Bright skies this morning lured me into taking a walk with Connor and Rowan down to Totem Park. However, by the time we were leaving, it seemed to be totally overcast and a light snow was falling. We walked down to Lincoln Street and found things to be pretty quiet, both on land and on the water. As we reached the park, the sun started to break out from behind the clouds, offering hope of a chance to accumulate a bit of sun exposure – something that has been sorely lacking in this significantly wetter than usual December.

By the time we got to the battle site part of the loop, the sun had broken out of the clouds, and it felt noticeably warm standing on the beach where I could get the full effect of the direct sun as well as the strong reflections off the water. I just stood there for a couple of minutes enjoying the warmth before Rowan informed me there were some shorebirds around the corner. Going to investigate, I discovered the wind blowing from the east – though not especially strong – was sufficient to make it feel quite chilly, despite the sun. I later retreated back to the calmer location – having the good excuse that I wanted to try and get some pictures of the redpolls I had seen adjacent to the beach there.

One of the things I’ve been keeping an eye out for is a good representative of Fomitopsis pinicola (one of two or three different species often referred to as Bear’s Bread). Despite it being very common, I have previously only taken pictures of this shelf fungus that were unusual in some way. Today I noticed one growing on a spruce trunk right at the start of the beach-side of the west loop. A little further down the path, I took a picture of the somewhat similar Heterobasidion annosum, as well. This can sometimes form a shelf, and in such cases may look quite similar to the Fomitopsis, but unlike Fomitopsis, it often grows flat, not forming a shelf at all.

Despite there being few birds around, I did see some things of interest. Species-wise, at least a couple of Common Redpolls were working the alders with a handful of Pine Siskins. Redpolls were absent last winter, and this is only the second time I’ve seen any siskins in the past several months. Also of note were at least a couple of Rock Sandpipers in with the Black Turnstones, and a probable Red-tailed Hawk first spotted by Rowan (who told me she saw the red tail – I just saw a brief glimpse of it before it disappeared behind the trees).

While attempting to photograph the siskins and redpolls, I was also treated to some activity of a small group of Barrow’s Goldeneye right near the shore, but I think I’ll post on that separately, as I would like to wrap this up.

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The sun starting to breakout from behind the clouds over the Pyramids.

Bear Breaad (Fomitopsis pinicola)

Heterobasidion annosum growing on Sitka Spruce (Picea sitchensis)

Sunlight, both direct and reflected off the water and protection from the wind made this beach feel relatively warm, even though the air temperature was chilly.

I often feel compelled to take pictures of Bear Mountain when I walk the beach at the south end of the park. I guess it's interesting to observe the changes in snow and light over the course of the year.

Pine Siskin feeding on alder seeds.

Pine Siskin feeding on alder seeds.

Several Barrow's Goldeneye were very near shore, looking under the water, then diving briefly.

Head-on view of male Barrow's Goldeneye

Several Barrow's Goldeneye were very near shore, looking under the water, then diving briefly.

Male Barrow's Goldeneye near the shore at Totem Park.

A female Mallard was briefly mixed in with the Barrow's Goldeneyes

Common Redpoll feeding on alder seeds in Totem Park

Male Barrow's Goldeneye near the shore at Totem Park.

Common Redpoll feeding on alder seeds in Totem Park

Common Redpoll feeding on alder seeds in Totem Park

Despite it's easily observed imposing presence behind the Sisters, this 4900+ foot peak has not been given an official name.

Got over to Alice Island briefly before class this afternoon (yesterday, now) and was interested to see what at first appeared to be a layer of clouds hanging around the base of Verstovia, but I later realized it was probably smoke. Calm conditions and clear skies probably resulted in a temperature inversion (where temperatures do not drop consistently with gains in elevation), and I suspect that’s why the smoke seemed to reach a certainly and spread flat.

While over on Alice Island I spotted a flock of 30 or more Common Redpolls – first I’ve seen in a couple of years. I have been thinking it seemed like a good year for redpolls, as they seem to show up more often when there is significant snow early in the winter.

This evening I had a chance to hang out with Steve Heinl and Andy Piston, who were in town for a fisheries meeting. They’re active long-time birders in Ketchikan, and it was interesting talk about birds in Southeast – including distributions and the various migration routes different species seem to take.

A Western Gull below the bridge was a nice bird for the state.

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