Today was the Christmas Bird Count for Sitka. Unfortunately there were strong winds and heavy rain for most of the day. Despite this I managed to walk over 10 miles and tallied over 30 species of birds. I’ve had a bit of computer trouble this evening, or I would offer a better summary of my results. I didn’t really find anything unexpected, but it was nice to find the things I figured were around but would be easy to miss, such as the two coots.

I may write up a more thorough account later, but right now I think it’s probably time to get some rest and let my body recover (it’s been quite sometime since I walked so much in one day).

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When Swan Lake first froze, these American Coots moved to the Channel and have stayed there since.

When Swan Lake first froze, these American Coots moved to the Channel and have stayed there since.

There was at least one Ring-necked Duck in with the scaups at the cove by North Pacific Seafoods today.

I'm not sure which species of Scaup these are.

I'm pretty sure this is a Lesser Scaup.

Common Loon between the fingers at Eliason Harbor.

After heavy overcast, rain, and wind all day, there was a small break in the clouds to provide an accent of color at the end of the day.

After heavy overcast, rain, and wind all day, there was a small break in the clouds to provide an accent of color at the end of the day.

Pictures from a stop at Swan Lake.

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Male American Wigeon at Swan Lake.

American Wigeon and Lesser Scaup at Swan Lake.

Lesser Scaup flapping its wings at Swan Lake.

Male American Wigeon at Swan Lake.

Male American Wigeon at Swan Lake.

Male American Wigeon at Swan Lake.

The forecast was for cloudy to mostly cloudy skies with a chance of snow. Instead it ended up partly cloudy with the sun only occasionally being partly obscured by a small cloud. After lunch I was thinking the kids and I would go for a walk around the park, but the sun was nicely warming a spot on the beach protected from the light breeze, and I couldn’t resist sitting down on a rock and enjoying the feeling of the sun warming my skin. (In actuality, I gave the kids the choice to walk around and hang out near the park entrance. However it was pretty much a foregone conclusion they would want to hang out, they are usually reluctant to walk around the park, preferring instead to catch bullheads in the tide pools near the visitor center.)

In a group mentoring call series I am a part of, we have been challenged to use what is called the ‘story teller’s mind’ to try and capture a full sensory experience and be able to retell it later. (An attentive mentor will be able to listen to these stories and start to notice patterns of emphasis and/or gaps in awareness, and over time subtly draw the teller in a fuller awareness by asking questions about things that might have escaped attention.) While relaxing down at the beach today, I tried to bring my full attention to bear on my surroundings and will attempt to recreate the experience in words. I’ll say up front that I’m not super good at this yet, as I have a tendency to pull back into my thoughts in general (and this afternoon was no different), and today I’m pretty sure I dozed off for at least a couple of minutes once or twice.

The sun is in the south as I try to decide where to sit. I want a place that is relatively comfortable, dry, and not subject to even the light breeze that is moving across the tide flats to the southeast. There’s a drift log stranded high on the rocks – each end perched on a bed rock outcrop, the central part suspended a couple of feet above baseball-sized and smaller rocks worn round and smooth by the tumbling action of waves over time. This log has been here for many years – I have memories of it going back to my childhood. I reflect briefly on searching for beach glass in the cobbles under it while I was in elementary school. I consider sitting on the cobbles in front of the log, but between the drips of snow-melt falling regularly along the length of the log, and still significant moisture just below the sun-dried surface rocks, I decide it’s unlikely I would be able to stay dry there. Instead, I find a spot on the bedrock outcrop where it is dry, I can recline reasonably comfortably, and yet I’m not out too far so that I catch the cooling puffs of wind.

The bedrock is cool to the touch. Rough edges have been rounded and smoothed, but there are still angular joints where, at some point in the long distant past, a chunk of rock cracked from the main body and was eventually removed. It’s in one of these spots I choose to sit facing between South and West (I can’t remember precisely, but I think it was SW or maybe closer to WSW). I rolled up my pant legs and turned my head to get the full sun on my face. The warming of my skin from the sun’s radiation was greater than any heat I gave up to the still cool air, and I closed my eyes to relax and enjoy the feeling.

