Common Murres in Silver Bay
Partly cloudy with some fog this morning. Temperatures cooled enough for frost to form.
Precipitation overnight ended before midnight, with none falling at the airport today. It’s the first day in over three weeks without measurable precipitation at the airport.
When I stepped outside around 10am this morning I heard a Pacific Wren singing off to the north. It’s the first bird song I’ve heard this year. I’m sure it was inspired in part by the sunlight. I wouldn’t be surprised if other birds were singing in the neighborhood, especially earlier in the morning.
Fog was mostly light at my house, but I could see it was more dense and moving around.
I had plans to go for a boat ride with Kitty to look for birds. Fortunately the fog had mostly burned off by the time we were ready to head out shortly before 11am.
Winds were calm, but a bit of a swell was coming in from Eastern Channel.
Although the sun felt warm in calm conditions, the air was cold enough that it quickly chilled any exposed skin while underway.
Medvejie Valley and surrounding mountains rise dramatically behind Bear Cove and Medvejie Hatchery
We went up Silver Bay about two thirds of the way. I thought the mix of birds was decent, but widely scattered.
Part of a group of Red-necked Grebes in Silver Bay
Most unexpected was a group of more than a dozen Red-necked Grebes. I don’t remember seeing so many in a relatively tight group before.
Looking south from near the airport
Back in town, we drove out the road before walking along old airport road.
It looked like many of the scaups which have been in the channel.
After stopping for lunch, we walked up Thimbleberry Lake trail.
Perhaps I should have expected Thimbleberry Lake to still be mostly covered in ice. (I later saw on satellite imagery from today Heart Lake and Beaver Lake remain completely ice covered.)
Ice and Trumpeter Swans on Thimbleberry Lake
At the far upper end five swans were present.
Along the margins I was intrigued by some long crystals growing from the old ice into the open water. I think they formed overnight. In hindsight, I kind of wish I had taken a little more time trying to photograph them.
Orthotrichum pulchellum found growing on elderberry
I noticed some smaller than usual moss in Orthotrichaceae on a trailside elderberry. I’m still on a search for Orthotrichum pulchellum, a species that’s in the area but I’ve not yet (knowingly) observed. [Update: It turns out these were O. pulchellum and I’ve updated the captions and title accordingly]
Given the nice weather I expected a few more people to be ultimate, but perhaps they were worn out after a day of activities in the sun.
I heard from folks there that whales had been near the airport within the past couple of days and in Eastern Channel today (I think later than I had been by there on the boat).
My iNaturalist Observations for Today
