Heavy and/or low overcast with some very light precipitation through much of the day. Clearing later this afternoon and becoming partly cloudy.
The forecast called for skies clearing by early in the afternoon. It didn’t work out that way.
When I headed out not long after the noon bell, a low marine layer-like overcast hung over town.
Driving out the towards Starrigavan, I could see some blue sky to the northwest, but even that got socked in before it ultimately cleared.
After delivering some food and visiting with Kitty for a bit, I stopped at Sandy Beach and then Sea Mart to watch for birds.
Nothing unexpected showed up that I noticed. Further out I could see quite a few birds. I suspect they were White-winged Scoters, but they were too far out for me to be sure.
The cloud seemed to be starting to lift and break up while I was at the channel.
I tried for some photos of Long-tailed Ducks in flight. Some of photos were fine, but nothing I’m tempted to put on a calendar. Given their reliability at the channel, I would probably do well to go over with a plan to sit and watch with my camera on one of these afternoons with the light is decent.
Before going home, I checked the willow along the seawalk. It was not much further along than it had been a over the weekend. However, this time I noticed insects on the emerging catkins.
At first I assumed/guessed they were flies, but a closer look revealed otherwise. They looked familiar, and reviewing photos/observations at home, I found a likely match from around this time of year in 2012. I didn’t make note at the time where I found it.
Some were just there, both on the branches and on the emerging fuzzy bits. Some were interacting in a way that suggested they may be mating.
Now I’m curious about their life cycle. They either overwinter as adults or emerge early. I’m not sure if they have a short adult lifespan, nor what they do as juveniles. Given the group, presumably they feed plants (maybe sucking sap?). There are many species in the genus Cacopsylla, with at 21 or more species reported from Alaska. I wonder if they are host specific.
Roland showed up while as I was finishing with the photos of the insects, and I ended up visiting with him. During that time, the clouds finally broke, and the skies largely cleared (though the only photos I made were of Mt. Edgecumbe as the clouds were breaking).
Tomorrow the internet is scheduled to be marginal at best. If it’s anything like last fall, I won’t be able to update my site while the repairs are going on, but I’ll try to keep up with everything but the uploading/publishing so it’s easier to catch up when the internet connection is fully functional again.
My iNaturalist Observations for Today