The branches of a spruce tree growing up from just above the beach behind me extended out to a point a few feet above me. I heard and felt an occasional drop of water from the snow melting out between the needles. I could hear the high-pitched contact calls of Golden-crowned Kinglets foraging for insects in those branches, while on the ground closer to the trunk I could hear an equally high-pitched single note repeated sporadically by a sparrow (later confirmed to be a Song Sparrow). Somewhere in the west to northwest a little distance away, I could hear a crossbill singing. It did not seem to be a full song, so I don’t recall noticing the call notes of a foraging flock, so I don’t know if this might have been a young male practicing his song while looking for territory, or what.

The tide was out a fair bit and seemed to be falling, so between me and the ocean was a fair distance of exposed flats. I noticed silhouettes of gulls and ducks out just offshore, but the bright sunlight and distance didn’t inspire me to work too hard to confirm any identities. While there was little or no surface chop close to shore, small remnants of the large swells that move through the sound lapped against the shore (I think I could hear them, I can’t recall specifically). Rowan spent much of the time squatted down intently looking for bullheads in a tidepool southeast of my position. A short distance behind me past a small patch of trees, the overall quiet was disturbed from time to time by a passing vehicle on the road.

I’m sure there must have been odors to smell, but I don’t remember noticing any at the time – especially considering the exposed beach and small bits of seaweed and such that were pushed up by the high tide.

Overall, it felt like a pretty relaxed time. I don’t recall feeling like there was any tension in the air, even though I heard a Song Sparrow alarm a couple of times, I think that was more territorial squabbling or mild agitation at passers-by on the sidewalk.

There are other details I recall – the spider crawling up my jacket that I watched closely for a moment after I got it to crawl on my hand – a fly or two landing on the rocks – people walking their dogs along the park trail – but I think I’ll leave it at that.

Later in the day I stopped by Swan Lake briefly. Most of the previously open water had slushed over, but there was still a sizable opening near the peninsula. In addition to the usual assortment Mallards, there were also 5 Ring-necked Ducks, 4 or so Lesser Scaup, and 3 American Wigeons.

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The snow covered Sisters and Verstovia form a scenic backdrop behind Swan Lake.

The peak of Verstovia points up to the moon above.

After catching the free brown bag concert put on by the Jazz Festival the kids and I got caught in a little snow squall. We waited out the strongest of it at the Crescent Harbor shelter as the snow, mostly in the form of graupel, fell. The forecast had called for snow with no accumulation, but by the end of the day the snow on the ground was approaching an inch deep.

The ice at Swan Lake continues to retreat. There were three Ring-necked Ducks, quite a few Glaucous-winged Gulls, at least one Thayer’s Gull, as well as Mallards and scaups. Today’s mix of scaups was different than yesterday’s, with two male Greater Scaups hanging together while another group of 5 Lesser Scaup males dove repeatedly at the edge of the ice. After the Greater Scaups moved around the peninsula to where the Lesser Scaups were, it was interesting to be able to compare them more directly and see some differences.

I noticed a Common Ragwort (Senecio vulgaris) with flowers still present. It was under a pine tree at the town end of the Lincoln Street green belt. Presumably the cover provided by the pine kept the plant from being significantly damaged by the frost. It seems unlikely the flowers will be able to produce seed, but I guess as temperatures rise in the coming months it will be interesting to see.

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Snow falls at Crescent Harbor.

Snow falls at Crescent Harbor.

Greater Scaups observed on Swan Lake.

Greater and Lesser Scaups observed on Swan Lake.

Greater and Lesser Scaups observed on Swan Lake.

Greater and Lesser Scaups observed on Swan Lake.

