Today’s activities primarily involved trips with a friend to look at birds. First was a walk along the beach at Totem Park to look at the gulls, followed by a drive out to HPR and Starrigavan.
Weather: Temperatures were in the upper-40s with overcast and rain. There was a pretty good wind out of the southeast that was especially noticable on the beach at Totem Park.
Birds: We walked the beach at Totem Park trying to find an unusual gull in the mix of thousands that were scattered from Sage Beach to the mouth of Indian River. We didn’t find anything out of the ordinary, but there were still 6 Canada Geese in one of the Tidepools, and Northern Pintails at the river mouth.
On the way back, we watched the Bald Eagles working on their nest. While we were watching one of the birds (presumably the male) brought in two different sticks, though it was a few minutes between arrivals.
At HPR there were quite a few White-winged Scoters, Surf Scoters, Common Goldeneye, Barrow’s Goldeneye, Harlequin Ducks, and Bufflehead. The goldeneyes were fairly close to shore and several were engaging in courtship behaviors. The scoters and harlequins flew off when a couple of boats went by fairly close just as we arrived. As we watched for a few minutes, they gradually flew back in small groups.
Other Notes: Early blueberry flowers were almost open along Lincoln Street. Another day or two of warm weather, and I imagine they will be open.