Mostly cloudy with some sun this morning, becoming overcast with winds increasing through the afternoon. Rain and strong gusts of wind at times this evening.
I was too late getting out to have any real time in the sun, but drove out to Harbor Point this afternoon.
Though the forecast was calling for increasing winds (and gusts to 60 overnight), the water was glassy calm.
I walked down to point to take a closer look at the gulls I initially thought were kittiwakes. With a better and more careful look, I realized it was at least two or three Bonaparte’s Gulls flying around.
The light wasn’t great, but the birds were coming close at times, so I practice taking pictures of them in flight. Several hundred photos later, I called it good. I was tempted to take more, but decided I had more than enough to work on.
I noticed some of the rocks along the beach seemed very rounded. Much more like I would expect for an exposed location (such as Sandy Beach or near Magic Island). Not all were so rounded, other’s were smoothed but still more angular rather than egg shaped. I’m curious what might explain it.
I collected a liverwort that was growing on a long stranded large driftlog. Based on what I could see in the field, I thought maybe a Scapania, but I wasn’t sure. Further investigation with the help of a microscope this evening confirmed my initial suspicions. I’m pretty sure it’s S. umbrosa. It’s a species I’ve found previously. I think so far always on rotting wood, and until today, always in the forest.
My iNaturalist Observations for Today
