Osprey

Bright sunshine didn't warm the cold air.  The dwarf daffodils started blooming anyway.  A red bellied woodpecker looked very zebra-like up in the redwood.  I only glimpsed the pileated today.  But the downy woodpeckers made many visits to the suet.  The Carolina wren pair were perky as usual as they looked into every nook for food.  The bullying warbler continued to drive off more interesting birds.  

Cold made the birds thirsty.  A wren drank at the birdbath, but a bluebird preferred the more distant pool puddle.  So did a junco.  A myrtle warbler went to the clean water in the ant moat,  A mockingbird got the last of the barkbutter balls, I think, but I did see a brown thrasher there too. 

An egret stalked slowly back and forth along the water's edge below the dam.  Mallard drakes got up to something that involved a lot of splashing.  A parade of white objects was revealed to be goose rumps.  But there were some hoodies as well.  I saw an osprey land in a pine across the creek. It stayed put so I was able to get some pictures even though I was focusing through intervening twigs.   

There were white throated sparrows on the ground around the birdbath.   Chickadees stayed busy with the sunflower seeds and cardinals visited occasionally.  I thought I saw a brown headed nuthatch but that darned warbler was too fast to chase whatever it was.  It also chased the pine warblers.  

Cold gray wind

The female pileated woodpecker started my day.  The yellow rumped warbler with the dark mask watched from the bark butter dish.  Bluebirds argued about precedence.  A Carolina wren nearly became the cat's breakfast.  The male red bellied woodpecker enjoyed the suet as I fought with the focus.  A pine warbler got a drink from the pool cover after the cat gave up.

I missed another fish drive. Gulls joined the cormorants.  A young ringed bill gull paused on a dock post.  Two hoodie drakes went upstream fast.  A kingfisher landed on the dock downstream.  A pine warbler watched the other suet from a high perch in a tree, then swooped down and got some before the butterbutt chased it away.  

Jelly mystery

The sky was gray, the air chilly, and the water rough.   When the male downy woodpecker discovered the suet cage was empty, her reluctantly settled for barkbutter.  Maybe the problem was the feeder, not the barkbutter, because he had some difficulty perching.  Bluebirds had no problem.  A dove watched the goings on from the top of the post.  Then the cat came back.  

When it left, disappointed, a mockingbird took a turn at the barkbutter.  Next on the barkbutter, the myrtle warbler with the dark mask looked a bit like a smaller version of a mockingbird.  Other myrtle warblers do not give that impression at all.  

Juncos foraged with the sparrows.  K changed the nasty water in the ant moat and I hung a new block of suet.  A very hairy starling waited on the seed feeder for a turn at it.  A pair of Carolina wrens followed.  

But you want to know about the jelly mystery.  Orioles like it so I repurposed a hummer feeder to hold jelly.  A couple of weeks ago something took it down and the brass screw-threaded hook disappeared.  I jury-rigged a replacement by threading a weight below and a key ring above for a hook.  Today I discovered that the plastic dish was on the ground again and this time the key ring was gone.   This was frustrating both the orioles and me.  So today I just dumped some jelly in a plastic lid and left it on the ground.  A mockingbird found it but didn't like it.  

In the afternoon, I decided to take a chance on no rain and put out some barkbutter balls.  Instant blue jay magnet.  Then a flock of cormorants came swimming upstream, I assume, following a school of fish.  An egret relocated to our dock but by then the fish were gone.  

Many birds

Morning overcast helped my photography.  The pileated woodpeckers have become regulars. And they emptied the suet feeder.  The bluebirds squabbled a bit over the barkbutter.   But the bad little butterbutt kept driving away the birds I wanted to photograph.  A brown headed nuthatch dropped down to the birdbath to get away.  A red bellied woodpecker spooked but later the male returned. 

Juncos joined the sparrows again.  A brown thrasher craved barkbutter.  I'm going to have to go buy some more.  A starling went after the suet, but I have plenty of that.  A mockingbird poked around but didn't find whatever it was looking for. 

The creek was rough.  I saw a few pelicans and diving ducks, an egret or two, and a great blue heron. The camera caught a wood duck drake and I didn't even realize it.  Turtles came out of the water to bask.  A couple of red-winged blackbirds explored the exposed creek bottom at low tide. 

Wet

Rain fell during most of the daylight hours, beginning after breakfast.  But before that, I got a lot of pictures, starting with the female pileated woodpecker.  A white breasted nuthatch was driven off by that pest of a myrtle warbler.  Starlings and blackbirds came and went quickly.  Bluebirds, thankfully, weren't so flighty. 

White throated sparrows and juncos stayed on the ground.  Carolina wrens seemed to be everywhere.  A brown headed nuthatch slipped in for a seed.  When I put out the very last tub of barkbutter, a brown thrasher was first in line.  A pine warbler got a bit of suet.  House finches had a tender moment.  A mockingbird struggled to reach the suet.  Goldfinches watched from the dogwood.  

The camellia was still blooming, proof it has been a mild winter.  I got a glimpse of a female towhee.  A downy and a red belled woodpecker, both female, each had a turn at the suet.  

Hot winter day

Another shirtsleeve day with the temperature peaking at 71.  Daffodils started to bloom.  I took a lot of moss pictures.  A myrtle warbler posed amid dogwood buds.  Turtles basked.  There were lovely tinted sunset clouds.  

Woodpecker trio

Even though the GBBC was over, I found myself counting birds.  The male red bellied woodpecker was ready for a suet breakfast.  So was a yellow rumped warbler.  Bluebirds were also early birds.  

The day got up over 70° under an overcast sky.  Turtles climbed out of the water despite the lack of sun.  I counted three juncos.  The brown thrasher returned after taking most of the weekend off.  And then the female pileated woodpecker arrived for a suet lunch.  Meanwhile a male and a female oriole discovered the grape jelly.  The feeder did not turn out to let them perch easily or to support their weight.  

After lunch, back in my office, I spotted a pair of flickers down by the creek.  A tufted titmouse also poked through the leaf litter. The day got more and more gray,