More birds

Yesterday's thunderstorm brought little water but did moderate the temperature.  A Carolina wren inspected the cinquefoil for anything tasty.  Mockingbirds continued to harvest wild cherries.  A section of the oldest dogwood appeared to be dying. It looked fine all through Spring and early Summer.  Another section died a few years ago.  The mountain mint was stressed by the drought but seems to be recovering.  

The pool yielded nothing but scarab beetles, roaches, and itty-bitty wasps/bees/ants.  A fresh load of cherries were sunk on the bottom.  I did evict one spider.  A duskywing joined the bees ans wasps on the mountain mint.   One funny, little bee did its best to intimidate me.  I found the Argiope which was quite cleverly camouflaged as a stem.  The orchard spider was in the same place as before but the light was wrong to see the web.  A female hummer visited that feeder.  

Then a male pine warbler considered the hanging dishes.  The brown thrasher returned for more cherries.  A white breasted nuthatch was frustrated by a house finch.  Then when it finally got on the feeder perch, a chickadee landed on top of it and the finch attacked them both.  

Pine warbler

There were two hibiscus blossoms today.  A pine warbler came to breakfast.  Then we had a brief shower.  On my way to swim, I saw a tiny green bee on the mountain mint but, alas, didn't go back for the camera. There were many scarab beetles and a few spiders in the water. Afterward, the bee was gone and I only saw a thread-waisted wasp on the mountain mint.  The Argiope had graduated to a zigzag web.  

At lunch I tried to feed a squirrel peanuts but a crow got there first.  K put more out and the crow brought its offspring!  Seeing a bird that big begging was really funny.  And the fledgling knew how to feed itself, it just wanted mama to do it.  A mockingbird flew up into the wild cherry tree.  

Cold water

A Carolina wren got a barkbutter ball from the dish.  A titmouse fooled around.  Then I saw a very bright pine warbler.  The outdoor thermometer read 95° so I ventured into the pool today.  It was cold but bearable.  I tried to rescue a spider in the skimmer but it evaded me.  

Windy

A mockingbird breakfasted on suet.  A squirrel coveted bird food.  Blue jays were thirsty.  I also saw a pine warbler and a bluebird drinking from the pool puddle.  A titmouse looked into barkbutter balls.  Our thermometer showed mid 80s but the wind kept it from seeming hot.  After lunch, I noticed that the hummer feeder seemed to be missing.  Somehow it had come unscrewed from the hook and fallen.  I put it back together and rehung it which may have been unwise.  A couple of hours later I saw a male hummer visit it.  I was too close to move and take a photo but the bird didn't stay long.  Was I too close or the sugar water gone off or the wind too much?  

Despite the wind, I saw a few butterflies, a dragonfly, and wasps.  Butterflies included the ubiquitous cabbage white, some kind of dark swallowtail, and some that were too quickly gone to guess.  Some kind of midge followed me into the house.  

Spring

The last day of April and the white throats and butterbutt were still here.  The male red belly hit the seed feeder.  This made a male cardinal unhappy.  He wanted a goodie to take to his mate.  He settled on a barkbutter ball.  Later, a titmouse took over the seed feeder.  A couple of mockingbirds argued about the barkbutter balls.  The short-tailed squirrel got a drink and some mealworms, I think.  It was very skittish around other squirrels.  There was something in the water but it never showed itself.  K hung a fresh suet block and a downy started eating it.  

 

Feeder fun

I missed a shot at a white breasted nuthatch but I got the butterbutt.  Blue jays, bluebirds, and a mockingbird visited.  A titmouse was eager for seeds.  A squirrel raided the barkbutter dish, but there was some left for bluebirds and the butterbutt.  A mockingbird didn't find much left.  There was more sunshine than predicted.  I need to replace the suet.  

 

Migrants

There was sunshine but not much blue sky and it was not warm enough to lure me outside.  A bandit-faced yellow rumped warbler paused on its migration to stock up on barkbutter balls.  I believe it must have wintered farther South because it has been weeks since I saw the ones that wintered here.  Anyway, its summer plumage was evident.  The white throats lingered.  

Blue jays, bluebirds, the red belly, and a mockingbird couldn't stay away from the barkbutter balls, even when I covered them with mealworms.  Even the cardinals succumbed to fast food.  The poor squirrel with the ruined tail came back.  It didn't behave like its tail hurt, as far as I could tell, but it did seem anxious around other squirrels.  

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.  

