Sunshine

Sunrise was delayed by clouds in the East and there are vague cloud blurs over much of the sky.  But the sun is bright.  Little ducks, probably female mergansers, disturbed the smooth creek with their wakes.  The feeder and patio have been quiet.

No wonder -  the feeder was empty again.  It just lasted five days. Should I blame the weather or was I too stingy?  A pelican flew downstream and crows circled the pines.  Clouds are moving briskly East.  It's pretty warm.

The clouds have thickened and the sunshine is fitful.  Chickadees and juncos are the only birds on the refilled feeder.  Mysterious ripples continue to appear on the creek.  A cormorant explained some of them.  A yellow-rumped warbler had its head in a camellia flower.

Gray

Appropriate for Ash Wednesday.  A crow was declaiming in the pine tree.  I haven't seen much else though I can hear bird calls.

Pelicans and herons are flying through the gray mist.  Ripples on the creek surface don't seem to have a source.   I think a V-shaped wake might be trailing a female bufflehead.   A few doves, sparrows, and juncos are out on the ground.  Cardinals, finches, chickadees, nuthatches, and Carolina wrens are coming to the feeder, but not in great numbers. 

Beautiful day

But I'm mostly missing it.  Got up with the stars, now sleeping with the sun.  The occasional bird has flitted past the window when I had my eyes open, but I couldn't tell what they were.  Finches most likely from the color.  Meanwhile the sky has gone gray. It was pretty warm today, so the clouds are right on schedule.  Oh, it is Mardi Gras too. 

Dark and wet

Intermittent rain.  Geese and ducks are out on the creek.  The feeder was full of finches which frustrated a nuthatch.  Cornell has an article on the nuthatch eruption.  A goldfinch came to the feeder.  A lot of crows gathered in the front yard, I've no idea why.  There are bird flocks up in the trees, silhouetted against the sky.  They may be blackbirds or robins or I don't know what.

There's still a lot of fishing on the creek - pelicans, an egret, ducks.  The feeder got busy at lunch with titmice, nuthatches, finches and chickadees.  Both kinds of sparrows, juncos, doves, and Carolina wrens foraged below. The white throat is at the bottom and the song sparrow above.

The eagle has landed

All through breakfast, an eagle sat in the oak across the creek.  Finally it swooped up and down the creek and disappeared behind bushes.  I think it caught a fish because the next time I saw it, it was on the ground where it stayed for some time. 

Meanwhile hooded mergansers were out on the creek.  Suddenly, one male began chasing another and attempting to mate.  The females just watched. 

I kept dashing out in the cold to take photos which may explain why no birds came to the feeder.  The birdbath is ice.  The fishing must be good - pelicans, great blue herons, and cormorants have joined in.  Geese keep flying by though they don't fish.

Feeder birds have appeared: house finches, chickadees, titmice, nuthatches, and impatient juncos.  On the ground, more juncos are joined by white-throated sparrows and squirrels.  The sky is gradually going white with what I think are cirrus ice clouds, but the sun continues to shine. 

At noon, a mixed flock of ducks and cormorants went diving and driving fish downstream like a wave rolling over on itself.  It is always amazing to watch the choreography as they fish.  The ducks included red-breasted mergansers.  A little later geese paddled upstream in pairs, proclaiming some message for all the world.  I found a female bufflehead lurking in the corner of a photo.

 During a late lunch, the song sparrows, cardinals and Carolina wrens put in an appearance.  The female towhee cane out despite the sun and blue jays hung around.  One of the squirrels has its tail coiled up like a corgi. The sky is back to blue with distinct clouds.  A hawk flew upstream.  Dare I hope to see this much during the bird count this weekend? 

This was Lunar New Year and thus a new moon. 

Good fishing

The day began with pink wispy clouds which thickened and then cleared.  The creek has been very active.  Pelicans are plunging after fish while cormorants and mergansers dive from the surface.  One pelican had a train of cormorants as it swallowed its catch.  A male kingfisher flew past.  Gulls are playing on the wind and crows are fussing.

The feeder was almost empty so I dumped and refilled it.  Plenty of seed is scattered in the mulch.  Doves, juncos, and sparrows are happy with that.  On the feeder, I saw cardinals, a Carolina wrens, and nuthatches.  The reason I don't always tag the "usual suspects" is that they are here year around.  I'm more interested in dates for the seasonal birds.

At lunch, the ducks and pelicans were joined by gulls and an osprey.  The osprey just circled, but a great black-backed gull plunged head-first pelican-style. And speaking of seasonal migrants, I haven't seen any buffleheads for a while. 

Late, the bright planet was sinking into the West. 

Rain, wind, and tide

We are on the edge of a blizzard but here it is rain.  It pounded all night so loudly I was expecting sleet.  The tide is very high at 8:30am and the dock's awash.

There are birds about, mostly sheltering from the rain.  I can hear them on the windowsill as I type.  Some are crowded into the camellia. Two found the bend in the downspout.  But Carolina wren doesn't care!

The tide has been dropping all morning and the rain has slacked off, but the wind gusts are scary.  They've overturned the canoe.   Meanwhile, the birds are out feeding: sparrows, juncos, and a towhee on the ground, finches, cardinals, nuthatches and wrens on the feeder.  A pelican went by.

At lunch, a titmouse finally appeared. A song sparrow with its head feathers erected poked through the mulch.  When the wind gusts hit the trees twist and writhe. Along the fence, daffodils are blooming.  Pelicans, cormorants, and gulls are fishing while a mallard pair paddled by.

As the afternoon wore on, the sky cleared and we had sunshine.  The birds were still hungry.