Wind and rain

A friend said she was tired of March weather in April and that certainly fit the last day the month.  Morning was so windy there were waves on the creek.  Occasional blue patches of sky let in a little sunlight. 

Rain began around noon and was mostly gentle with a couple of downpours. According to the newspaper, that was a whole lot of rain.  And the winds approached hurricane force on the Outer Banks. 

Despite all that, a female goldfinch visited the seed feeder after lunch.  Then, just to confuse me, its place was taken by a pine warbler. 

Hazy sky

All I saw at breakfast was the cat.  The temperature climbed to 84 but it was very breezy.  I saw several skinks at lunch time, but the heat energized them and they were moving fast.  The same with insects.  I saw a butterfly but couldn't even tell what kind.  The bees, wasps, and hoverflies attracted to the rue were a little more leisurely, so I could tell there were honeybees among them. 

I restocked the bark butter balls and that brought out the bluebirds.  Around 9pm, I heard bangs against the window and discovered it was a big grasshopper or katydid, an Orthoptera at any rate.

Clouding over

 A titmouse came for breakfast.  They've been missing for a while.  Then a blue jay arrived.  Then I was busy for the rest of the morning. 

While I was out, I saw a song sparrow performing on an awning.  When I got home, a mockingbird in the pecan flashed its white wing stripes repeatedly.  But it was gone when I went back with a camera. Later I saw a couple of butterflies while pruning in the front yard.  I also found an infant earthworm struggling in a saucer of rainwater and encouraged it to move into the pot with the red ice plant.  What I did get on pixels was the male bluebird on the birdhouse. 

Blue grosbeak!

The hail storm at 11pm last night left evidence that hadn't melted by 7am.  A drift of ice flowed from the gutter downspout.  Fortunately, plants did not seem too badly battered.  Later I discovered that the dark crust on the patio concrete was scarred with spots that I believe were made by the hail. 

Several egrets were taking advantage of the stormwater flowing out of the lake which always seems to attract fish.  Rain continued to fall sporadically throughout the morning. 

Right after bluebirds breakfasted on bark butter mush, a darker bird about the same size showed up.  It was the first blue grosbeak I have ever seen in my life.  It didn't eat anything though.  I wonder if the storm carried it in?   The male downy checked to see if the suet had come back.  It hadn't so the downy had a little bark butter mush. 

Evening sunshine lit up the wet leaves as a bluebird ate.

Day improved

We began wet and chilly under a gray sky.   Nothing much was going on, perhaps because the cat was around.  Again it seemed convinced that something lived under the pool cover.  Skinks?

In the afternoon a brown thrasher ventured out for bark butter balls.  Bluebirds also came.  One had a caterpillar.  The temperature rose into the mid 70s. Skinks were everywhere.  A black swallowtail and a silver spotted skipper (I think) flitted past the flowers and left. 

I went outside and startled a crane fly.  The wind was strong enough to ground insects. Menacing clouds would threaten rain and a few minutes later the blue sky would have nothing but wisps.  A great blue heron perched on the channel marker.

I found a bee fly hanging around the blue squill flowers. Plants that I believe are milkweed were coming up.  Quite a few egrets were visible near the dam trying to get the best fishing spots. 

I saw puffy cumulus turn rosy at sunset which should have been a good sign.  But around 11PM, a storm slammed into us.  Howling winds, rain, and hail, beat against the house.  Thankfully, it was short-lived.  

Day went downhill

The newspaper's weather page must have been for some different day.  This one began sunny and warm and ended in cold mist.  A bluebird was up early.  it is easy to imagine they are showing expressions when they face front.  A squirrel found the dried up cinquefoil I had pulled up the other day and appeared to eat the root crown.  Cinquefoil is structurally similar to strawberry.  I like it but it was getting out of hand.  

It was warm and sunny so I spent time outside after breakfast.  I was going to move the hummer feeder but a little spider was busy under the ant moat. 

I saw a tiger swallowtail at lunch. By then the sky had clouded over.  A myrtle warbler in summer plumage showed up, but the camera focused on the background.   I caught it later in the wild cherry.  A cardinal hunted something all over the wild cherry.  Then all the birds went flying East.  I don't know why, perhaps to harass a predator. 

After that I went outside.  It was a lot chillier than in the morning.  A (first of season) great crested flycatcher hunted in the wild cherry.  Then a blue jay did the same, confusing me as to whether I'd really seen a flycatcher. But I have proof!  I guess the flowers were still attracting bugs even though they looked spent to me.  A brown thrasher made off with bark butter balls. 

Firsts!

Clouds looked like rain one minute and sunny the next.   They were being pushed by strong winds...A house wren checked out the feeder by my office.  It flew before the camera was ready, but I saw it and I'm declaring it FoS.  A yellow crowned night heron perched on the dock.

Blue jays and bluebirds snatched bark butter balls.  A mallard hen paddled downstream with a raft of freshly hatched ducklings.  A yellow crowned night heron (same one?) preened on a pine branch that overhung the creek. The day was very warm but the breeze and the come-and-go clouds kept it comfortable. 

Fiddleheads were opening on the fern.  I saw buds on the yellow flag iris.  There were a lot fewer flowers on the coral honeysuckle.  I thought I saw an odd bumblebee visiting the money plant.  Then I realized it was a hummingbird moth.  That was the first in many years! 

Around 5pm a very gentle rain fell.  A bluebird and a brown thrasher visited the bark butter balls.  The low sun broke through at one point and I thought of checking for a rainbow, but the temperature had dropped about 20 degrees.  Then the sky got dark and the rain hammered the ground during supper.  The clouds lightened up a little before twilight.