Another two-fer

I had to change the password and didn't have it on the laptop yet, so I couldn't open Blogger yesterday.  But it was a good bird day.  Wind roughed up the creek but that didn't stop pelicans.  A great blue heron used the floating dock. 

A couple of feathers were snagged on a mountain mint stalk.  The orioles were still here.  A pale pine warbler sneaked past the boss butterbutt, but not for long.  A female red-bellied woodpecker discovered the suet.  Juncos came to forage.  Starlings came for everything.  

The newspaper began publishing the pollen count - happy Spring!

Today I burned through a whole lot of pixels.  The gray sky refused to release much rain.  Brown headed nuthatches kept the sunflower feeder busy.  A white breasted nuthatch was more interested in suet and other treats.  Expecting rain, I put out no jelly so the orioles ate barkbutter balls.  So did starlings and bluebirds.  The butterbutt monitored the feeders from a tree branch.  Juncos and the pale pine warbler returned.  Robins hung out in the trees. 

Pelicans coasted above the creek while a handful of buffleheads bobbed on the surface.  The water wasn't as rough as yesterday.  Egrets and herons fished the shallows.  One heron roosted up in the pine.  A half dozen hoodies came along in the late afternoon.  A herring gull, I think, floated around the end of the dock.  It was paler than the typical herring gull but didn't look like any other species.  

Sun and wind

 Pelicans fished but the camera wouldn't focus.  I saw bluebirds and orioles after I put out food. 

March wind

The wind was stronger a couple of days ago, but I really felt it today.  It didn't seem to bother the pileated woodpecker.  After he left the suet, he interacted with a flicker up in the oak.  Bluebirds wanted fresh barkbutter balls.  As soon as I put out more the orioles came back, then blue jays. 

A robin just wanted water.  A female house finch puffed up so much I thought I was looking at a different bird.  A handful of red-winged blackbirds came to forage.  A white breasted nuthatch wanted a turn at the seeds.  A brown headed nuthatch had an easier time of it. 

Something small floated on the creek, keeping the same spot despite wind and current, but I couldn't get it in focus.  The feral black and white cat made itself comfortable on my chair.  Fortunately, the dog was ready to go outside.  It took him a minute to home in on the cat but then he was off like a rabbit. 

The wind was really fierce on Tuesday.  I hardly saw any birds.  Toward evening as the light was failing, a white breasted nuthatch was frustrated by a cardinal that had taken over the seed feeder.  

Spring fever

This early Spring has made me lazy.  Yesterday slipped away without a post and it wasn't for lack of photos or interest.  Both days were sunny with a nippy breeze, especially Saturday.  The oak, peach, and redbuds flowered, the wild cherry began to leaf out, and buds burst on a dogwood.  Sweet gum buds looked ready to pop and I found fig leaves!  Buds were visible on the blueberries but not yet open.  Fortunately there were early bumblebees. 

The female orioles remained and a male showed up.  At least two bluebird pairs visited the feeders.  Myrtle warblers fussed over pecking order.  Blue jays stuffed their beaks.  Downy woodpeckers were faithful to their suet.  Starlings scattered food everywhere.  Red-winged blackbirds were much better behaved.  A few robins remained from the flock in the pecan. 

Pelicans fished on the creek but I never got a good shot. The sun reached a lot more of the patio and flowerbeds.  The moon was well up and looking fat by the time I took my library books back on Saturday.  

A mockingbird greeted the Sunday sun.  Then a blue jay wanted breakfast.  Orioles started arriving, then bluebirds.  Robins came back to drink.  The female orioles were much more assertive with the male than they were a month ago.  He definitely ate last.  Red-winged blackbirds briefly returned.  And of course there were starlings.  

I saw a junco.  A white breasted nuthatch was more interested in suet than seeds. The first grackle I've seen in years popped up but didn't stay long.  And a cedar waxwing accompanied a robin to the birdbath!  

Gray day

The rain began about half an hour after I got up, just individual drops in the birdbath at first.  Birds only showed up after the rain started.  A myrtle warbler seemed overwhelmed by a barkbutter ball.  A white breasted nuthatch sampled everything, and for a moment, there were two of them.  Bluebirds were more picky.  Female orioles pecked at the remains of yesterday's jelly. 

K told me there was a flock of birds in the pecan tree out front setting up a racket.  I couldn't be sure what they were, silhouetted against the sky, but there were hints of redness and I'm guessing they were robins.  I had hoped for cedar waxwings but I saw no sign of crests. 

After lunch, I spotted a song sparrow in the mulch around the birdbath.  Juncos had foraged their earlier, as had a dove.  A cardinal brooded on the seed feeder perch.  

I glimpsed an egret and a pelican in the morning.  In the afternoon, a couple of hoodie hens paddled upstream.  A great blue heron huddled on the neighbors' floating dock and another watched the lake.  Shovelers, I think, flew toward the dam.  

Wood ducks!

Rain came down so hard before dawn that I thought I was hearing ocean waves.  It fell more gently during breakfast ans a pileated woodpecker ignored it to eat suet.

After the rain stopped, I refilled the dish feeders.

I saw a pelican, but didn't get a photo.

A pair of wood ducks roamed the creek looking for a nesting site, a sure sign that Spring is here.  

Not like a lion

March came in quite gently.  The only lion-like element was the long=haired yellow cat.  The oak tree burst into flower.