More warm sunshine

But I have to be inside where I have been sweltering. The heat has popped the dogwood buds - no slow unfolding this year. I think this is a month in advance of when dogwoods bloomed in the 1980s here. The rosemary is again swarming with bees - there isn't all that much blooming yet that makes nectar. But the fruit trees and the red buds have begun. (I wish I had a red bud.)

Rain, then sun

Nothing much else. The sun came out after 11am.

Lots of birdsong this evening. Robins, finches, chickadees, crows, a jay, and a what-is-it up in the blooming oak. I thought it was a mockingbird but it seems small.

Geese landed next door. Lots of bees on the rosemary.

Still sunny

No bird action. I need to check the feeder.
At noon finches and a cardinal found seeds, so I'll wait.
I spent too much of this beautiful day inside. I managed to get out in the evening and saw this great blue heron, glimpsed an eagle, watched a pair of geese to the head-tossing honking again, and saw an egret stalking along below the dam.
Today nearly reached 80, but by evening out on the water it was nippy so I didn't wait for sunset.

Saving daylight

So why does this mean getting up in the dark? The waning moon was descending West. At dawn, it looked like the lake was steaming but the temperature rose quickly. The earliest bird was a song sparrow. Then everyone arrived: a cardinal pair, finch pairs, chickadees, titmice, juncos, and on the ground sparrows and squirrels. Suddenly a honking over by the new tree turned out to be a pair of geese. One threw its head back and shook it while honking. I suspect I know what that meant.

At lunch we were entertained by aerial combat between two crows and a hawk. The squirrel and the song sparrow are still busy, but the feeder is not. A small orange-brown butterfly flitted around the mulch.

Bright and cold

Geese woke me up - they sounded like they were in the bedroom. Titmice and chickadees came to the feeder while the song sparrow hunted below. The wind is still gusty. Hooded mergansers are still out on the creek. The song sparrow is hunting through the mulch. Several juncos scurry around the patio and a female chases a male off the feeder. A wren watched from the rue and then hopped onto the feeder. A squirrel has been nosing about everywhere.

Pattering rain

The weather prediction was correct. And the late afternoon sun yesterday was obscured by a glaze of cloud which is often an indicator of rain to come.

The wind is gusting now and then, making it really nasty. Despite this I saw two uncommon birds - a red-bellied woodpecker and a rufous-sided towhee. The towhee photo was taken through wet glass but I opened the door for the woodpecker. Chickadees, titmice, house finches, sparrows and juncos also came out. A squirrel was busy grubbing seeds out of the birdbath. I guess it figured it was already wet.

The osprey and cormorants showed up at noon. By then the rain had stopped.

Beautiful morning

The creek was like a mirror reflecting the far side trees glowing in the early sun. But then the wind picked up, so no more mirror. We have workmen on the patio side of the house so the wildlife are absent.

Now clouds are coming out of the West. A pelican sailed past, then an osprey. The oak buds are bursting - you can see what the squirrel was eating yesterday. While the workers were at lunch a chickadee snatched a quick meal.