Overcast with occasional rain. Temperatures in the 40s.
The 0.1 inches of rain yesterday put the year-to-date total at the airport over 100″ inches. This is over 17 inches more than the 30 year normal.
The Cape Edgecumbe buoy has stopped transmitting the photos and some of the data. Wave heights are still coming through, however. Over the past 24 hours, wave heights peaked over 20 ft.
I made it down to Sage Beach early enough in the tide cycle that I was able to get out to Sage Rock.
Prasiola is a small green blade that begins growing in winter, before dying back in late spring.
Prasiola is growing, but without nearly the coverage it will have in the early spring. Some of it looked like it might already be infected with the fungus. I’ll need to look under a microscope to be more sure.
I went out to Sawmill Cove and spent a half an hour watching from the dock.
As I drove down the ramp, several birds swam away from the vicinity of the dock. Over the time I watched, a few came closer for a bit.
I did get a good enough look to be fairly confident a Thick-billed Murre had come to the outer part of the cove.
Further out I could see at least a couple dozen more murres. I don’t think I could have distinguished a Thick-billed Murre from a transitioning Common Murre at that distance. However, the winter plumage Common Murres were distinctive enough and that’s basically all the ones I saw.
My iNaturalist Observations for Today
