It was mostly not raining today. Yesterday ended up with 1.62″ (nowhere near the 4.25″ record set in 1945). There were a couple of minor cloud thinning/sunny breaks during the day today.
I went to the park this morning to try again for better looks at the Northern Waterthrush. I got some photos shortly after I arrived (probably my best so far). However, after that I did not really have any additional good looks during the next hour or so that I was there.
One of the things that stood out about the Northern Waterthush was how much it pumped its tail up and down.
The waterthrush certainly seemed more wary than the Savannah Sparrows which were also there.
I did notice a second waterthrush. Initially I heard the two calling back and forth, then saw the second one up on the logs in the river. I think it flew back across to the other bank.
I was able to confirm the birds were picking fly larvae (maggots) out of the salmon carcasses. I guess this explains why the Savannah Sparrows were in this unexpected habitat (they’re usually out in open areas, in my experience).
There were several Hermit Thrushes in park.
I’m pretty sure I saw the back end of a bear as I was leaving, but I didn’t hear it moving through the forest.
I met up with KL and we walked around Japonski. There were a fair number of sparrows, but nothing like on Tuesday.
From there we went to the golf course. There was a young Sharp-shinned Hawk and the American Kestrel. I did see what may have been an Osprey (or maybe goshawk), but my view was obscured by the driving range net. It did not stick around and I never had an unobscured look.
The pond was much higher than usual. The low area the pond drains through was fairly full. It’s normally empty. Presumably something got a bit clogged up.
I saw some ducks flying high in the distance. Based on photos many were American Wigeons, but also Northern Shovelers and a probable Blue-winged Teal.
From a high vantage point at the golf course, I noticed a set of lines on the water. They looked like the smooth water paths that can be due to a bit of oil sheen (which can be from plants or animals as well as human activity) on the surface reducing how much it’s picked up by the wind. However, it’s a mystery to me what caused it.
This evening I went back to the park. I saw the waterthrush when I arrived and heard it later, but didn’t get any good looks for photos.
There were more Hermit Thrushes and sparrows about in the woods.
I found some interesting fungi, including more dusky boletes and the only one I’ve seen so far this year that wasn’t infected by Hypomyces chrysospermus.
Walked around on the beach and noted the tide line where the seaweed had been pushed up. It was another fairly high tide today, but it was clear seaweed had been pushed up above the level of the past couple of days. I realized/remembered that’s because the highest tides in spring/summer happen in the middle of the night, so it is getting that high, just I’m not seeing it. We’re now in the transition time, and soon the highest tides in a cycle will be at midday.
My iNaturalist Observations for Today
