Morning at the Birdfeeders: Red-bellied Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker, Blue Jay, American Crow, Tufted Titmouse, Gray Catbird, House Finch, American Goldfinch, Common Grackle, Northern Cardinal, and Rose-breasted Grosbeak.
Morning at the Birdfeeder. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.
Afternoon at the Birdfeeders: Red-bellied Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker, Blue Jay, American Crow, Black-capped Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse, Carolina Wren, Gray Catbird, American Goldfinch, Chipping Sparrow, Song Sparrow, Common Grackle, and Northern Cardinal.
Afternoon at the Birdfeeder. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.
Daily Electric Energy Used (69.6 kWh) from Sense. Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (65.8 kWh) from Sense and SolSystems. Sun and clouds, hot outside. A deficit of 4.1 kWh.
Weekly Electric Energy Used (302 kWh) from Sense. Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (213 kWh) from Sense and SolSystems. Power out for 2 days. A deficit of 89 kWh.
There are lots of Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterflies about even though the wildflower population has been drying out in the late July heat. Apparently, they have been laying eggs in the Broccoli Rabe plants as their caterpillars are munching on the Broccoli leaves. I need to get some BT or Neam oil spray.
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterfly. Image taken with a Nikon N1V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (DAVID J MATHRE)Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterfly. Image taken with a Nikon N1V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
Morning at the Birdfeeders: Mourning Dove, Downy Woodpecker, Blue Jay, Black-capped Chickadee, Gray Catbird, House Finch, American Goldfinch, Chipping Sparrow, Northern Cardinal, and Rose-breasted Grosbeak.
Morning at the Birdfeeder. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.
Afternoon at the Birdfeeders: Mourning Dove, Downy Woodpecker, Blue Jay, Black-capped Chickadee, Gray Catbird, American Goldfinch, Chipping Sparrow, Northern Cardinal, and Rose-breasted Grosbeak.
Afternoon at the Birdfeeder. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.
Daily Electric Energy Used (63.2 kWh) from Sense. Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (61.4 kWh) from Sense and SolSystems. Sun and clouds. A deficit of 1.8 kWh. During these hot days, the solar is not keeping up unless it is sunny all day. Part of the problem is that the Sycamore trees are full of leaves shading the solar panels part of the day.
Birds of the Day — Gray Catbird, House Finch, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, and Eastern Phoebe. The Eastern Phoebes are feeding the two remaining young chicks in the nest.
Birds of the Day. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.
Spring flowers of the day — Oriental, Red, Pink and Icelandic Poppies; Foxglove, Johnny Jump Up, Daisy, Bachelor Button, Cornflower, Rhododendron, Tulip Tree, and Sweet William flowers.
Poppy flowers — Landscape. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.
Poppy flowers — Portrait. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.
Spring flowers — Landscape. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.
Spring Flowers — Portrait. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.
Poppy flowers — Landscape. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.
Daily Electric Energy Used (62.3 kWh) from meter readings the Sense Home Energy Monitor. The daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (85.8 kWh) from SolSystems and Locus Energy. Lots of Sun. A surplus of 23.5 kWh. Note that the geothermal HVAC system was turned on to cool the house for the first time this year.
It was a busy day. Up very early to see the Waning Gibbous moon. Birds for the day included Mourning Dove, Gray Catbird, House Finch, Brown-headed Cowbird, Indigo Bunting, Chipping Sparrow, American Crow, Northern Cardinal, and Rose-breasted Grosbeak. The Indigo Bunting is new here. With all of the rain, the grass is growing fast and needed to be mowed. Afterwards, I took a walkabout and came upon both a Fowler’s Toad, and an American Bullfrog. Lots of early spring flowers including Prunella Vulgaris (also known as Self-Heal, Heal-All, and Woundwort), Jack in the Pulpit, Five-spot, Forget Me Not, Johnny Jump Up, Siberian Wallflower, Crimson Clover, Allium, California Poppy, Flax, Dogwood, and Bethlehem Star (Grass Lily). As a bonus, at the end of the day, I found a White Poppy flower. This is the first regular poppy to bloom outdoors this year. The California Poppies have been blooming for a couple of weeks now.
Waning Gibbous Moon. Image taken with a Nikon D5 camera and 600 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 100, 600 mm, f/4, 1/640 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)
Birds Viewed from my Patio. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.
Male Indigo Bunting. Image taken with a Nikon D5 camera and 600 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 200, 600 mm, f/4, 1/400 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)
Fowler’s Toad. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.
Kermit the Bullfrog. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.
May Flowers — Portrait Mode. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.
May Flowers — Landscape Mode. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.
White Poppy. Composite of 100 focus stacked images taken with a Nikon D850 camera and 60 mm f/2.8 macro lens (ISO 64, 60 mm, f/4, 1/30 sec). Raw images processed with Capture One Pro and Helicon Focus. (DAVID J MATHRE)
Daily Electric Energy Used (56.1 kWh) from meter readings the Sense Home Energy Monitor. The daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (82.5 kWh) from SolSystems and Locus Energy. Lots of sun. A surplus of 26.4 kWh.
Today was “Global Big Day” for observing and counting birds. Starting at first light in the morning I kept watch on the bird feeders and backyard. The outdoor temperatures dropped below freezing overnight, and the bird bath was frozen over. The bird feeder was stocked with a mixed feed (I was out of the high oil sunflower seeds) and an apple. By the end of the day I observed and took pictures of 15 bird species. Mourning Dove, Turkey Vulture, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Blue Jay, American Crow, Black-capped Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse, Carolina Wren, Gray Catbird, American Robin, House Finch, Chipping Sparrow, Brown-headed Cowbird, Northern Cardinal, and Rose-breasted Grosbeak. The Rose-breasted Grosbeak is new, and I only observed the female. Looking forward to seeing the male. The female is larger than the local sparrows and finches and does not have the rose coloration of the male. The large beak helps with the identification. The bird images from the day are presented based on observation time.
Female Rose-breasted Grosbeak (?). Image taken with a Nikon D5 camera and 600 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 1600, 600 mm, f/5.6, 1/640 sec) (DAVID J MATHRE)
Birds 06:45 to 07:30. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.
Birds 12:20 to 13:00. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.
Birds 16:50 to 17:10. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.
Birds 17:50 to 18:00. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.
19:50 to 20:00. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.
Daily Electric Energy Used (54.0 kWh) from meter readings the Sense Home Energy Monitor. The daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (74.2 kWh) from SolSystems and Locus Energy. Sunny in the morning with some clouds in the afternoon. A surplus of 20.2 kWh.
