Ice

The birdbath is frozen as is the rainwater on the pool cover.  There is frost on the dock and patchy skins of ice on the creek.  And I could definitely see my breath when I poured hot water into the birdbath.

A blue jay swooped through around 7:30 and all the birds appeared.  Juncos, a wren, and a sparrow were joined on the ground by whoever wasn't on the feeder, cardinals, finches, and chickadees.  Nuthatches arrived last.  Then they all left.

The day has gotten warmer, windier, and cloudier.  Twice, a flock of cormorants and mergansers has come diving and arcing upstream, driving a school of fish, I presume.  They go by before I can get the camera focused.  Crows found another hawk to harass.  A pelican passed through.

At noon a new shift came to the feeder.  This time a towhee joined in, maybe because the day was no longer bright?  Both song and white throats joined juncos, a cardinal, a wren and the towhee on the ground.  The wren got up on the feeder and shoveled out goodies to those below.  The nuthatches arrived to help.

A blue jay was working on something in the crotch of the dogwood across the pool when a woodpecker startled it off.  I cannot tell what kind of woodpecker as all I could see was a white tummy and black-and-white wing. When I looked at the photos, I discovered a cardinal in the bush next to the blue jay.

Toward evening, when the tide is low, a great black-backed gull was working at something in the mud under the bulkhead across the creek.  A great blue heron coasted in and landed next to the gull.  The gull lost the stare-down, but paddled around in the water nearby.  When next I checked, the heron was gone and the gull was back at work. There is a small moth on the window tonight, on the last night of the year. 

Lazy morning turns windy

The moon was just touching the treetops in the West when I got up.  The camera could not see it against the morning sky.  A bufflehead is making ripples in the creek surface.  There is a light wind, but only a single chickadee has appeared.  The sky is cloudless this morning and I could almost see my breath.  I hear crows, as always, and geese paddle by, as always.

By 9am, the wind had picked up and gusts were roaring in the trees.  Cloud puffs on the Northern horizon are moving East, but the wind in the trees looks like it is out of the Southeast.  It's hard to tell because it's swirling around houses.  A Carolina wren was on the feeder until a female house finch took over.  Juncos scurried around the patio.  A cormorant fished on the now-rough creek, then a parade of geese headed downstream. A pelican flew upstream. 

By noon, more birds were braving the wind.  Two nuthatches traded off on the feeder till a finch pair showed up.  The white-throated sparrow continues to hunker down in the mulch facing into the wind.  On the water, I think I see mergansers with the buffleheads.  A kingfisher lit on a piling and pelicans continue to fly by.

At lunch, the wren came back and proceeded to shovel seeds and husks out of the feeder.  It held its ground when the cardinals arrived.  Meanwhile juncos scurried and the sparrow foraged.  Nuthatches and chickadees also tried for feeder seeds.

After sundown, a bright planet cleared the trees in the East, probably Jupiter.  It's two days past full so I'm still waiting for moonrise.

Rain again

And that brought a towhee, this time a male, I think.  Interesting that they only visit on rainy mornings.  Sharing the mulch were juncos, a wren, and a song sparrow.  On the feeder, finches, cardinals, and chickadees stocked up.  It's a good thing I refilled it yesterday. The birds all showed up around 7:30 and were gone by 8am.

Sunlight is flickering on in the afternoon, but dark clouds persist to the North.  A nuthatch ventured out despite the wind.  The clouds are moving very fast to the ESE.  A pelican flew upstream and five buffleheads held station off the dock.  A junco stuffed itself on the feeder while a white-throated sparrow settled into the wet mulch.  A small flock of mallards flew upstream.  A buzzard circled the creek.  A couple dozen crows all headed upstream, no doubt to make life a burden for a hawk.

The camera is still being fussy about focus. The rising moon is round and bright so I guess the sky has cleared. 

Quiet

The creek is smooth and the trees are still.  Soft cumulus blend without edges into blue sky,  The feeder needs to be refilled.  A cardinal and a chickadee poked at it without much luck.  Juncos are more successful on the ground beneath.  Several buzzards circled over the creek, why I don't know.  I hear crows.

Pelicans and ducks at lunch, both mallards and buffleheads.  Then the crows started diving at the top of one of the pines till they eventually drove out a hawk.  I wonder if the crows o it for fun or as a way of showing off to potential mates? 

The clouds got more defined later in the day, but just when I hoped for a colorful sunset, they all blew away East leaving a haze that obscured the light.  I refilled the feeder but only one chickadee has noticed.  A bufflehead led a flotilla of geese downstream. 

Blue sky morning

The rain blew out to sea but the wind is still blowing.  The sun is bright and the air is cold.  Little birds were hungry.  First came chickadees, then titmice, nuthatches, and finally a wren.  On the ground, a song sparrow sorted mulch.  Later a cardinal appeared.  I also saw a little bird going up the trunk of the remaining oak tree, but that's too far of to be sure it's a nuthatch.   Geese paddled upstream.

It's gull weather - they're out playing on the wind.  A pelican flew upstream and a bufflehead paddled down. While we ate lunch, several pelicans cruised by.  The wind is very gusty.  Crows rousted a hawk from the pines across the creek.  More pelican fly-bys and I think I glimpsed a kingfisher. 

Drizzle

A high gray tide is coming in under a gray sky.  The wind is up.  A chickadee visited the feeder. A junco hunted through the leaves that accumulated in the corner.  The female cardinal that appears to have difficulty perching was startled off the feeder by a male.  Sometimes I think I see a dangling foot under it.  It is now raining.

By noon the rain is coming down hard and the wind is roaring.  A gust stirred up the leaves in the corner.  That always reminds me of awkward lines from "A Visit from Saint Nicholas."  "As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly, When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky," which I always want to edit, though I appreciate the image.

In between waves of rain in the afternoon, the female cardinal came back and a nuthatch also visited.   Around 4pm the rain was so heavy it made a fog.  And at dusk a dark cloud swept North and extinguished all light.

Not much stirring

The sky is blue and the creek glassy.  It's nippy but not really cold without wind.  A cardinal brightened the feeder and a couple of white throated sparrows kicked the mulch around.  I got up late and may have missed other birds.

A half hour later it is overcast.  There is a female cardinal that acts as though something is wrong with its feet.  It rests on its belly on the feeder and moves with difficulty, but it flies without any problem so I cannot get close.

 Now the sun is finding breaks in the clouds.  I decided to give the squirrels some peanuts to make merry.  One squirrel has whiter than average ears - all the gray squirrels here have white on the back of their ears, but this one has large, furry patches of white.  A male squirrel has lost its tail. It has a furred stub and a bare, skinned bit sticking out beyond.  I think a predator grabbed its tail and pulled it off, but K thinks it got burned.  It does not seem to be unhealthy otherwise and certainly has an appetite for peanuts.  There are at least five squirrels around.

Chickadees and nuthatches came for lunch.  On the ground a white throat stayed out of the way of the squirrel with the white spot on its hip.  A pelican flew past.