Fierce wind!

Yesterday I left at dawn to help present a workshop.  I saw a gull on the HRBT and several crows at HU.  There were glimmers of sun after lunch but rain started around 3pm.  The harbor was fogging in as I returned and a behemoth with yellow glowing eyes was probably a container ship.  When I got home, we turned around for K to perform at church.  So I never touched a computer. 

This morning the wind had already dried the pavement and pushed the dock back up.  Wildlife was in hiding.  Around noon, a cardinal, a finch, and a couple of white throats ventured out. The wind wasn't as bad and there were glimmers of sun. This one illuminated the feeder. 

As predicted, around 3pm the cloud cover broke apart and individual clouds flowed south on the wind.  A flock of gulls spied something in the water but I didn't see them catch anything.  A pelican made a pass and and egret soared downstream.  A couple of buffleheads faced downstream while actually moving in the opposite direction.  The squirrels came out.  A hawk (Cooper's or Sharp Shinned) swooped around the edge of the pool.  Dramatic cloud beams speared out of the West till the sun dropped into a bank of cloud on the horizon. 

Patchy clouds

It was cloudy but bright in the morning.  Squirrels were playing Tarzan in the bushes.  Maybe they did so all summer but now that the leaves have dropped it's more obvious.  No birds visited.  Geese flew up the creek.

Things livened up at lunch.  A white throat visited the feeder, along with the regulars.  A small flock of juncos were everywhere.  A wren was hidden by the fallen leaves.  A male bufflehead and some female pintails paddled while geese wandered the far bank.  A heron flew over.  As usual, I could hear more birds than I could see.  The cold wind drove me back inside.

Quiet

Patchy clouds were keeping the sun away but it was definitely brighter today.  Chickadees and finches came to the feeder.  A bufflehead and geese floated on the water while a pelican cruised above. 

A great blue heron sailed out of the West mid-morning.  White throats and squirrels foraged at lunch.  Cormorants commuted in the twilight.

Light fog

I saw the fog begin after dark last night and it was still here in the morning.  Juncos poked through the mulch.  On the creek, buffleheads and mergansers were briefly joined by Canada geese.  Then I glimpsed a goose-size dark bird, possibly a brant.

By lunch, the fog had become cloud and the feeder birds arrived.  I saw a Carolina wren but then the feral cat appeared and the wren disappeared.  Titmice joined the regulars.  Eventually white throats came to kick through the mulch. 

After my evening meeting the moon was riding high and bright so the clouds must have broken. 

A misty, moisty morning

It was evident that there was rain overnight and mist began to dot the glass around 9am.  Pelicans cruised the creek.  A lone male bufflehead paddled aimlessly until a small flock of hooded mergansers arrived.  But they left without him.  A group of female pintails headed upstream.  On the feeder, the regulars took turns. A white throat scuttled under the azalea.

At lunch, titmice were mobbing the feeder.  A little later a thrush hit a window, this time in the back near the feeder.  It didn't seem too disoriented and soon ran into the bushes.  I'm not sure why this is happening now - its not the season for territoriality and the visibility was very different on the two occasions.

Lots of fishing

Pelicans cruised the creek and a crow chased a gull.  A male bufflehead and cormorants fished from the surface.  I also saw a couple of egrets.  It was a gorgeous fall morning and the sun made everything glow.

The junco came back along with chickadees.  A yellow rumped warbler flitted about.  A woodpecker hammered the neighbors' gazebo.  Little brown jobs I suspect were brown creepers hopped up the oak trunk.  Blue jays called as did several birds I didn't recognize.  A buzzard soared.  Bees and yellowjackets were busy and buzzed me twice. The pine trees are loaded with cones so some birds and squirrels will eat well. 

After lunch we went over to Lake Lawson Natural Area.  It was really warm!  Where the road crosses the water we saw egrets and ducks.  When we walked back the ducks were gone.  A flock of robins rushed around the treetops.  A pileated woodpecker called.  There were other birds but they wouldn't come out and pose. As we were leaving, I saw a white cabbage butterfly flying. 

When we got home, ants were swarming in the mulch - creepy!  The moon was waxing toward full against a clear blue sky.  Much later around 11pm, it was still shining brightly, but clouds were streaming past out of the North. 

Sunny and warmer

Crows and cormorants were the only sights at breakfast. A squirrel tried to puzzle out the bird feeder with the usual lack of success.  Later white throated sparrows foraged in the mulch.  Pelicans cruised the creek and some great blue herons soared over the trees. Bees visited the rosemary despite a stiff wind. 

A male bufflehead dived and just as I thought it would reappear, a goose paddled into view.  Then a whole flock came downstream with one brown duck in their midst.