Sunday:
Took a relatively short walk to Totem Park.
Weather: Overcast and warmer. Temperatures were in the mid-40s. A light breeze.
Birds: I spent a couple of moments listening to a Raven call from the top of Fraser this afternoon. I was just barely able to hear a second Raven in the distance to the north. They seemed to be calling back and forth. While I was watching another Raven flew up and landed next to the one on top of Fraser. It joined in the calling.
Monday:
Weather: Patchy sun.
Birds: At Swan Lake there were quite a few Gulls, two Ring-necked Ducks, Mallards, and a Cackling Goose. At home there were many Pine Siskins, plus I heard a Song Sparrow singing and saw Varied Thrushes and Dark-eyed Juncos. On Park Street there was a Song Sparrow singing, as well as some juncos working on their trills. I saw a lots of Pine Siskins and a couple of other sparrows that I didn’t get enough of a look at to identify.
Tuesday:
Weather: It was sunny this morning with a light overcast starting to move in. This afternoon it was a bit hazy with patchy/light fog cooling things off from a reasonably warm morning. It was calm.
Birdsd: There was a Winter Wren singing in the back yard this morning. I also heard a Song Sparrow and Dark-eyed Junco singing. At Swan Lake I noted 7 Lesser Scaups and 1 Ring-necked Duck in addition to the gulls, Mallards, and Cackling Goose.
Wednesday:
Weather: It was overcast today, though quite warm (47 outside the house) in the morning. It cooled off a bit in the afternoon and rained some.
Birds:
There are still lots of Pine Siskins around the house. On a brief trip through the park I saw some Mallards and a Common Merganser or two in the river.
Thursday:
Went for a bit of a bike ride and walk this afternoon.
Weather: Overcast with temperatures in the 40s, started getting a bit breezy. Swan Lake is more open than it has been at any time since the last week in November when it first froze.
Birds: The scaups and Long-tailed Ducks were clustered up pretty tightly in front of Sitka Sound Seafoods. At Swan Lake I saw a Hooded Merganser along with the Scaups and female Ring-necked Duck. The usual assortment of Mallards, Gulls, and this winter’s Cackling Goose were also present.
Friday:
I went for a walk around Totem Park and the Raptor Center trail. I spent a little time sitting by Indian River.
Weather: It was rainy and windy today, though I managed to dodge the heaviest of the rain showers.
Birds: Found another dead eagle, this one was mostly eaten, only feathers, bones, and its feet (stilll largely intact) remained.
Other Notes: Buds are definitely starting to open on some of the plants. I noticed Trailing Currant (Ribes bracteosum) and Early Blueberry (Vaccinium ovalifolium) in particular.
Saturday:
Went for a walk with Connor and Rowan to Totem Park. They both wanted to see the Bald Eagle remains I found yesterday.
Weather: Overcast with a bit of breeziness.
Birds: The Pine Siskins are still visiting in numbers, but I haven’t noticed the Varied Thrushes or Dark-eyed Juncos showing up now that the snow is gone. I’m not sure whether that means they have moved on, or if I just haven’t happened to catch when they are around.
Othere Notes: I found some Hookeria lucens with what appeared to be mature sporophytes. I’m not sure whether these matured in fall and persisted through the winter, or perhaps grew over the winter and have now matured.