I can’t quite remember how many of the March Whalefest Food Web cruises I’ve participated in, but I think today might have been my 5th or 6th. The weather wasn’t ideal, certainly not as nice as last year’s cruise. The Allen Marine boat we were in was big enough to be minimally effected by the surface chop from gusty winds associated with rain squalls, but there was a pretty good swell coming in from the south (it was 13 foot seas out at the buoy), and the herring fleet (reduced as it is in this year’s co-op fishery) was set up between Gagarin Island and Kruzof, so it was not super comfortable and we did not stay long before heading back in and spending a little more time in the relatively calm waters of Eastern Channel (where we got our best looks as whales). We did see a nice assortment of marine mammals and birds, so I think people enjoyed the trip, and it’s also nice to be supporting WhaleFest, so I think folks were probably reasonably well satisfied.
This afternoon I headed out again in a much smaller boat with some friends. The hope was to maybe see a California Sea Lion or other interesting birds, but conditions were just not very conducive to seeing much.
I spent a little time sitting on the south porch this evening. I noticed at least one robin (and at times maybe more) that seemed to be engaging in sentinel behavior in the large alders along Biorka Street south of my house. I didn’t realize it when I first sat down, but the neighbor was doing some cooking on an outdoor grill, so I wondered if perhaps that’s what had the robin’s attention.
I forgot to mention the other day, but there was a Fox Sparrow singing in or adjacent to my yard. It was singing again this early evening while I was sitting.