Raccoons

Two burly raccoons were on that patio at 11pm last night. One climbed the feeder post. It didn't manage to open the feeder and my picture-taking annoyed them so they left even though the camera refused to flash.

This morning a squirrel tried the feeder - possibly it smelled the raccoon? A half dozen finches and a cardinal and a wren also visited the feeder.

I spent the morning in a meeting and, coming out, saw this pelican on the Lafayette River.

Getting warmer

Cirrus wisps and sunshine, breezy with a ruffled surface on the creek. The clouds dissipated and it warmed up enough for honeybees. And a three hour power outage! Since I could do nothing electrical, I sat with the camera, which was uncooperative again.

Nevertheless, I caught the wren demanding room on the feeder and the yellow rumped warbler hanging about. Also on the feeder were a male cardinal, house finches, chickadees and titmice. Down below were squirrels, doves and white throated sparrows. A blue jay paused for a moment then left.

Crows hassled a hawk, a buzzard circled, and gulls took a great interest in the creek, first two black backs, then a flotilla of medium size gulls. An egret fished along the bulkhead.

Still cold

The sun is shining and the squirrels are hopeful. One watched another preen, then they played chase, then right at my feet (but outside the window) one crawled into the watering can and the other hopped on top. The one inside scrambled back out and the chase was on. I wish I could have photographed it, but they were too close and the window frame reflection interfered. But it was a hoot!

Meanwhile the feeder hosted finches, chickadees and titmice while sparrows and juncos hopped below. Jays and a cardinal hung out in the bushes. A great blue heron sunned on the bulkhead across the creek. At lunch, the female kingfisher showed up again, but I don't think she caught anything despite several plunges. And another squirrel crawled in the watering can! I put water in the birdbath in case that's what they are after. It is warmer today after a hard freeze earlier in the week.

I spent an hour freezing out on the dock. A lone goose on the far bank heard the honking of a passing flock, cried "wait for me" in goose, then jumped into the creek and took off from the water. A hooded merganser pair paddled past, she in the lead by about 20 feet. The waxing gibbous moon rose over the pines as birds flew home to roost. Several photos were no good because my battery was dying.

Cold and sunny

Not much going on - a few gulls.

Now the feeder is in the sun and juncos, chickadees, titmice, and a male house finch are feeding. A white throated sparrow is hunting for dropped seeds on the steps, along with more juncos. And pelicans, cormorants and egrets are out on the water along with mallards and buffleheads. A yellow rumped warbler and a yellow shafted flicker showed up at lunch. (We really need new shingles!)

Last year I saw a mockingbird along with the usual suspects.

Cold wind blowing

It must be harsh out on the bay. Cormorants and gulls are fishing the creek instead. A heron was poised by the bulkhead across the creek, but it flew off. Then crows hassled a hawk in the pines over that spot - maybe that's why the heron left?

Egrets gathered below the bulkhead where it's in the sun and out of the wind. Then a female kingfisher landed on the dock bench with a fish. She whacked it on the wood repeatedly as she worked it around into swallowing position. I had to take the photo through a screen unfortunately.

Clouds have rolled in and the wind is even stronger. A lone bufflehead paddled upstream and some mallards passed it on their way downstream. An eagle put in a brief appearance overhead. Chickadees and titmice visited the feeder, then a male red bellied woodpecker showed up. It perched almost upside down with head back and tail tucked under the feeder. I think that's because woodpeckers always brace with their tails on tree trunks, but Kathleen thinks it was to make room for the long beak. At any rate, it flew off to the oak and busied itself with a knot hole. Last year one did the same feeder trick in mid-February. But a year ago today was not so interesting, though I did hear an owl then.

Chilling down

Windy too. A lone bufflehead was out on the creek in the early light. They seem to spend more time alone than other ducks and more time paddling than the mergansers. Crows were making a ruckus early.

I took the New Year's oyster shells down to the creek. The sun felt good, but the wind was cold. However, a dandelion popped into bloom despite the drop in temperature. Birds were plentiful: a male hooded merganser, a female bufflehead, mallards, geese, crows, great blue herons, cormorants, pelicans, and a herring gull. The pelican overhead appeared to worry the bufflehead which changed direction to avoid its shadow. But even the pelican's splashdown didn't disturb a nearby cormorant.

This day last year was my first firm sighting of the eagle, and I noted other birds were fishing. The feeder was busier, possibly because of the snowstorm, and I saw robins and a sapsucker in addition to the usual suspects. Not this year!

Happy New Year

Mist hung over the creek as the sun came up. Herons, a bufflehead, gulls and cormorants were fishing. Juncos scouted the patio while chickadees and titmice visited the feeder.

Last year was somewhat colder with the melting remains of snow. Virginia Beach Naturally (which I've now finished) has a monthly calender which recommends watching & listening for foxes and owls in January. We saw an animal across the creek that might have been a red fox but was probably a dog with a brushy tail.

Around lunch, I saw a pelican. Squirrels were getting their exercise. Also, there were contrails, and more interesting, one contrail cast a shadow across another. It was quite windy.