Hints of blue sky

The overcast is more broken the further West I look.  The clouds were edged with peach earlier.  Sparrows were breakfasting and an egret landed on our side of the creek.

Mid morning brought titmice, all the regulars, juncos, and a warbler. A heron landed on the boat lift and a pelican flew upstream. The money plant is beginning to get taller for its second year when it flowers.    Crows harassed a large bird, possibly an eagle.

And by 11am the ski was blue. At lunch, it seemed like a host of pelicans were in the air.  Two nearly collided. It is quite windy - March is not ending like a lamb.

By late afternoon, the feeder was back to sparrows and chickadees.  I think I saw the warbler again.  Some men in a boat looked official, as thought they might be planning the summer's dredging. 

Buds are opening

It's still wet and not all that warm.  The oak has yellow flowers emerging and the buds on one dogwood are swollen and about to pop.  Finches were first to the feeder, followed by sparrows. A hopeful squirrel again tried to pry the feeder open. 

As I was cooking lunch, first a Carolina wren, then a titmouse, and finally a cardinal and a chickadee joined the sparrows.   An egret banked and turned way downstream.  While we were eating, a hawk swooped over the feeder and everyone scattered.  I think it may have been a sharp shin because I saw bands on a long tail.  Later a squirrel got up on the table outside and showed off her nipples - clearly she's nursing. 

In the afternoon, Canada geese were out on the creek and pelicans were flying low over it.  The feeder was back to finches and sparrows,  Clouds were still sweeping West to East while the trees tossed in the wind.  It grew drier and colder than in the morning. 

Rainy day

I don't know when the rain started but the birdbath was full this morning.  It's a quiet rain, sometimes no more than drizzle.  A Carolina wren poked into the bushes and hopped around the patio.  It looked skinny, maybe because the temperature is warmer and it doesn't need to fluff up?  A titmouse or two came to the feeder along with the regulars and the sparrows.  There are bugs flitting around.

Forsythia is blooming along the fence.  A squirrel took advantage of a lull in the rain to they to open the feeder.  It slipped and caught itself on the perch and proceeded to acrobatics.  Another is denuding the top of the red cedar, presumably for nesting.

A glimmer of sunlight appeared at lunch but was soon chased off by dark clouds and returning rain.  An egret swooped down to the shore where it was out of my sight. 

Sunny morning

Osprey and pelicans were fishing at breakfast.  Cardinals, finches, and sparrows were foraging. The wren hopped around the grill.  Cloud cover thickened by late morning.  A cabbage butterfly flew past and I saw some other winged insects. 

At lunch, a blue jay flew across the yard. A couple of juncos poked around in the mulch.  Over head, an osprey carried a fish home.   The clouds congealed into individual cumulus with some blue between.  But as the afternoon progressed the sky became overcast.  The regulars and the sparrows continued to feed.  Toward evening, the cormorants commuted home along with egrets. Dark clouds rolled in from the West around 7pm.

Sunny again

Egrets and a heron are gathered along the bulkhead down by the dam to catch the early sun's warmth.  Some years more than thirty would assemble but I can only see about six today - there's brush in the way.  Chickadees and white throats are visiting the feeder.

A glaze of cloud is forming across the sky. It cleared and returned throughout the day.  In the late afternoon, ospreys fished and crows fussed at them. 

The day ended in a streaky tangerine sunset.  

Fish tale

The first thing I saw was an osprey laboriously flying upstream with a fish.  A pelican headed downstream did a midair U-turn to chase after it.  Was it hoping the fish would drop?  I don't think a pelican could attack an osprey, except maybe through sheer size.  Meanwhile, a great blue heron stood on the bulkhead and just watched.  A little later, cormorants popped up all over the creek.  Then another heron arrived and the two got into a dispute.  One landed on our dock.  The other plunged into the creek for a fish.  All this time gulls were circling and playing on the wind.  Several were great black backs and one landed on a piling.

The sun is bright but the wind is fierce, pushing the clouds East so fast they should have cartoon speed lines behind them. There's no sign of yesterday's weather except that the birdbath is full. Up by the feeder, it was just the regulars and the sparrows.  The cardinal pairs continue their turf war. This female lost and must forage in the mulch while the winner sits on the feeder. 

At lunch, we were visited by a male towhee, titmice, juncos, and a Carolina wren, in addition to the others.  The camera developed a problem just as the towhee showed up.  On and over the creek, the show continued.  Two crows harassed a buzzard up and down the creek's airspace.  I may have seen an eagle behind the trees.  There are more clouds and a little less wind, but they're still moving East quickly. 

It may be time for a new camera.  Toward evening, an osprey fished successfully.  Three herons raced downstream.  The cloudless sky glowed in the West. 

Juncos and a warbler

A little flock of juncos greeted me when I got home around 10am.  The regulars and the sparrows were also on the feeder and below.  The cardinals continue to contest possession of the feeder.  A butterbutt hung out around the edge of the yard.  Herons flew low over the creek and gulls flew high.

I had left before dawn and saw a misty third quarter moon overhead.  On my way back, a dark bar of cloud hung over the South and the rest of the sky was streaked with stratus.  After I got home, the sky cleared to the North.  But we are supposed to be having a Northeaster with precipitation. 

An hour later the rain arrived.  With it came a pine warbler and some titmice.  The regulars and the sparrows were hungry too.  More herons flew up and down the creek.  Cormorants popped up like periscopes.

The rain was steady all afternoon.  Several herons stood around in it.  A crow landed on the dock with a treat and two others arrived to get some.  The feeder has been intermittently busy.

After dark, the rain became mixed with fat flakes of snow and globs of slush.  It melted on contact.