Clear skies. Frosty overnight, but temperatures into the upper 40s during the day. Light winds.
I took a short walk to Swan Lake this morning while on a call. I didn’t see the Hooded Mergansers (I had hoped they might be at the peninsula for photos with better light). A Great Blue Heron sat nicely near the dock.
Early this afternoon I did a walk and talk with my parents.
With sunny skies, conditions were pleasant in the forest. I made good time to the first viewpoint. I could see it looked like herring were spawning around Whiting Cove, and probably elsewhere, but the view from this location wasn’t the best.
I considered heading down, but motivated by the possibility of a better view of where herring were spawning, I pushed on to the second viewpoint. Along this section I started feeling my legs more, and slowed down considerably. This also made me realize it will be good to push higher more often to build up a bit more endurance, given the places I would like to get to this summer.
I was able to see spawn activity better from the second viewpoint.
A small pocket along O’Connell Bridge surprised me. I hadn’t noticed when I drove over earlier. Thinking about the perspective from a car on the bridge, it would have been hard to see.
Spawn appeared to be present at Kasiana Island and out by the Apple and Chaichei Islands as well.
Mosquitoes were out when I stopped. As best I can tell, I didn’t get bit. I also didn’t get any photos (though my macro camera battery had died, so that kept me from trying much).
I went out the road with a bucket this afternoon. Kitty had easy access to herring spawn where she was staying, but needed another bucket. Eggs were not especially thick, but they were certainly present.
This evening I made a quick trip down to the sea walk to check on the willow. It wasn’t blooming yet, but I saw many more psyllids on it than I had previously.
Ripples on the water in the harbor caught my attention. I couldn’t see what caused them, but kept watching. I started noticing herring flashing below the surface. Periodically one would break the surface and cause the ripples. Too unpredictable and quick, I was not really successful getting photos of the flashing. I settled for some ripples.
A quick check for moths at the park, revealed a new one for the year, Malacodea pulchraria.
Today I received UV lights I had ordered. I tried them out on some rocks I have. None of them were super bright, but I did get interesting colors that show up better in the photographs than with eyes (through UV blocking glasses).
Notes on the hike: My parents didn’t see that I had called at first, so I walked a little faster than I might have had I needed to talk. I was probably 2/3 of the way to the viewpoint when they called, and I slowed down a bit from there. Even so, I think the not talking probably helped with making one of my better times so far this year at 21:30. I’m pretty sure it’s about a minute faster than any time I’ve been carrying a pack, but almost a minute slower than last month when I didn’t have a pack. Total time to the second viewpoint was right around an hour, but I think I spent at least 10 minutes at the first viewpoint.
My iNaturalist Observations for Today
