Overcast with rain late. Breezy. Temperatures near 50F.
The weather has continued to be more pleasant to be out in than the forecast suggests it will be.
Today was breezy but relatively warm. The mostly rain held off until late in the day.
It was a long day at Sawmill Cove. We started at 8am with pre-watch.
As the sun rose clouds over Lucky Chance began looking frosted with color.
A few minutes later, the clouds lit up brightly before fading back to gray.
Pile driving was done around noon, but I stuck around to observe while the land-based heavy equipment operators were placing fill around the pilings. There only needs to be one observer while they are placing material in the water. They’re taking advantage of the low tide series this week to build things up. By the end of the weekend they will likely have placed enough fill that they will no longer be putting rock into the water.
Birds were sparse, and tended to stay further out today, at least while I was out on the dock. This may have been due to the early start of impact pile driving. It’s loud enough that many birds fly away. Even so, I generally see at least a few remain in the cove diving and seemingly catching fish.
I saw a Red-necked Grebe in the twilight, but not again.
A Pacific Loon seemed darker than ones I’ve been seeing. I wonder if it might be a first year bird (or conversely, the others were). Conditions weren’t great for getting photos at the time I saw it. It didn’t help that it didn’t come very close to the dock.
I didn’t see any sea lions during the morning watch. One came in and swam around the cove for the better part of two hours this afternoon. Fortunately it stayed far enough out not to cause delays for putting the rock in the water.
My iNaturalist Observations for Today
