Sitka does get some fall color, but mostly from trees that are not native to the area.
Connor and I went out this afternoon to get a couple of plant samples to send to Juneau and look for birds. We gathered the plants relatively close to home, then biked over to the airport to include them in a Goldstreak box. After that, we spent some time birding around Alice Island (see Alice Island Birds entry from earlier today).
Weather: Last night and early this morning it rained pretty hard. Most of the morning and into early afternoon, partly to mostly cloudy skies prevaied. About mid-afternoon the rain started, and there were showers moving through with some pretty heavy rain in some of them, into the evening. Winds were fairly calm.
Birds: There seem to be quite a few Varied Thrushes around. I saw them around the house, and out flying across the road near the longterm parking at the airport.
There were a few Bufflehead at the Wastewater Treatment plant lagoon. A Great Blue Heron flew in and landed on the shore while we were riding by as well.
On Alice Island we saw a couple of Glaucous-winged Gulls in the cove between the island and the runway, a Common Loon, two Merlins, and some European Starlings.
Other Notes: Connor and I ate some crabapples today. They were tart, but better tasting than I remembered.
