Ochre Sea Stars (Pisaster ochraceus) come in more than one color.
I walked down to Totem Park this morning to see if there were any early shorebirds.
Weather: It was partly to mostly cloudy and basically calm. There was some snow overnight, but temperatures were reasonably warm during the day.
Birds: While walking around the park this morning I saw a few Long-tailed Ducks in Crescent Bay, Buffleheads, Mallards, Common Goldeneye, Barrow’s Goldeneye, some gulls out toward Eastern Channel, but none on the beach, two Canada Geese, and I heard a Northern Flicker while I was near the river mouth.
Later in the day there were Long-tailed Ducks and quite a few gulls in the Channel, some Mallards out further from shore in Crescent Bay than I am used to seeing, and a handful of Pelagic Cormorants scattered around.
This evening there were probably a couple of hundred shorebirds on the Japonski side just under the bridge. There looked to be somewhat more Surfbirds than Black Turnstones and I also noticed a handful of Rock Sandpipers.
Other Notes: The flats at Totem Park, in particular the shape of the large tidepools, seems to change more than I would have expected.
I saw a Humpback Whale blow a couple of times over in Eastern Channel while I was at the park this morning.