Warm

I went outside to listen to the birds.  I should have recorded them.  I heard a woodpecker hammering, a kingfisher giggling, blue jays screeching, crows cah-ing, cardinals, titmice, chickadees, and others I don't know.  There was new growth on the rue. Leaves were beginning to show on the wild cherry.  The sky was hazy and streaked but the sun was bright and warm.  I had a good shot at a blue jay and the camera focused on the background. A titmouse climbed a pine trunk.  Maybe it had been watching the nuthatches?  The butterbutt was a perfect match in hue with the daffodils.

A squirrel almost defeated the squirrel-proof feeder.

Canada geese found something they liked in the water just below our yard. There was more action on the lake than the creek.  Turtles soaked up sun while ducks stirred up food.

A blue jay with a misshapen beak visited the feeder outside my window.  It looked like another bird had pecked its neck.  It was able to pick up a bark butter ball but I don't know how well it eats otherwise. 

I finally saw the kingfisher but it took off before I had it in focus.The south wind brought not only warmth but clouds.  There wasn't a sunset, just dropping light.  After dark I could see the first quarter moon overhead, but it was just a blur of white. The warmth and the South wind may be pushing spring migrants.  This map suggests it's time to put an optimistic hummer feeder out. 

Pollen!

Unless it was an error, today's newspaper switched from "pollen will return in the spring" to "Today's pollen outlook High." A lot of spring flowers are opening but it is the wind-pollinated flowers that cause allergic reactions, and those flowers are small and dull.  Maybe the maple trees are responsible?

The male downy was on the suet at breakfast.  The creek was full of wavy reflections.  The usual suspects ate sunflower seeds and the white throats cleaned up what they dropped.  The myrtle warbler was on patrol.  But nothing ate the jelly. 

Little flowers peeked out of the grass, mostly field pansy and birdseye speedwell veronica neither of which is a native. I saw a flower at the bottom of an azalea bush.  The callery pears, of course, were everywhere. 

Turtles were out on logs on the lake.  A shoveler and several wood drakes paddled by them. Then I saw a wood duck pair just below me on the creek.  They may have seen me because they headed across the water.

 

Blue sky

It was quite a bit cooler, and windy.  The creek and the lake waters were rough but I didn't see any waterfowl.  The chickadees were feisty this morning.  White throats were doing the usual.  So was the butterbutt bully, putting the war in warbler. 

Later in the day the lake grew calm and the turtles came out.  I counted at least ten. 

When I got out of an evening meeting, the crescent moon was bright, but lacking details like craters.  I could see a lot of stars despite the urban light scatter. 

Warm

The day started off sunny.  The creek glowed with the light reflected from the trees. A downy woodpecker breakfasted on suet. White throats stayed with sunflower seeds.  I put out jelly and saw a squirrel and a crow sample it, but not an oriole.

As I was about to leave for the pool, I saw a big midge-like insect on the window.  On the way, I saw mockingbirds everywhere and finally photographed one at the library.  The sky grew hazy then cloudy while I was gone.

Birds were scarce.  Perhaps they were finding bugs to eat.  Hyacinths were beginning to bloom. A crow tugged at a redwood twig, perhaps for nesting material.  Sunset was quite colorful around the edges of the cloud cover.

March wind

Daylight savings dawned dark and dank from overnight rain.  The myrtle warbler was up and guarding its food supply.  But by the time church let out the clouds were breaking apart and the sun was warm.  On the way home, wind held flags straight out as if wired.

More clouds kept blowing through in the afternoon and, when they blocked the sun, the wind gusted. The myrtle warbler was still at it.  White throats hunted fallen seeds.  A couple of pine warblers tried to get something to eat.  Downy woodpeckers kept up their assault on the suet. 

Turtles lined the logs on the lake.  Water gushed down from the dam outfall but no one was fishing there.  Crows danced on the wind that grounded smaller birds.  A squirrel sat on a branch in the neighbors' yard and squalled like it was treed by a cat, but I couldn't see any threat.  I pulled some more leucojum, paying for my mistake. 

Love in the air

The sky was gloomy and overcast all day.  Downy woodpeckers breakfasted with us.  A mallard drake napped on the dock.  The myrtle warbler guarded its feeders.  I glimpsed a Carolina wren.

At lunch, a titmouse and a nuthatch darted in to get seeds.  White throats were beginning to go to the feeder as well as pick up what fell from it.

The female cardinal sat on the feeder hanger and waited.  And sure enough, the male popped up from the perch and fed her a seed!  Just a few days ago he was still being a rude boor.  And then the squirrels started up.  They carried on up and down the dogwood trunk, apparently having a wonderful time.

Buds appeared on the blueberry twigs.  The Carolina jessamine was blooming.  And the dwarf daffodils joined the early daffodils. A late flower was opening on the camellia.  Most of the buds got frosted. 

Damp

I woke up to a gray sky that signaled the freeze was over. White throats were prospecting for fallen seeds.  And one had a brief shower in the birdbath.  The red breasted nuthatches were more cooperative than usual.  The yellow streaked myrtle warbler continued its bullying.  But the downy woodpeckers took over the suet. 

The creek was liquid glass with nothing interesting to reflect.   A crow visited and objected to my orange peel dish full of jelly atop the bark butter feeder.  It removed the whole thing and set it in the grass.  A light rain began about 11am and continued off and on through the day. 

At lunch, a titmouse joined the feeder crowd.  A pine warbler tried to eat but the myrtle warbler was on the case.  Then a female oriole showed up and the warbler gave up.  Then a blue jay scared off the oriole.  Meanwhile, a Carolina wren eluded me. 

At the far end of the pool a squirrel was turning somersaults.  Later another peeled bark off the redwood for nesting material.  I wonder if it repels insects like cedar? 

A northern shoveler was feeding on the lake.  And a crow was crabbing along the water's edge below the redwood.  The tide dropped quite low although we are past the new moon.