Warm, with wood ducks!

Of course the wood ducks showed up during breakfast when my hands were full.  And they stayed hidden behind nearer branches most of the time.  Pelicans and cormorants fished all around them. 

We were late getting up and sparrows were all over the feeder trying to get it open. A couple of crows chased each other.  A heron landed across the creek, which looked polished with sharp reflections. 

The sky has gotten white as wispy clouds spread, but the sun is still bright.  The creek has gone rough. A canvasback paddled past. 

A pelican in mating plumage perched on a dock piling.  Wisps of cloud hazed the sky.

Toward dusk, a bird, probably a warbler, perched in the top of the redwood, flying out to catch bugs.  And I could see insects flying around lower.  The irony is that it reached nearly 70 today and it may snow tomorrow. Clouds congealed quickly after dark. 

Whole lot of chasing

The sky is overcast and rain is predicted.  Lots of pairs are racing round in the diffuse light.  Two great blue herons, two song sparrows, two gray squirrels, and in each case I cannot tell if it is flirtation or rivalry.  Also up early are white throats, cardinals, a chickadee, cormorants, and pelicans.  March has not come in like a lion so far - it's warmer with only a light wind.

Actually, it is still too cold for me.  A pair of hooded mergansers are diving repeatedly at the end of our dock.  Lots of cormorants are hanging around but only one ruddy duck has passed by.  Some mallards were over by the bulkhead.

A pelican in breeding plumage caught something off the dock.   Then a cormorant tussled with a silvery fish to get it headed the right way down the gullet.  Two male cardinals had a staring contest at various points around the yard. 

The afternoon was much the same, gray skies and good fishing.  

Bright and cold

No reflections this morning, instead the creek was dancing with sun sparks.  A cormorant fished while gulls flew over.  The sparrows partied at the feeder till a female cardinal broke it up.

Later the male towhee took over the feeder.  But the sparrows persist.  An egret swooped down to the bulkhead.  A pelican cruised up and then downstream.

Clumps of fur or down came drifting on the breeze.  I am guessing that a squirrel's nest disintegrated and this was its inner layer.  There was no sign of violence.

At lunch, it was the female towhee along with the regulars and the sparrows.  In the late afternoon, they both ventured out despite the sun.  A cardinal tried to argue, but the towhee is a little bigger.

Ice at dawn

The creek is skinned over except where the current runs along the opposite bank.  A male towhee and a titmouse joined the regulars, a dove, and the sparrows for breakfast.  The sky is all blue and very bright. 

The ice didn't last long.  I saw hooded mergansers along the bulkhead.  A white throat chased a song sparrow across the patio.  The song sparrow is slightly smaller.  Other white throats contended for the feeder as did cardinals.  One female cardinal hid in the bush when another appeared.  I wonder if they're mother and daughter?

Sparrows and chickadees kept at it all day under a clear sky.  After dark it got very cold. 

Snow didn't stick

Last night I could see stars, or at least planets, but this morning the sky is gray.  Snow is falling in small pellets but dissipating when it touches ground.  A sparrow was kicking through the mulch but left when the snow started.  Something is making rings on the creek. 

A Carolina wren inspected the crevices between the bricks.  The snow continues to fall after more than an hour. It paused around 9:30, then started up again.  All it has accomplished is to dampen the patio.  Meanwhile, a pair of towhees came to feed, as did titmice, and all the regulars, and both sparrow species.  Something woodpeckerish flitted around the trees.  Cormorants are out fishing. 

I spent the afternoon away from windows.  The night is cold but clearing. 

Do birds prefer overcast?

Today's overcast has texture, like a quilt.  The sun slipped through at dawn then disappeared.  Both the creek and the feeder have been active.  Diving ducks, cormorants, pelicans, gulls, and a great blue heron have been fishing.  A white breasted nuthatch joined the regulars and both sparrow species at the feeder.  Two yellow rumped warblers scurried below. 

At lunch, a male towhee joined the sparrows and regulars.  Stuff fell from the sky in little white pellets that melted quickly.  Herons and pelicans kept on hunting fish. The squirrel with the white spot on her hip showed up.  The clouds began to break up in the late afternoon.

Bright again

Mare's tail clouds were tiled across the blue, but they've moved out to sea.  Titmice tried to get a place at the feeder but the white throats were too greedy.  Cardinals and finches managed.  A song sparrow poked through the mulch. 

Lunch was late.  The song sparrow continued to forage in the mulch, occasionally interrupted by squirrels.  White throats and chickadees preferred the feeder.  On the creek, cormorants were alone.  Crows had business everywhere.  The creek surface is mirroring the sunlit trees. A robin perched in the oak, calling attention to the buds beginning to swell.

Twilight brought a pair of wood ducks I would barely see.