Hungry birds

First a towhee, then the regulars and a cloud of titmice arrived.  Two Carolina wrens ate on both the feeder and the ground.  Juvenile cardinals begged and one finally figured out how to land on the feeder perch.  The female towhee was joined by the male, but they didn't get along.  Then a juvenile mockingbird landed on the patio. A hummer came by but the congestion was too much for it.  The male goldfinch came for a look.  A squirrel climbed the post through the morning glory vines, then sat on the feeder to wash off whatever the morning glory had left in its fur.

Dragonflies and wasps appeared as the day warmed.  A black swallowtail and some small butterflies came by.  Mushrooms had popped up in the grass. The ground cherry had lanterns beginning. And at lunch, a white breasted nuthatch came to the feeder.  It was waiting for the finch to let it land on the feeder.  A skink ran across the patio.  A tiny beetle like a yellow ladybug hunted in the rosemary.  A yellow wasp looked for prey in the rotting sunflowers.  

Sunny with big cumulus clouds

The female towhee poked around below the feeder, joined by a juvenile cardinal that hasn't figured out the feeder perch yet.  The two adult male cardinals got into a fight.  A hummer visited briefly.

I went looking for the Mississippi kite but had no luck.  There were fiery skippers on the lantana when I got home and a white cabbage butterfly flitted past.  The male towhee showed up at lunch.  He can erect a sort of crest when agitated.  I saw a skink after lunch.  

The sky cleared in the early afternoon, then clouds came back as the sun moved into the West.  I found a big dead green frog in the pool skimmer.  Lots of little, flat snails clung to the pool rim.  I saw a wolf spider and a reddish slater spider that preys on isopods.  A tiger swallowtail flitted over the pool.  While I was in the pool, two hummers fought over the feeder.  One looked like a male but the sun was behind it so I couldn't be sure.  Dragonflies perched along the retaining wall. 

While sitting on the patio, I saw titmice, goldfinches (M&F), a brown headed nuthatch, a mockingbird, and a blue jay.  The female towhee returned and the hummer warz continued.  I was on the phone and thus missed photographing the nuthatch which was soooo close.  The clouds brought their own drama and a brief downpour followed by the sun's return.  

Dark clouds and bright sun

A variable sort of day.  I didn't have much time in the morning and can only report a towhee.  Just before lunch, a female goldfinch worked on the sunflower.  And, of course, the regulars were out.  We went out for lunch and on the pavement there was a dead Junebug that had turned the copper of a new penny.

In the afternoon, I saw titmice, a white breasted nuthatch, and an adolescent male hummingbird.  A skinny skink saw me and ran for its life.  A black swallowtail butterfly egged the rue while a blue dasher dragonfly patrolled the air from the perch I put out.

Later the sky cleared.  A female towhee and a female hummer showed up.  The moon has passed the first quarter. 

Foxes and more

There is blue sky between the clouds and some sun.  It is very humid.  The morning began with foxes, one adult and one cub.  They moseyed around the perimeter of the yard, stopping to nuzzle affectionately.

The female towhee poked through the mulch.  Skinks ran everywhere.  I saw an orange butterfly and then a hairstreak landed on the portulaca. The male goldfinch was back at the sunflower. A hummer found the fresh juice acceptable now that the vines don't overhang the feeder. 

Titmice visited the feeder in the afternoon.  The sky turned white and, while the sun was visible, it barely glowed until around 7pm when it finally slipped below the cloud layer.

Gray day

Both female and male towhees visited. The female was startled by the fledgling cardinal.  A female goldfinch inspected the sunflowers.  The house finches have dominated the feeder today. A blue jay checked the mulch for food. 

A squirrel went after dogwood berries.  I tried to use the pruning pole to remove the morning glory vines overhanging the hummer feeder, with only partial success. 

Lunch was very late.  The male goldfinch worked on the sunflowers whenever K was inside.  A flock of bold, probably young, titmice swarmed the feeder.  A wren joined in till it was shoved off by the tailless cardinal.  A dove landed and left.  A hummer looked for the feeder which isn't up yet because there are still more vines to come down. A skink ventured out.

Well, now the hummer feeder is back up and the vines look mangled.  Fireflies are out.  It never rained but it never stopped looking like it would rain any minute. 

Wet

Enough rain fell overnight to fill the birdbath.  Unfortunately, the camera wanted to focus on the raindrops on the window instead of the scene beyond.  In addition to cardinals, house finches, and chickadees, this morning's visitors included a Carolina wren, a male towhee, a hummer, and numerous titmice.  A juvenile cardinal's feathers were a mix of male, female, and white.  I need to figure out how to trim the morning glory back from the hummer feeder so the ants can't use the leaves as a bridge. 

Rain fell, off and on, all day.  In the mid-afternoon, a female towhee foraged in the wet mulch.  At one point she seemed to be after a bug, or a very mobile seed.  A blue jay and a mockingbird hung around.  The top branches of the fig trees were full of birds.  Egrets and little green herons were out fishing. 

Gray

Light rain fell briefly.  A titmouse joined the regulars.  There were quite a few chickadees competing for a place on the feeder perch. 

Two hummers appeared in the late morning.  I thought it was going to be the usual chase, but they both flew up into the dogwood and touched beaks.  I guess they must have been mother and child. They rested a while after, then the lower one took off.  I've got to clean the feeder again - it's got ants.

While at physical therapy, I have been amused by the mockingbirds that nest in the holly by the door.  Today there was also a very small bunny on the ground, trimming the grass.  I speculated that the parking lots discourage predators.