Partly cloudy, calm, and cold.
Clouds persisted to the west. For much of the daylight hours they were further in over the sound than yesterday.
I am still hoping for a well-timed and placed break in the clouds for solstice sunset tomorrow, but it seems unlikely.
When I headed out this afternoon, the sun was not visible from my house due to clouds.
Sawmill Cove was far enough back away from the cloud deck that that the sun was shining there.
For the first time this season I saw a good-sized flock of Barrow’s Goldeneyes. I wouldn’t be surprised if they have been around in the area. Perhaps near Herring Cove or elsewhere in Silver Bay.
During the time I spent on the dock, I didn’t see many birds. No murres today, but there were groups of them further out on Silver Bay. Most I saw were closer to the far side below Sugarloaf Mountain. I saw one that I’m pretty sure was a Common Murre in transitional plumage (rather than a Thick-billed Murre). It was too far for me to be entirely sure, however.
Close to a Slate-colored Dark-eyed Junco, here's still just a bit of brown on the back of this bird
I made stops at a couple of feeding stations before heading back home.
Much of my attention today was given to working towards tidying up for the arrival of my family tomorrow.
My iNaturalist Observations for Today
