Today was the first day I could go out after class (~5pm) and take a picture in lighting that was closer to day than night. It was definitely getting noticeably dim compared to when I arrived for class a couple hours early, but on the other hand it was not twilight yet, either. With over 4 minutes and 30 seconds of additional daylight each day, my future walks home from class should all be in increasing brightness.

With temperatures in the mid-40s today, it was easy to forget that we could still face some additional winter weather (which it turns out is called for in the long-term forecast). I showed the kids where I often see the first crocus of the year, and while we did not spot any, I asked them to keep an eye out – it can be a little surprising how they seem to be completely absent, then one day there they are, blooming. It’s actually not too unusual for the first crocuses to have bloomed by now (though in such years, they often get beat back by later snow and/or freezing conditions). There have been scattered days with sunny conditions and temperatures in the upper 30s, but apparently nothing extended enough to promote sufficient crocus development where I’ve been looking.

Sprinkles early this afternoon prompted me to carry my umbrella on the walk to class. In the end, I probably did not need it, but it was only inconvenient a couple of times when the Southeast wind gave a little extra push. By the time we were going over the bridge, it was not even raining, which was nice – as it made it easier to take pictures of a couple of sights that struck my eyes today.

There was a kind of strange patch of fog hanging out at the entrance to Camp Coogan (see photo below). At the time I imagined it being a sort of fog glacier filling up the bay, but it occurred to me later that it may have only been right at the entrance. It would be interesting to know how extensive it was, and also why it formed and persisted there. Perhaps it had something to do with the several float houses that are in that area, as I didn’t notice any other patches of fog elsewhere.

Also, for some reason the view from near the top of the bridge toward the SSE was interesting. There’s a line of rocky islets/island extensions that line up there, with a far backdrop of a forested Baranof Island near Samsing Cove (see photo below).

Nothing of note stuck out to me bird-wise today. It was once again fairly quiet as I was leaving the house (the kids had gone on ahead of me to see some concrete getting poured at the new place). While we were at the new place, Rowan was able to find a Brown Creeper – she has managed to find one several times when we’ve been there. It seems like she finds this somewhat reassuring, as one of the things she was concerned about was how hard it would be find Brown Creepers once we moved away from the hill and its forested spots.

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Panellus longinquus fruting on Mt. Ash (Sorbus aucuparia).

A patch of fog hanging in the entrance to Camp Coogan.

Rocky island points (from near to far) Beardslee, Kayak, The Eckholms, and Long Island. I'm only sure about the last two, however.

The kids and I stopped by Swan Lake again today to see if the swans might be there. The weather was much more pleasant than yesterday, so we stayed a little longer, but did not see the swans. We did find three Ring-necked Ducks and around 10 Lesser Scaups hanging out in the open water near the peninsula. All but one of these birds seemed fairly wary of us (the exception was a scaup who swam up close to shore near where the kids were sitting on a bench) – but the relatively small area of open water kept them close enough for a decent chance at observing them.

Scaups can be difficult to identify, and I’ll probably write up a separate post on why I think these were Lesser Scaups. I mentioned earlier in the week the mystery of the Ring-necked Ducks, but I suppose it’s also fair to say the Lesser Scaups present a similar mystery. I guess in the case of the scaups it’s easy to imagine they are just blending in with the Greater Scaups in the channel while the lake is frozen – they’re usually far enough out that it would be difficult to identify them – but I don’t really know that this is the case.

After the winds of yesterday, the prevailing calm today was a nice change. There were periodic showers, but nothing too extreme. Temperatures were in the lower 40s for much of the day. This afternoon the dew point was up between 39F and 41F, only a couple of degrees cooler than the air temperature. As a consequence of this and the lack of wind, a ground fog/mist formed over the surface of Swan Lake where there was enough ice remaining to cool the still air above it below the dew point.

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Several Lesser Scaups were present at Swan Lake.

Several Lesser Scaups were present at Swan Lake.

Ring-necked Ducks returned to Swan Lake once there were significant patches of open water.

Ring-necked Ducks returned to Swan Lake once there were significant patches of open water.

A ground fog appeared over the surface of Swan Lake; probably due to remaining ice cooling the air below the dew point.

A ground fog appeared over the surface of Swan Lake; probably due to remaining ice cooling the air below the dew point.

Gulls feed on pink salmon spawning in Indian River.

While walking at the park yesterday morning, Connor and I noticed this fog/mist hanging over the river. Connor thought it was from the stink of the dying salmon, since he had apparently previously seen it on the flume when salmon were dying in it. I’m not convinced that’s what it is from, though I guess it might be related to the fish in the stream (I don’t really remember whether I’ve seen it when there aren’t salmon in the river).

Gulls feed on pink salmon spawning in Indian River.