I think this is a young male Red-breasted Merganser just beginning to molt into black feathers on his head
Overcast with occasional rain. Temperatures in the upper 30s and light winds.
I went for a drive to check out birds for a bit this afternoon. It is Great Backyard Bird Count weekend. I had forgotten you’re supposed to submit lists with at least 15 minutes at a location, so most of what I’ve reported this weekend may not get counted. Perhaps I’ll make a more concerted effort tomorrow.
I don't know how many pictures I have of this view, but it's getting to be quite a few. I don't tire of it
I checked Sawmill Cove. I saw the usual assortment of birds there. This included the first year cormorant with white on its neck. It was too far out for me to bother with photos, though.
At the channel I saw a Horned Puffin preening in the middle off the ramp. I later heard from Connor one had been up close to the dock near ANB harbor around the same time.
The tide was trending nearly a foot below predicted. That would put the 6:30pm low at something like -3 ft (it ended up being -3.2ft).
With Ultimate at 5:30, I wasn’t sure I would make it down for the tide. However, I put my stuff in my car just in case no one showed up. The sun had set, but it was still light when I arrived at the field. As it turned out, only Connor and I were there. After 20 minutes or so of catch, we called it good.
Winds were calm and it wasn’t raining, so I drove out to Sandy Beach and spent about an hour there.
I had forgotten to put my magnifying lenses back in my backpack, so was a little disappointed to not have them.
I figured I would go down anyway, and would focus more on big things that were visible without trying to turn over rocks and look more closely.
I started by checking the sandy part for sand dollars, but didn’t find any.
From there I poked around in the north side rocks. I remain curious about the cement in the rocks. I don’t know how long its been there, but suspect it’s probably from World War II. I wonder why it was put there.
I don’t think I found anything new for me, but I was able to see some familiar faces (so to speak). I found a couple of two-spotted keyhole limpets (Fissurellidea bimaculata). It’s the first time I’ve found them, and only the second time I’ve seen them. Last year Connor pointed them out to me in the same area (though apparently I’ve not uploaded those observations yet).
Another highlight was seeing some good-sized fish in a tidepool. I was able to take pictures of two or three of them. At first I thought they were different species, as their color was significantly different. Reviewing photos, I am pretty sure I only got pictures of one species, the masked greenling (Hexagrammos octogrammos). Patterns on each fish were similar though the colors were different.
I had been out for about an hour and was starting to work my way back when my light turned off. It turned back on and ran on a lower setting for a couple more minutes before turning off again before I made it back to the sand. Getting across the rocks in the dark would have been a little challenging in the dark. Fortunately I had my phone and used its light to help find my path.
Tidepooling at night is a different experience. The intertidal zone is so rich with life, that it is often overwhelming. The limited patch of light surrounded by darkness forces a narrowing of focus and simplifies things.
It may also be that some creatures are out and about more at night than they are during the day.
My iNaturalist Observations for Today
