Overcast and rainy. Temperatures into the 40s. Gusty winds out of Sawmill Cove this morning, but seemed to be light winds otherwise.
Late last night, snow was falling. I wasn’t sure what to expect of the roads when I woke up this morning in the pre-dawn darkness. Fortunately (for ease of driving, at least), temperatures had warmed up fast enough that the snow changed to rain overnight. What snow fell had already started melting.
A little snow remained near my house, but along Jamestown Bay the road was completely clear. I was not surprised to see some up the hill and along to Whale Park.
Beyond Whale Park I found it curious that some stretches of road were completely bare, while others still had snow. I eventually worked out the likely reason was wind. I think the wind had scoured snow in some places, and not so much in others. Where there was less snow, the melting had been enough to leave the road clear.
There wasn’t much light at the 7:45am pre-watch start, but it brightened significantly over the next little bit. On the other hand, I wouldn’t call it a bright day, even then.
Winds were gusting quite strongly out of Sawmill Creek Canyon out across the cove. It didn’t look like winds were very strong elsewhere in the bay (even just out beyond the cove), as waves weren’t building.
The Shemya was died up on the dock. It’s a large fishing boat I regularly see in town, though the boat has Kodiak painted on as its home port. I think the crew was cleaning up the boat and preparing it for winter after the end of longlining season.
One of the crew members brought me a cup of tea after seeing me standing out in the wind and rain for so long.
It was a slow day for mammals. I briefly saw one sea lion. No one else reported anything.
They wrapped up with pile driving by noon, so I had the afternoon free.
Head shape is one of the ways to distinguish Common Goldeneye from Barrow’s Goldeneye. It’s worth noting that the apparent shape varies depending on relative position and the bird’s activity, as shown in these three photos of a Common Goldeneye.
I hadn’t taken any pictures while observing, so stopped by the channel and Swan Lake to make sure I had my observations for the day.
The lake had a layer of water over the ice. Some gulls were out on the ice, but the ducks were mostly sleeping on the peninsula. Among them was a Gadwall. I hadn’t seen one in a month or more, but Connor had reported one at Starrigavan recently, so I suspect it’s the same one.
I drove out to Starrigavan and saw there was more snow remaining on the road. Presumably the change over to rain happened later, and more snow accumulated.
The observer at Bear Cove mentioned there was a male Hooded Merganser there.
I also talked to another who had run across the red marble Les Yaw mentioned in his hunting book. I’ve wondered where it is, and would like to check it out in case there might be different mosses or liverworts associated with it. I also wonder if it might be jasper rather than limestone. Either way, I’m curious to check it out at some point. [Update: I did see a picture of the rock, and from that it looked like jasper to me – I would still like to visit it in person at some point.]
My iNaturalist Observations for Today
