Sunshine

Cardinals courted on the feeder perch where he didn't have to work hard to feed her.  House finches and chickadees were joined by downy woodpeckers at the feeders.  I put out mealworms which were gobbled up by a squirrel.  White throats and a male towhee foraged under the feeders and I glimpsed a wren down on the lower patio.  An emergence of flying insects, probably mating termites, from the mulch attracted dragonflies. 

Yellow pollen made artistic swirls on the water. As night fell, I saw two bright planets, one descending to the West, the other just past zenith.  But no moon - tonight is the dark of the moon.  Friends reported fog out over the bay but I saw none. 

Quiet day

The sky was cloudy, the air warm, and the creek still.  Downy woodpeckers and white throated sparrows joined the regulars.  In 2013, the white throats stayed till May 8.  (I started to check my last sightings of winter migrants last spring but realized that I was gone after April 9.  I had to look at 2013 to get a comparison.) 

Mallard drakes kept landing uninvited in the pool while Canada geese hung out on the floating dock.  There was lots of honking all morning.  A couple of Carolina wrens flitted through the shrubbery.  A cabbage white also flitted around.  Hover flies, bees, and other bugs buzzed around the flowers.  I think the temperature dropped a bit.  Fish jumped in the creek.

After lunch, I saw a blue tailed skink. A cabbage white appeared to have lost much of its hind wings, probably to a bird.  Four blackbirds and a flicker landed in the sycamore which has begun to leaf out. 

Clearing skies

Clouds moved off East.  The male towhee was very much in evidence yesterday and today.  I'm guessing he's feeding a brooding female.  A brown thrasher foraged in the grass and a cardinal found something to eat in the cherry tree.  There were two male cardinals around.  I glimpsed a male goldfinch as I was folding sheets.  The downy woodpeckers, yellow rumped warblers, and white throated sparrows were still here.  The starlings came back again.  Only mallards disturbed the creek.

At lunch time I discovered a female mallard with her bosom plopped over the pool coping.  A dragonfly buzzed the pool.  Then a five-lined skink with a very short tail posed on the side of the steps.  Clouds kept slowly passing East. 

Cloudy

The sky was streaked with cloud that gradually filled in.  A red bellied woodpecker came to the suet but startled and flew off.  A blue jay flew past.  White throats and downy woodpeckers hung around.  I had to chase mallards - two drakes and a female - out of the brim-full pool.  Already it was covered with pollen and flower strings from the oak since the water was above the skimmer.. 

A dove meandered around the patio.  It was joined by a male towhee.  Then two starlings arrived.  One sought suet but the other carried off nesting material.  A goldfinch pair showed up only to be scared off by the starlings.  A brown thrasher disappeared under the azaleas.  The red bellied woodpecker came back for more suet. 

Rain

It was warm and still and overcast when I rehung the clean hummer feeder.  Yellow rumped warblers, downy woodpeckers, and white throated sparrows came for breakfast.  A pair of courting cardinals tipped the feeder counterweight but didn't notice as he fed her.  A towhee was up in the sweet gum.

Spring showers kept everything wet but didn't put a drinkable amount of water in the birdbath.  I need to fill it as the pool is now open and the birds have lost the pool cover puddle.  Downy woodpeckers were back at lunch.  A bee tried to get satisfaction from the hummer feeder.  A crow ran an osprey all over the sky.

A deluge started around 5pm and rain continued into the evening.  It certainly filled the birdbath!  Wet chickadees and grumpy cardinals joined us for supper. 

Sunny

I slept late and probably missed a lot.  In the mid morning, a female red bellied woodpecker came for suet.  A little later, a Carolina wren was on the suet cage.  White throats were out foraging.  There was a lot of honking on the creek but all I saw was ripples.

At lunch time I saw a dragonfly and a skink!  Chickadees ignored me to get their lunch.  Two blue jays flew past us as we ate. 

The sky was hazy blue.  In the late afternoon juncos appeared and a towhee flew by.  Other than that, I saw more woodpeckers, warblers, and white throats. 

Busy feeders

The feeders were lively this morning.  The goldfinches returned as did the red bellied woodpecker and a Carolina wren.  Yellow rumped warblers tussled, downy woodpeckers took turns, and white throated sparrows were everywhere.  All three of the feeder regulars showed up - cardinals, chickadees and house finches.  And, we were visited by a chipping sparrow, the first I've seen in several years.

The sun shone and the trees bloomed.  The creek was flat at dawn but soon its surface was in motion.  It was pleasantly cool when I picked fresh narcissus. A blue jay was out in the trees. 

When we got home, most of the same birds were back, plus a couple of juncos.  The sky was a bright blue and there was a breeze.  The warblers were definitely changing to summer plumage and looked very disheveled.