Another wet and cool day. It looks like precipitation for the day will probably be over an inch. This will add to the surplus we’ve had relative to normal, and should push us to more than an inch above normal for the month, and two inches above normal for the year to date.
Juncos are still visiting the yard, though not as many as earlier in the year. I hear them singing in the morning (though have not noticed a Song Sparrow of late). When I’ve watched them through the window, they seem more aggressive towards each other than in mid-winter. It’s something I’ve come to expect and treat as a sign of spring over the years.
I spent some time watching the gulls at the channel this afternoon. There were many hundreds present, but I did not spot any unusual ones.
It was interesting to see one gull with a ochre star (Pisaster ochraceus) and another with a green urchin (Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis). I watched each of them unsuccessfully try to get the prey down their throat, but it did not appear that they were successful. The urchin in particular looked like it would be a problem to swallow with all the spines. The starfish just seemed too big.
While out this afternoon, I also checked out the Starrigavan section of the new Cross Trail which will connect Old Sitka and Harbor Mountain Road (having previously walked what has been completed of the Harbor Mountain Road side). Kitty joined me for the 20-30 minute round trip.
Other than final grading, this section of trail seems fairly complete to Ch’eiÌx̱’i HeÌen (in the shade creek) (aka, paradoxically, No Name Creek). They will put a bridge over the creek, though I don’t know when that will happen.
It was interesting to see the steeply narrow (but not especially deep) valley bottom that the creek is running through. I would have guessed it was broader. Another example of place on the map is easily within the relatively small circle I spend almost all my time, but is unfamiliar to me.
Swan Lake is over 95% ice free, with just a bit at the far upper end where it’s probably shaded by the hillside and trees.
This evening I spent some time working to set things up so email subscribers can opt to be sent a weekly digest of posts, or a daily email (which usually means one post, but occasionally two). I’m hopeful that I can have it operational later tomorrow.
I also disabled the Feedburner feed, so if you happen to be an RSS subscriber, and see this, it might be worth updating your feed reader to https://www.sitkanature.org/feed
My iNaturalist Observations for Today
