Cold front

Morning belonged to a different day from afternoon!  And evening was different from both. A pine warbler came for breakfast in the warm sunshine.  I saw a blue jay.  Then we left.  While we were gone a wall of rain cloud slammed us and kept going, having dropped the temperature from the 70s to the 50s.  March did not depart like a lamb. 

Shortly after we got home, the clouds broke apart and the wind began to dry every surface.  Not all that much water fell - the birdbath wasn't half full.  A downy woodpecker hurried to the suet.  The pine warbler reappeared.  Titmice got their seeds faster than I could get the camera.  Buffleheads dived all over the creek.  I saw a fish cross the water in three leaps!  Sunset tinted the remaining clouds and their reflections.  Egrets congregated in a tree by the lake.

Still summery

The creek was glassy under a bright sun in the morning.  The white and yellow narcissus I call fried eggs popped open today.  A half dozen white throats scurried around under the feeder and drank from the birdbath.  Downy woodpeckers worked on the suet.  Egrets congregated at the dam outfall. 

A crow came calling, seeking bark butter balls, but another chased it away.  I gardened a bit, planted the lavender, threw seeds around. Yellow kneed wasps and huge carpenter bees flew uncomfortably close.  Maybe they were frustrated because the blueberry lowers weren't quite open.  Twice, I startled a skink but got no photo.  Turtles lined up on the log in the lake.  The dogwood by the pool steps started to flower but the petals didn't let go of each other and the result looks like a tiny box. 

Two blue jays up in the redwood appeared to be courting.  By then the sky was white, the water rough, and the wind came in gusts.  The resident myrtle warbler watched from the trees.  Speaking of which, the fungus disease in the cedar came back. 

A taste of Summer

The creek mirrored early sunlight on pilings across the creek.   A blue jay poked around the far edge of the pool.  At lunch, the myrtle warbler looked ragged with molting feathers.  But the male downy was sleek and smooth, except for the crumbs on his beak.  Violets bloomed blue, white and in between.  K brought home seeds and plants and a couple of BIG shepherd crook hangers for plants or feeders.  The sky was a little hazy and there were some clouds.  I heard birds but couldn't find them.  By supper time, the sky had clouded over.  And the feral cat came to bird watch.  After the cat gave up, a cardinal perched on the railing, but by then the light was gone. 

Warming

An osprey landed in the pines at breakfast.  Unfortunately, the window screen was in the way and diffracted the image.  The creek beneath was quite placid and sunlit.

Squirrels were still eating buds and shoots and new leaves.  Blue jays were still eating the bark butter balls.

Azalea buds were showing color.  I saw a polistes wasp in addition to all the carpenter bees. 

Chilly sunshine

Outside looked so enticing, but cold gusts of wind blew me back inside.  The creek was rough but sparkly.  Squirrels cavorted in the trees. 

A Carolina wren wanted suet for breakfast.  A white throated sparrow showed off the seed it found.  A downy woodpecker took over the suet.  The myrtle warbler was around.  An egret fished below the dam. 

The wood duck pair reappeared in the late afternoon.  Turtles hauled out onto the logs on the lake.  And, at sunset, a little female bufflehead popped up (literally).  A great blue heron stood on the corner of the neighbors' floating dock. 

Clearing

It was sprinkling when I left before dawn to go to a meeting in Norfolk.  That stopped by the time I got out, but the East wind made waves on the Lafayette River.  When I got home, I could see the edge of the overcast and an hour later, it had blown away.  But the air was a lot colder, even if it hadn't been blasting down from the Northeast.

Hungry birds appeared, led by a downy woodpecker.  Several white throats began foraging.  A blue jay watched and more flew through the yard.  The resident myrtle warbler tried the fresh suet.

The wind drove the tide high despite the nearly third quarter moon phase.  I saw a crow fly sideways and others flapping mightily without moving forward.  A mature bald eagle arced over the creek and out of sight.  Pelicans were strong enough to fish despite the wind, but in the sheltered creek.  The lee of the dam protected egrets.  The the sun drew turtles up onto the logs.

Toward evening, a pair of wood ducks came paddling fast along the shore headed upstream.  A little later, another drake came behind even faster.  Love triangle?  Meanwhile, egrets, a heron, and cormorants gathered on the snags on the lake. (The turtles were gone.)  The muscovy duck was hanging around the geese again.  Pink powder puffs dotted the sky and then it was twilight.

Changeable weather

Morning was warm and the sky was blue.  The only sight at breakfast was a cormorant acting weird.  It appeared to be trying to keep its wings out of the water while paddling furiously.  I had to rush off to an appointment.  Lots of mockingbirds were out performing as I came home. 

I saw the first skinklet of the year at lunch time.  The poor thing probably had no idea the temperature would soon to drop.  I glimpsed the red bellied woodpecker but it dropped out of sight behind a bush.  A myrtle warbler was almost dressed for summer as it ate bark butter.

Storm clouds moved in and sprinkles started around 5pm  Egrets hung out around the dam outfall.  A great blue heron perched by the lake and another hiked along the bulkhead.  Two bufflehead drakes and a female went downstream in the rain, diving and popping up to dive again.