Partly cloudy, light winds and temperatures in the 40s.
I went out around midday as the clouds were beginning to break up more fully.
I stopped at the channel and made some observations of birds. Nothing unexpected, but it’s nice to check in.
A/the Double-crested Cormorant was back at Swan Lake. It hopped up on the dock to dry its wings.
One of the swans there has a leech on its eye.
On a walk around the loops at Totem Park with Kitty, I noticed a couple of things that I found interesting.
First was a layer of sediment on the estuary backwater meadow area. I was a little surprised at how much there was. I suppose it’s probably not unusual, but I don’t remember noticing it specifically before. I think if/when I have seen it in the past, I thought it was places where the grasses had been pulled up, exposing the dirt underneath.
The sediment seemed to have a fair amount of organic material in it. I’m curious where it comes from/what it’s made up of. If it’s from high water scouring, or if it’s more leaves and other vegetative matter that has been tumbled and broken up into very small pieces.
In the river a log that’s just down stream of the bridge appeared to have sunk into the gravel. At first I couldn’t quite figure out how that would happen. Then I realized higher velocity water (during periods of high flow) could scour out around the log, which might allow it to sink lower, only to be subsequently covered by rock. Once it’s buried a little bit, it’s hard to imagine the process would continue, but maybe I’ll remember to check again after some future high water events.
After a very mild start to the year, the forecast for the end of the week is calling for clear skies and temperatures down into the teens overnight. Hopefully there’s some snow in the days before to help protect plants that may have broken dormancy enough to become more vulnerable to cold.
My iNaturalist Observations for Today
