noon, a bird got into the garage.  It was gray with a lighter belly and no distinguishing marks that I could see as it zipped back and forth. My one photo was a blur.  Other birds weren't much more cooperative, except of course for the feeder trio.  A titmouse slipped in for a seed but did not return.  Blue jays kept to the shrubbery and the oak.  A brown thrasher poked around under the cedar.  A yellow breasted chat and two red eyed vireos appeared, but moved too fast for the cloud-dimmed light.  A migrating hermit thrush was more stationary. 

Leaves on the canna looked chewed recently and today I noticed one rolled up.  There was a caterpillar inside that fit this description.  Given the size of the caterpillar, I was surprised it was such a small butterfly.  A dark butterfly struggled against the wind.  I couldn't tell if it was a black swallowtail or a red spotted purple.  I saw field crickets and even saved one from the water (which I was not motivated to enter.)  The spiders all seemed to be surviving the weather, even the argiope down near the water.

Rain

The birdbath filled up before light.  Two Carolina wrens came looking for breakfast.  I had not put out any more mealworms because of the wet, so they had some suet.  The first pelican of the winter season cruised up the creek, but the light was too low for the camera.

At lunch, five doves foraged under the feeder.  A couple of white throats joined them.  Chickadees commuted between the feeder and bushes.  I saw the hermit thrush down by the far end of the pool.  A flock of robins traded branches in the front yard. 

The day was very dark.

Overcast

Dawn was streaked with pink clouds but gray clouds gradually covered the sky.  A breeze kept leaves twirling down.  A flock of cormorants were out on the creek before it was fully light.  They didn't seem to be fishing, just paddling downstream.  There were slug tracks on the patio.  A Carolina wren found the mealworms and pigged out, returning for more throughout the morning.

Then I saw something totally unexpected - a hummingbird trying to get nourishment from the camellias.  It was gone before I could get the camera on it so I have no proof.  Meanwhile, the hermit thrush sat on the grass beside the sakaki.  Egrets and geese were out on the creek.

The male downy woodpecker appeared after lunch.  Around that time, the air over the creek began to be misty.  Nothing much happened after that.  The darkening day merged into night. 

Still cold

There was frost overnight again but morning was sunny and still.  A different cat, a tabby, prowled the back yard.  Chickadees and the male downy flitted to the feeders and away.  Cormorants commuted to their day jobs.  The sun gilded the pines.

The construction noise at lunch was deafening so it's not surprising we saw no wildlife.  I went outside to get away from it and found the back yard much colder than the front.  Despite last night's frost, a grasshopper was alive and lively in the sun.  Muddy paw prints on the pool cover showed that at least one raccoon paid us a nighttime visit.   And a hermit thrush appeared, poking through the leaf litter at the far end of the pool.

Tonight's full moon was visible from the new bedroom and I photographed it from the enclosed garden.  Of course it was just a white circle. 

Last day of EDT

It was sunny in the morning, clouded over at lunch, then cleared a bit later.  The light breeze was cold.  Moonflowers and morning glories lingered through the day.  Honeybees took advantage and also tried a rose.  Yellow jackets jittered between but never settled on flowers.  The same with the yellow-brown flitters I thought were skippers yesterday.  A tiny mint-green butterfly or moth defeated my attempt to photograph it though it climbed on my finger.  An ailanthus webworm moth on the screen door was more cooperative.

Three mallard pairs slept on the dock.  Then a hermit thrush took an interest in the beauty berries!  Squirrels made out in the oak then played follow-the-leader across the yard.

A misty, moisty morning

It was evident that there was rain overnight and mist began to dot the glass around 9am.  Pelicans cruised the creek.  A lone male bufflehead paddled aimlessly until a small flock of hooded mergansers arrived.  But they left without him.  A group of female pintails headed upstream.  On the feeder, the regulars took turns. A white throat scuttled under the azalea.

At lunch, titmice were mobbing the feeder.  A little later a thrush hit a window, this time in the back near the feeder.  It didn't seem too disoriented and soon ran into the bushes.  I'm not sure why this is happening now - its not the season for territoriality and the visibility was very different on the two occasions.

Frozen

The sky was hazed with streaky clouds.  Rainwater in the birdbath had turned to ice and there was frost on the mulch and dock.  The creek was clear, however, and placid.  Hooded mergansers, buffleheads, and Canada geese were out early.  This rather Goth female spent considerable time bathing and preening. 

A fox sparrow hit a window in the front of the house.  It staggered off a little and slowly recovered.  I left it alone aside from photos. 

As I was cooking, I saw a dark eyed junco foraging in the mulch with a white throated sparrow.  Chickadees were busy with the feeder.  The temperature already rose quite a bit and the birdbath melted.  The hermit thrush reappeared briefly.

Chickadees continued to visit through lunch.  We spent the afternoon at a party and when we returned home is was cold again.  The first quarter moon was bright overhead, undimmed by the clouds flowing out of the West. 

Overcast

Chickadees and titmice visited the feeder at breakfast.  I caught a hermit thrush (I think) perching in the dogwood.  The creek was flat till a boat went out but even that didn't scare up any birds.  Meanwhile, the squirrels are getting amorous again. 

I put some peanut bits out for the wren and one male squirrel gobbled most of them.  It nosed a sluggish wasp that staggered off.  A few bees and one small tan moth flew around.  I did see the wren later, singing in the sakaki.  Chickadees and titmice were back on the feeder.  Geese and cormorants were out on the creek.

Cloudy with filtered sunshine

Chickadees came to the feeder but didn't hang around.  I finally saw a female cardinal and a male house finch but they didn't stay.  Unidentifiable birds flitted through the trees.  I glimpsed a hermit thrush poking through the mulch by the kitchen wall.  First I saw its brown back and wondered what it was. A few minutes later, it came back and I saw its spotted chest, but it saw me, so no photo.

At lunch, white throated sparrows made hurried visits to the mulch below the feeder.  Chickadees and titmice competed with finches on the feeder itself.  Cormorants flew every which way. The clouds broke apart but sunshine was still intermittent. 

Upstream behind the pines was a rosy sunset.  

Gray and chilly morning

Still, I think the recent warmth send the sparrows North.  I haven't seen any since last Wednesday.  This morning was all cardinals and squirrels, including Ms White Spot.  It will be interesting to see how old she gets.

The clouds broke up and let the sun out but the breeze has been cool.  At lunch, a bluebird paused on the top of the feeder post.  They like that spot.  Then a pair of brown thrashers hunted in the grass.  A tiger swallowtail flitted around the wild cherry.  The mallards keep landing in the pool.  What I need is a large snapping turtle. 

Late afternoon brought a Carolina wren.  A male cardinal chased something (a skink?) back and forth down by the steps.  White spot likes banana chips - she found a piece I dropped.  The female towhee was in the front yard along with a thrush I didn't recognize. It looks most like a Swainson's, which means it was just passing through. One person on the GBBC FB page said that wood thrushes hang out with towhees.