Bright sun

The wind took care of that broken limb.  Something opened the feeder lid.  Other than that the storm passed without effect.  Pelicans and an osprey are watching the creek.  Crows are still gathering nesting.  The feeder is hosting cardinals, finches, chickadees, nuthatches, and titmice.  A Carolina wren sang for us.  Sparrows and juncos joined a dove on the ground.  The sky is blue and the wind is still strong.

Cornell has an interesting article on how sexual selection keeps cardinal males red year around.

Ducks with rusty-red heads were out fishing.  The crows' nest is near the juvenile eagle's favorite perch.  There was much cawing and screaming and circling, but of course the crows won.  A pelican sunned on a piling across the creek. 

Birds are back

They found we'd refilled the feeder.  On the ground, doves, sparrows, juncos, and the female towhee shuffled the mulch.  One dove has a long white feather sticking out behind - is it molting?  Nuthatches, titmice, chickadees, and cardinals tussled for a place at the feeder.  The Carolina wren sang from the post top. 

The sky had that March look - big soft-edged clouds, both white and dark, with bits of blue between.  A storm is predicted with possible snow.  In the morning the wind out of the West made waves on the creek.  By noon, overcast was complete.  Later a rainy mist blurred the furthest trees.  The rain has not been heavy but the wind makes up for it.  Trees are whipping back and forth while last fall's leaves are springing back into the air.  I think the wind shifted around because the creek has risen over its banks. 

The birds have been stuffing themselves, almost like people panicking before a storm. A yellow rumped warbler stopped in after lunch which was the quietest time.  It has yellow on the top of its head, which I think is breeding plumage.   House finches came too.  Three female cardinals are not getting along any better than the two males.  The females are glowing with rose highlights on their brown feathers, like untarnished copper.  The wind rocked the feeder so much a cardinal gave up and left. 

On the creek I saw female mergansers and later a male bufflehead.  Pelicans fished, but mostly flew low to the water. A great blue heron perched on a piling till the wind got too strong.  You can see the rough water behind it.

Blue sky turns white

That didn't take long.  Clouds are coming out of the WNW.  Pelicans are fishing.  The feeder is about empty, but a few chickadees and nuthatches visited.  Sparrows and juncos cleaned up the spill. Since we were out of seed, I didn't expect to see any feeder birds, so I went down to the dock.

I startled a heron who fled.  The icy wind down on the dock was out of the NE and the sun only intermittent.  A couple of female hooded mergansers  hung around.  They croak like a heron.  An osprey circled then perched in the pines.  The two male cardinals continued their territorial skirmish.  A kingfisher lighted on a channel marker briefly.

The first leucojum has bloomed. Last fall's puffballs still smoke when poked. We got more sunflower seed for the feeder and I cleaned out the birdbath.  After 4pm, rain started and continued all night. 

Birds all over

Three pelicans and some gulls  are fishing with apparent success, while geese observe.  A flock of blackbirds stopped in, including starlings, brown headed cowbirds, and red-wing blackbirds.  Robins were drinking from the pool cover.  On the feeder I saw cardinals, titmice, chickadees, both house and gold finches, nuthatches, and juncos. On the ground, the female towhee joined song and white throated sparrows and more juncos.

The male house finches tolerate each other,  I wonder if that's the characteristic that let them displace purple finches? At lunch the Carolina wren finally appeared. The sky has been clear blue all day, but the wind is cold and gusty. 

March wind pushing clouds

Clouds have rolled down from the North over the blue sky when I got up.  It is gusty.  Gulls, cormorants and pelicans are flying over the creek while ducks and gulls drive a school of fish.  I believe the ducks are common mergansers which I've never before been certain I've seen.  One photo, though blurry, actually catches a duck under water!

On the feeder, nuthatches, titmice, finches, juncos, and white throated sparrows are pitching seed to more juncos, sparrows, and the female towhee below.  The two male cardinals are still jockeying for territory. A Carolina wren perched in the dogwood and sang.

Cloud cover keeps rolling through alternating with blue sky.  Someone else took a photo of the eagle I saw across the creek and sent it to Mary Reid Barrow.  A new reference book looks interesting, Flora of Virginia.

The late afternoon sun caught a pelican banking for a plunge.  It is now in breeding plumage with the dark neck and yellow head.  Meanwhile, the female towhee kicked mulch everywhere while sparrows and juncos dodged.  Chickadees were busy on the feeder.  A dove, much fluffed out, snoozed on the back of the bench.  

Gray day

The light is diffuse and directionless under uniform cloud cover.  Pelicans and gulls are patrolling the water and I saw an egret and a female merganser.  The female towhee joined the doves, squirrels, sparrows and juncos under the feeder.  I think there are quite a few nuthatches and I'm certain of at least three.  Several titmice also visited the feeder, along with the usual finches and chickadees.

At lunch, a male cardinal kept following another from tree to tree, annoying rather than fighting.  Other birds had little aerial spats.  The Carolina wren finally showed up.  Both sparrow species foraged in the mulch and the white throats occasionally flew up to the feeder. 

At dusk, a great blue heron flew in and took position on a dock piling.  By full dark the sky was beginning to clear and show stars.

In like a lamb

March's arrival is not at all leonine.  The sky is again full of woolly clouds and looks almost quilted.  Pelicans are cruising above the trees.  Nuthatches and a Carolina wren have visited the feeder.  There are flickers of sunlight. A lone male bufflehead continues to haunt the creek. 

At lunch, titmice, white throated sparrows, and house finches joined the nuthatches and wrens.  Two male cardinals are around, but for some reason won't light on the feeder.  The sky is clouded, but with dramatic folds and streaks, not a sullen overcast.  There are plenty of daffodils celebrating St. David's Day.  I always remember Fluellen in Henry V.