Cloudy and breezy with periods of rain. Temperatures in the 40s, dropping to high 30s this evening.
This afternoon I went for a walk around Totem Park.
Had I left earlier, I could have avoided some rain.
I checked out where a large spruce had been cut down between Oja and Etolin Streets. It’s changed the view there a bit. I have previously noticed birds perching in that tree on many occasions. Now they’ll presumably use the smaller (though still not small) pine trees that remain.
While walking toward it, I caught sight of a bird flying up and away to my right. It was the Townsend’s Solitaire. I think it had been in a hawthorne tree, but I’m not sure.
It was quiet bird-wise on the water. Perhaps they were hanging out elsewhere because of the gusty winds. They had diminished a bit by this afternoon, but they were still pushing up waves on Crescent Bay.
Maybe Ochrolechia oregonensis
I was glad to get to the forest at the park. The rain hadn’t been sufficient for there to be dripping, so it was still relatively dry and out of the wind.
I spotted the female Hooded Merganser that’s been reported from time to time in the park this year. Conditions weren’t good for photos, but that didn’t stop me from getting a documentary shot.
As I was leaving the park, I noticed skies brightening over the water. The rain had let up while I was in the forest. I thought the brighter skies might mean at least a brief spot of clearing.
What I didn’t anticipate was an even heavier rain than had been falling earlier coming in advance of the clearing. On the upside, I did get to see a rainbow as I got close to home.
I forgot to mention yesterday a young child (maybe between 4 and 6 years old) at Moller Park who was interested in the Sandhill Crane.
The child appeared to be trying to walk toward the carefully, so as not to scare it. The crane was having none of that, and continuously walked away. Before long it flew off. The interaction reminded me of a time at the beach when Connor and Rowan (then 6 and 4) were trying to get better looks at shorebirds. Their manner of ‘carefully walking’ was very similar.
My iNaturalist Observations for Today
