The lone remaining Trumpeter Swan at Swan Lake (and perhaps in town?)
Yesterday evening’s clearing was apparently short-lived. Today was thin overcast with temperatures into the 40s.
I spent some time at Swan Lake this afternoon.
Only one swan remained (there were 8 or 9 still there yesterday) and it sounded like none were out at Starrigavan.
I've previously seen waterfowl with this sort of bug-eyed look. My best guess is they are shedding their nictitating membrane, but I've not been able to confirm that one way or the other.
The remaining swan is one I noticed previously with a bit of a gash on its forehead. Today it had bubble-like bits over its eyes like I’ve seen on waterfowl previously. I have wondered if they shed their nictitating membrane from time to time. I haven’t been able to learn if that’s correct via internet searching. Today I emailed a couple of photos to a local vet to see if she might be able to inform me on the subject. [Update: it’s a leech that gets under the membrane and then swells up before dropping off, after which the eye looks normal again]
This Thayer's Gull seemed unconcerned with my presence (though later another gull acted aggressively towards for no reason I could see)
As I stood on the peninsula, I noticed the Mallards seemed to keep a buffer of space between themselves and me. The gulls were more scattered, so it was not as clear, but at least a couple of them had a smaller personal space. As I periodically took steps over the course of several minutes, the Mallards would move a bit each time I did. The couple of gulls did not, and ended up in the circle around me that was free of Mallards.
A (presumed) Eurasian Wigeon on the left with American Wigeon on the right.
The wigeons that were there had a larger buffer than the Mallards. They were well away from me, and any time I took a step, they edged closer to the water. They seemed mostly interested in eating, so would ease back to where the grass was better if I didn’t move again for a bit.
Upon returning home, I sat on the south step for about 10 minutes and practice tuning into my senses. It’s easy to drift into thinking, but I try to keep returning my attention to my senses. I was interested in how the steady sound coming from the dryer vent kept would come in and out of my awareness. We’re much more tuned to changes than steady stimuli, and I think this was an example of that.
I usually look at the AIS vessel tracking site each morning. Over the winter season there are typically few boats that show up. Today there were several out off shore of Baranof and Chichagof Islands. No doubt mostly they were vessels out setting their gear for black cod. On one of this morning’s buoy photos taken close to sunrise, a bright light showed up in the distance. I suspect it was a fishing boat.
My iNaturalist Observations for Today
