Ice

The birdbath water was frozen but I did not see any other signs of frost.  The creek shone with reflections and the sky was very blue.  White throats were up early today.  Pine warblers were very hungry.  I spotted the great blue heron that has been flying up into the pines across the creek.  After I refilled the barkbutter dish we had streaming blue jays.  I also poured water in the birdbath but it started to freeze again.  A dove plodded over the pool cover.  A couple brown headed nuthatches made repeated seed forays.  

At lunch, a lone red winged blackbird devoured suet.  I wonder if he got lost from a flock.  The bird's back was lightly speckled and the epaulette was ragged yellow so I speculated he was young. 

Still hungry

The sun shone but it was still cold, and the birds were still hungry.  The barkbutter balls were gone again and a pine warbler was sad.  The white breasted nuthatch ate seeds instead.  The brown headed nuthatch was right behind.  And the warbler tried seeds too.  Goldfinches tried the seeds on the mountain mint but I don't think they liked them much.  A frustrated blue jay drank from the birdbath.  

 A male cardinal argued with a male bluebird on the seed feeder.  Then another male bluebird flew in.  Then a pine warbler flew in and we had all the primary colors.  A brown headed nuthatch schemed to get past the bigger birds.  All this upset the cardinal who chased them all away, then left.  A flurry of house finches ensued.  The female downy decided the suet was safer.  A goldfinch was attracted to the suet despite supposedly a vegetarian.  Finally the mockingbird arrived for a drink. 

The black and white cat stalked a squirrel and caught it. They wrestled and the squirrel got away. I wonder how.  The cat tried to pretend nothing happened.  Soon it left and birds began to reappear.  White throats stayed earthbound despite the danger.  A Carolina wren had a movable feast.  The male downy ate suet.  Chickadees and titmice ate seeds though a titmouse yearned for barkbutter balls.  I had a morning meeting and hoped to see pelicans again but no such luck.  Just before, I refilled the barkbutter dish and by the time the meeting was over it was empty again.  I also refilled the jelly dish. 

Hungry birds

The songbirds were very hungry all day.  I refilled the barkbutter despite the cold air and rushed back indoors.  Blue jays and starlings must have been watching.  Goldfinches were still wondering what to eat but never looked at the seeds.  Bluebirds had some of everything.  The mockingbird was still after water but discovered the jelly dish.  The brown headed nuthatches ate strictly seeds but the white breasted had some barkbutter balls too.  Chaff or anything the nuthatch didn't want got tossed. 

Pine warblers alternated between suet and barkbutter balls.  The Carolina wren ate everywhere.  Starlings preferred barkbutter balls but also ate suet.  If it was on the ground, the white throats would consider it food.  A pelican cruised over the creek. Crows escorted a hawk out of the area.  Vegetation was in the way but the hawk didn't appear bigger than the crows and appeared to be a light tan without markings so I'm guessing Cooper's hawk. 

Two pairs of cardinals reluctantly shared the area though one pair clearly dominated.  Squirrels also had a "pecking order."  Occasionally they also harassed the birds on the ground.  With bluebirds, I wasn't so sure.  Several doves showed up at lunch.  The oriole arrived after all the barkbutter balls were gone.  I did not refill the barkbutter balls again - once a day's the limit.  In the afternoon, there were flurries of birds competing for a place at the seed feeder.  I spotted a bufflehead on the creek, first I've seen this season. 

Cold

The weather was much like yesterday, cold and bright.  Birds were puffed up against the chill.  The female oriole had grape jelly as a pick-me-up.  I was pleased that she found the dish.  Pine warblers alternated between suet and barkbutter crumbs.  (It was too cold at breakfast to go outside and refill the dish.)  Goldfinches didn't seem to know what to eat.  White throats kicked through the mulch.  A bluebird and a cardinal shared the seed feeder.  The downy didn't want to share suet with a warbler.  The mockingbird stayed faithful to hydration, making repeat visits for a drink.  

At lunchtime I decided to brave the cold, since the temperature had risen from the upper 30s to the upper 40s.  The fresh barkbutter balls got a warm reception from warblers, bluebirds, and of course blue jays.  A white breasted nuthatch varied its diet with a barkbutter ball along with the usual seeds. A brown headed nuthatch seized the moment to get seeds itself.  The oriole alternated between barkbutter and jelly.  The sky was a milky blue again. 

I spotted the sapsucker on a dogwood trunk, then later on a hackberry tree.  Something made a commotion eating hackberries.  A dove alighted on the patio.  Then a Carolina wren came to dine.  A crow surveyed the possibilities but got into a fight with a squirrel.  The squirrel got a drink from the ant moat instead of the much more accessible birdbath.  A female hoodie paddled by headed upstream. An egret fished under a dock.  I caught the kingfisher in flight, on the neighbor's dock, and diving on a fish.  Cormorants flew in every direction at sunset. 

Sunny, chilly, & birdy

The temperature dropped after yesterday's rain.  The sun returned and cast beautiful reflections on the creek.  Either the chill or waiting out the rain made the songbirds very hungry.  It also brought out the yellow cat but I didn't see him didn't catch anything.  The mockingbird was first.  Then a Carolina wren made the rounds. A male bluebird checked out the menu.  A pine warbler focused on the barkbutter porridge, then the suet.  The white throats were rather late arrivals.  

A couple of goldfinches investigated the foods they're not supposed to eat.  At least four hoodies paddled downstream.  Something rustled around in the beautyberry bush but I couldn't see what.  A blue jay sorted through fallen leaves and took what it found up in the dogwood to hammer.  And that was breakfast!  

At lunchtime, many of them were back.  A starling showed up and ate barkbutter crumbs.  A chipping sparrow hopped about the patio and then took a bath.  Why didn't it just stand out in the rain yesterday instead of waiting till the temperature dropped twenty degrees?  Nuthatches finally appeared, brown headed, then white breasted.  A female oriole I assume was the same as I saw before came for a drink.  And then they all went away. 

Wet

Birds rushed to get a snack just before the rain started.  The mockingbird needed a drink.  The male downy wanted some suet but the female took seeds..  Titmice and chickadees went for seeds too.  A warbler chose barkbutter balls.  A white breasted nuthatch grabbed a seed to hatch.  Then the reds, cardinal and finch, landed on the seed feeder. 

For a while the light dropped but the rain wasn't heavy.  Then the wind picked up.  Another band of rain passed through around 2pm just as predicted.  The sky finally cleared around 4pm and the sun lit up the bend of the creek.  The kingfisher showed up on her favorite post.  Cormorants and an egret commuted to their roost past tinted cloud remnants. 

Noisy

Starting at breakfast, yard crews were running mowers and blowers, presumably so they would finish the week's work before the holiday.  A pine warbler visited the barkbutter balls.  Then one blue jay after another came until the dish was empty.  Occasionally a titmouse got a morsel.  I saw a brown headed and a white breasted nuthatch but they didn't hang around.  The mockingbird peered in at me from a chair arm, then went to the birdbath for a drink.  

Sunlight set the neighbor's Japanese maple afire.  One hickory was leafless but the other was bright as brass.  Four doves landed and locked around the birdbath for any food other birds had missed.  White throats puttered around.  I too puttered around pulling down cobwebs that had gotten garlanded with blown leaves.  A Carolina wren investigated all the feeders, as usual.  

A downy worked on the suet.  I still haven't seen the bigger woodpecker species this Fall.  A bluebird came in the afternoon and pushed the pine warbler off the barkbutter dish.  The sun glowed behind a layer of Stratus Translucidus cloud.  The kingfisher was back on her dock perch but my photos were all blurred.