Overcast to partly sunny as occasional snow showers moved through.
By the time I went to bed near midnight precipitation had changed over completely to snow.
I woke this morning to a couple of inches on the ground at my house.
I was tempted, but didn’t muster enough motivation to get out and go for a walk while the snow was still fresh.
While on a call this morning, I noticed a different looking bird at the feeder. I couldn’t see it well enough without magnification (which I didn’t have immediately at hand), but it stuck around long enough for me to confirm it was an American Tree Sparrow. I assume the same one I saw earlier in the year, but it’s been a month or so since I last saw it.
The clouds broke up and it was mostly sunny through the middle part of the day.
It was still sunny when I headed out mid-afternoon, but that didn’t last for long.
Dark clouds moved across the sound and brought a decent snow shower which lasted the better part of an hour.
I spent much of it listening to an audiobook and watching birds at the kelp patch pullout. I was a little surprised to see four Fox Sparrows after never seeing more than one previously. I wonder if the snow or something else pushed them down from wherever they’ve been. Or perhaps the snow just prompted them to all be there at the same time instead of more scattered about.
As the shower tapered off, I moved to Sea Mart. In part I hoped Mt. Edgecumbe my show. It remained completely obscured by clouds, however.
Several miles out, Vitskari Rocks barely show through the atmospheric shimmer. To the righ of the main rock is the spray from a crashing wave
Seas at the buoy have been over 20 feet since yesterday evening. I could see large splashes on the rocks out in the sound. The waves coming into the beach at Pioneer Park were much reduced, but I did enjoy how they caught the light.
With the heavy clouds we’ve had much of the time this year, it’s been easy to lose track of how late the sun is now setting. Sunset is right around 5pm. When I saw Venus (I think) shining in a not-yet-dark sky, I was surprised to see it was already nearly 6pm.
My iNaturalist Observations for Today