Nuthatches

Lots of birds arrived at breakfast while my fingers were sticky.  I think one was a brown thrasher but I didn't see it again.  The first one that I caught on camera was a white breasted nuthatch.  White throats were everywhere, on the ground, on the feeders, in the pool puddle.  A myrtle warbler also looked for a drink there.  Bluebirds defaulted to seeds because starlings emptied the suet and barkbutter.  A titmouse investigated the empty dish feeder.  The male red belly ate seeds.  I put some mealworms out hoping the starlings would be less interested.  A crow didn't see anything worth its time.  

Azalea buds began to open as the day warmed up.   A pine warbler foraged for fallen food.  A chipping sparrow made a brief visit.  The mockingbird pair discussed the menu and decided on jelly.  Cardinals were courting.  A brown headed nuthatch tried to grab a seed.  When I put out more barkbutter balls, blue jays showed up immediately.  Bluebirds and white throats were right behind.  

March wind

A white throat started the day with barkbutter balls.  A blue jay was next, then a Carolina wren.  And then the voracious starlings showed up.  The wren moved over to the suet.  Chilly and gusty wind didn't discourage the starlings, alas.  Eight or ten of them attacked the suet, the barkbutter balls, and each other. White throats ate what fell.  Cardinals courted, doves foraged, and orioles ate jelly.  

Some of the white throats were a molting mess.  The pine warbler was back for more suet.  A downy ate seeds as did bluebirds.  A myrtle warbler also indulged in jelly.  The suet nearly disappeared during the day but a wren found a few bites.  Lots of money plant flowers opened so that's something for hungry nectar feeders.   

 

Pairing up

It looked like the cardinals were getting in the mood to nest.  An egret flew upstream and I believe I also glimpsed a great blue heron.  A pine warbler ate suet.  The two doves returned.  I chased off the short haired yellow cat which was trying to hide behind an azalea.  Starlings bathed alongside a white throated sparrow.  The male red belly came for seeds, but still no sign of a female.  The day was sunny and warm though clouds thickened toward evening.  

Junco

I saw a male oriole eating jelly at breakfast, but I don't know if it wintered here or was just passing through.  I only got pictures of its rear, unfortunately.  A Carolina wren didn't find much in the glass dish.  A bluebird did better at the seed feeder.  A pine warbler came for suet.  A mockingbird helped itself to suet at lunch.   A myrtle warbler visited the jelly.  A brown headed nuthatch came for seeds.  White throated sparrows ate at feeders and under them.  

Later in the afternoon, a junco appeared.  Perhaps it was migrating North?  The feeder perch gave the bluebirds some trouble by twisting underfoot.  They looked like logrolling lumberjacks.  A blue jay drank from the pool puddle.  A starling tried to get some suet.  The mockingbird switched to jelly.  

 

End of the hear wave

A myrtle warbler breakfasted on barkbutter balls.  Then three starlings argued about who would eat first.  A white throat headed for the mulch to look for seeds.  A blue jay followed the starlings.  A different myrtle warbler tried the jelly.  One white throat appeared to be molting and looked a mess.  I saw an orange butterfly about the size of a cabbage white.

The sun was still bright at lunch.  Afterward I took the camera to the front yard.  Pollinators were busy around the jessamine but too fast for me to photograph.   The bumblebees buzz-pollinating the blueberries were a little slower.  Clouds rolled through and the wind made 70° feel a little chilly.  

I spotted some money plant flowers.   The birds stayed away while I was outside but showed up as soon as I came in.  Bluebirds and the red bellied woodpecker scarcely waited for the door to close.  A mockingbird came but by then the barkbutter dish was empty so it headed for the jelly.  I hadn't refilled the barkbutter balls because rain was predicted.  Around 4pm the sky darkened and the wind picked up and the temperature started dropping.  A rain shower passed through around 5:30pm but hardly wetted the birdbath.  A very red sunset glowed through the trees.  

Hot sun

The song sparrow came early to forage.   A myrtle warbler was disappointed that the glass dish was empty.  A bluebird found seeds in the feeder.  A white throat wandered the patio.  A brown thrasher hoped for barkbutter but the dish was still empty.  I did refill it after breakfast.  A downy ate seeds in lieu of suet since that was empty too.  

It was at least 85° this afternoon, and sunny.  Paper wasps were flying, along with a cabbage white.  The squirrel with the light spot on its back came close and sniffed my toes.  I guess I passed inspection.  A brown thrasher watched from the maple.  Bluebirds and blue jays were skittish but wanted barkbutter balls.  Lots of sparrows scurried around.  A mixed group of white throats and house finches drank from the pool puddle.

