Clear and chilly. Temperatures near freezing with light winds.
There were a bunch of aurora photos from Sitka on social media when I looked today. As best I could tell, I actually waited too long to go out. It seems the brightest lights were between 9pm and 10pm. Based on the photos, they were quite bright. That probably explains the traffic I saw coming in while I was heading out to Starrigavan. Folks who had seen the bright lights and headed home when they faded.
After a late night, I wasn’t feeling too ambitious today. I did get out for a bit this afternoon.
A Hermit Thrush was seen at Starrigavan yesterday, so I decided to go see if I could find it.
High tides clear the beach of snow, making for easier walking
The tide was out far enough for the estuary to have emptied out (except for the shallow pool that remains), and some beach to be exposed on the bay side.
After scanning the estuary, I walked out on the beach. Several Varied Thrushes flew across and into the woods.
I was approaching the small highwater island that’s not far off from Mosquito Cove trail when I saw the Hermit Thrush.
The Hermit Thrush has grabbed something, but I can't quite tell what
I’m not sure what it was finding, but watched it foraging on the beach. It was still well in the intertidal among the sedge (Carex lyngbyei) remains.
I sat down to watch it. It continued to forage before stepping up on a rock and just standing there for several minutes.
While hanging out there, I happened to spot a bird fly up from the trees near the point. The Red-tailed Hawk began circling up and up, before heading towards town.
I took a look at some of the epiphytic lichens on the highwater island before heading back.
My iNaturalist Observations for Today
