Clear and chilly. Temperatures dropped into the upper 20s overnight. Highs today were near 30F.
Overall it didn’t seem too windy around town, but there were some gusty times, especially in the afternoon. It looked windier on the water.
After picking up a package at the post office this morning, I ventured out to Sawmill Cove. I didn’t expect the roads to be clear and dry all the way, but they were.
During my brief stop on the dock I saw a couple of Barrow’s Goldeneyes and a couple of Common Murres. The young Pelagic Cormorant I had seen previously with white feathers on its neck took off before I could get a picture.
After lunch I was happy to see the American Coot come swimming towards me in the small patch of open water at Swan Lake. I must have just missed it among the large number of Mallards here yesterday. I’m pretty sure it was a dead bird with mostly gray feathers that I saw in the ice, but now I’m not sure what. Perhaps it was one of the other coots that had been around previously (which raises the question of why it showed up dead yesterday).
I didn’t happen to catch the Brambling or Sandhill Crane today.
Clear skies prevailed to the horizon. I was able to observe the sun dropping behind 6 mile/Kulichkof rock.
The rocky islet makes a convenient fixed point for seeing how much the location the sun disappears is moving. It was clearly south of where I saw it last week.
In principle the furthest south it sets should be on Sunday. The forecast makes me think this won’t be the year that I get to document the sun’s first move north, but I’m crossing my finger that I’ll be able to see how much it’s changing in the three days leading up to solstice.
My iNaturalist Observations for Today