The oaks were in full bloom, mating with the wind.  A squirrel was feeding on the pollen.  The volunteer domestic cherry had flowers though the wild cherry was leafing out before blooming.  

Vernal Equinox

Today the bluebirds and the red bellied woodpecker arrived early.  White throated sparrows soon followed.  Blue jays flitted through the trees.  Carolina wrens shared the barkbutter balls.  The song sparrow got up a bit late.  So did a myrtle warbler.  I didn't get any more photos after breakfast.  Morning was sunny but by evening the sky was clouded.    

Spring arrived as this was the equinox, although there were twelve hours and eight minutes between sunrise and sunset according to NWS Wakefield.  (Sunrise at 7:09am, sunset at 7:17pm.)  I do not understand.  I attended online the Reed Environmental Writing Award presentation which was exceptional.  I signed up in order to hear the keynote by Christian Cooper who was very moving, but the two award recipients were also very good.  

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.  

The Ides but no murders

It was a typical March day with the usual birds.  Bluebirds showed up first.  A dove drank from the pool puddle.  A Carolina wren dug into the barkbutter balls.  A myrtle warbler was next.  The yellow long haired cat hung around bothering the birds.  Blue jays wanted their barkbutter balls.  The myrtle warbler cleaned up what fell.  The song sparrow looked for fallen suet crumbs.  Both Carolina wrens returned for second helpings.  A couple of chickadees shared the seed feeder.  

At lunch time a white throated sparrow tried to bully a warbler off the glass dish but the warbler held on.  The sparrow flew to the seed feeder instead.  A blue jay got a drink from the pool puddle.  A starling came for lunch.  Two doves foraged together.  One acted horny but the other didn't catch on.  Some violets bloomed.  A crow poked through the mulch.  

 

Steaming creek

I think the water was warmer than the air at sunrise.  My breath smoked too, when I went out with bird food.  A Carolina wren tackled the suet.  A myrtle warbler sat on the seed feeder perch but ignored the seeds.  It doesn't really have the right kind of beak for seeds.  On the ground beneath, a song sparrow hunted fallen seeds.  The song sparrow didn't get along with the white throats.  A pine warbler showed up, the first in some time.  But the myrtle warbler got to the barkbutter balls.  Dogwood buds popped open.  

The male red bellied woodpecker peeked around the post and chose seeds.   Blue jays were faithful to the barkbutter balls.  Bluebirds wanted them too but were willing to eat seeds.  The male oriole was still here, polishing off some jelly.  A white throated sparrow took a turn with the barkbutter balls.  A starling wanted suet.  Then a brown thrasher argued with starlings over the barkbutter balls and mealworms.  Sunshine spangled the starlings.  

March weather

From 72° at breakfast we dropped to 38° at supper, accompanied by rain and wind.  At first, the day was not unpleasant.  The song sparrow started foraging early.  A white throat went to the seed source.  A myrtle warbler contemplated mealworms while a Carolina wren preferred suet.  Bluebirds chose seeds.  I was pleased to discover that the orioles hadn't deserted yet.  A female ate suet.  

Later, the wren glared at a downy on the suet.  Then a red belly took over the suet.  The wind and rain did not deter the song sparrow from foraging. Bluebirds were still hungry.  Then a male oriole showed up, but we'd covered the dish to keep the rain out.  The poor bird was very frustrated.  I think he could see the food inside the glass dish.  The myrtle warbler did its best to hover beside the suet.  The rain slacked off in the late afternoon and the sky began to clear around sunset.  

 

85°

Sunshine lit up the creek.  Today the birds were lively.  White throats and maybe more than one song sparrow foraged.  A brown thrasher visited early. The warmth was stimulating leafing out on many of the trees.  Hyacinths sent up blooms and the first dogwood buds opened.  Oak flowers began to grow.  

A white throat ate mealworms but I don't think it liked them very much.  A bluebird tossed them out of the dish.  A myrtle warbler scampered around looking for fallen food.  In the late afternoon I tried to seduce a squirrel with peanut fragments.   Meanwhile a downy fussed because it wanted suet and thought I was too close.  A mockingbird found the mealworms in the glass dish.  A wasp discovered the jelly.  Two cedar waxwings landed in the oak!  The day's high temperature set another record.