Rain

A pelican flew laboriously down the creek.  Finches were first on the feeder.  Then a sparrow challenged one and an aerial battle ensued, which the smaller finch won.  Chickadees and cardinals showed up and a Carolina wren appeared briefly.  The other white throats scurried on the ground and popped into the rosemary.  The rain comes in waves, never quite stopping. 

Once K started to grill lunch the rain picked up and turned to steam on the grill.  A wren found the peanut bits I'd left for it.  White throats stayed busy.  The day continued dreary all the way to dark.

Dark, dank, and cold

The temperature really dropped.  Clouds are hanging heavy and the wind is cutting.  But yesterday's warmth persuaded the Carolina jessamine to bloom.  House finches, chickadees, white throats, and a Carolina wren came to the feeder. 

The moon was a little wider tonight as it appeared in a gap in the clouds. 

Early birds

The sky is gray but the early sun is leaking under the clouds.  Everything is wet.  A Carolina wren shared the feeder with a white throated sparrow while other sparrows scurried below.  Chickadees and cardinals arrived.

Tufted titmice joined the others around mid-morning.  A bufflehead paddled on the rough water kicked up by the wind.  The clouds are more individual with edges now, and there are blue patches.

Later in the afternoon, the clouds became a fleet of cream and gray cotton balls moving East. Lots of little bugs are enjoying the unseasonable warmth.

After dark there was a fuzzy sliver of moon, then the sky cleared, stars appeared, and the temperature plunged.

 

Misty

It's not raining but everything is wet.  White throated sparrows are everywhere.  At 9:30, the sun briefly burned through , though the sky is still gray. 

Later, cardinals, chickadees, and one song sparrow joined the throng.  A squirrel with a sore elbow foraged under the feeder while another built a nest in the pine across the pool.  The sun comes and goes, mostly goes. 

Rain and fog

I left in the dark and returned in the dark.  I did see the sunset break through on the HRBT. 

Fog lay over the tidal creeks of the Peninsula and in the woods.  The Chickahominy River looked particularly sodden and desolate - made me think of John Smith's capture there. 

Fog again

The fog hung over the creek and slowly dissipated in the sun.  Some frost showed on the dock but nowhere else.  The creek was like a mirror that breathed slowly.  Occasional leaves fluttered and fell, slowly but fairly straight down in the still air.  White throats, chickadees, and an assertive wren came for breakfast.  A squirrel is building a nest in the fork of the oak. 

Mid-morning, a wall of cloud moved in from the West and hid the sun. It soon stretched and cracked and broke apart. I took a look at the sunflowers I'd dumped outside the day before Thanksgiving and, lo, there was the inchworm!  So I transferred it to a seed head on the live plant. I think it is a Common Eupithecia.  It picked a totally inappropriate place to pretend to be a twig.  Bees are visiting the rosemary.

A couple of buffleheads paddled in the creek and a curious sparrow inspected us at lunch. 

The sun set in a bed of streaky stratus clouds that were a brassy yellow gray. 

Frosty morning

The junco popped up first on the frosty mulch.  White throats followed and a Carolina wren came to the door to complain that I hadn't left it any goodies.  On the feeder, I saw chickadees, finches, and titmice.  There's a hint of mist in the distance, but not the fog I thought was gathering last night.  I guess it precipitated as frost.

Wait, wait, fog is moving South toward us now...It just swept through, blotting out the trees and glowing in the sunlight ... and then gone.  I took the opportunity to scatter a couple of peanut pieces, but instead the wren took possession of the feeder and drove chickadees and titmice away. The grass is wet and the frost is melting everywhere, but the birdbath has long crystals of ice.  The creek is glassy except when a bird or fish disturbs it.

All the ice was gone by late morning and bees were feeding on the rosemary.  Cardinals and sparrows contended for the feeder.  A lone merganser male paddled up the creek.  Two crows did aerial battle.

The white throats continued to eat all afternoon.  Sunset was made interesting by cloud streaks.  I learned that an ice fog is a pogonip, but I don't think that's quite the same as simply having fog when there's frost.