Greater and Lesser Scaups observed on Swan Lake.

Greater and Lesser Scaups observed on Swan Lake.

Greater and Lesser Scaups observed on Swan Lake.

Greater and Lesser Scaups observed on Swan Lake.

Greater and Lesser Scaups observed on Swan Lake.

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.

The kids and I walked around town today to see if we could pick up any birds that were missed on the Christmas Bird Count yesterday. We were able to add three to the list, Lesser Scaup, Herring Gull, and Hermit Thrush. We had hoped to find Bohemian Waxwings, which we had seen as recently as last Tuesday (two days before count week started), but were not successful in that regard.

While walking around the Baranof Street Cemetery, I noticed a patch of moss I had photographed a couple of years ago, but this time it had sporophytes, so I took pictures and made a small collection with hopes of getting it identified.

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Lesser Scaup (Aythya affinis) observed on Swan Lake.

Lesser Scaup (Aythya affinis) observed on Swan Lake.

Herring Gull observed at Swan Lake.

Herring Gull observed at Swan Lake.

Bucklandiella affinis observed growing on rock at Baranof Street Cemetary.

Bucklandiella affinis observed growing on rock at Baranof Street Cemetary.

Bucklandiella affinis observed growing on rock at Baranof Street Cemetary.

I had an early afternoon basketball game today, and on the way home I stopped by Swan Lake to spend a little time watching. Later in the afternoon, Connor, Rowan and I went for a walk down to Totem Park.

Weather: It was a cool day with some rain in the morning. Mostly cloudy skies with a little bit of clearing in the afternoon. Winds were light.

Birds: At Swan Lake there were 4 Northern Shovelers, 6 American Wigeons, 1 Hooded Merganser, 5 Scaup (probably Lesser), 1 or more Green-winged Teal, and the Cackling Goose (in addition to the assorted Mallards that are typically there).

While I was sitting at the lake, I happened to notice two Ravens fly over the lake (from the Southwest toward the Northeast), the second starting across just after the first one had moved beyond it. This would not be particularly remarkable except for what I saw each raven do as it flew over. As the first one was flying over the lake, I heard it make a two note (higher-lower) call with a partial roll. It did this two or three times while it was over the lake, but once it was beyond the lake, I did not see it do it again, though it was still in view for a few seconds (the time between these actions while over the lake was only a second or two). The second raven, following shortly after the first one made a different call (more of a typical caw), but executed what appeared to me to be the same style of partial roll while flying over the lake. I also did not see it do this once it moved beyond the lake. I am at a loss as to why these birds might have done that, though it seemed to me to be some sort of acknowledgement of the lake (though what that might mean, if anything, I don’t know).

From Totem Park I could see at least a dozen (presumed) Fork-tailed Storm-petrels across the bay in front of Turning Island. The weather was calm, and I was tempted to go kayaking to get better views, but it was getting too close to dark by the time we got home.

At the park we saw a couple of Mallards in the Visitor’s Center tidepool, with many more around at the river mouth. I think I saw a Northern Pintail at the river mouth as well, though I am not sure.

We saw scattered gulls, with one flock out on the flats closer to the Visitor’s Center, but more out near the river mouth and in the estuary. I saw all 5 species, with Thayer’s Gulls seeming to be the most numerous, followed by Glaucous-winged Gulls, Black-legged Kittiwakes, Mew Gulls, and just a few Herring Gulls.

There were lots of Harlequins off shore from the river mouth.

At the upper part of the beach there were Savannah Sparrows and an American Pipit or two.

I heard some Black Turnstones, but didn’t investigate to see how many there were.

There was a Winter Wren right by the trail where we get back on it at the end of the park.

We saw one or two Great-blue Herons in the tidepools (probably two, but it’s possible it was just one that moved while we were on the trail in the woods).

There was a small flock of Chestnut-backed Chickadees near family housing when we were walking back.

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