As I write this (December 2011) I don’t remember where these photos were taken. I think they were probably at Halibut Point Rec, though I have no other record from that visit.

As best I can tell, these tracks are from a squirrel bounding across the sand.

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I'm pretty sure these are tracks of a Red Squirrel bounding across the sand.

I'm pretty sure these are tracks of a Red Squirrel bounding across the sand.

Most likely an eggshell from a recently hatched Varied Thrush. The adults of many species apparently take the shells away from the nest so they do not become an attractant to predators.

This eggshell fragment was laying on the moss at the edge of a gravel bar on Indian River shortly above the second bridge. Given the size and color, I figured it must be a thrush egg. However, it seems a bit too early for Hermit Thrushes and especially Swainson’s Thrushes to have nestlings. American Robin eggs are pure blue, and the book I have about eggs and nestlings shows Varied Thrush eggs being pure blue as well. I took a look on the Birds of North America On-line account of Varied Thrush and found a photo there of eggs with light speckling. Though that example was not nearly as speckled as this, given the time and location, my best guess is this was from a recently hatched Varied Thrush. I do not expect the nest was particularly close, as it is my understanding that many bird parents will carry such things away from the nest in an effort to help avoid detection and predation of their young.

Most likely an eggshell from a recently hatched Varied Thrush. The adults of many species apparently take the shells away from the nest so they do not become an attractant to predators.

A neighborhood Red Squirrel has been clipping hemlock branches with cones.

On a small island of trees at the bottom of the street we live on, there’s been a squirrel that Connor and Rowan have been paying some attention to. Though I am unsure of their reasoning, they have taken to calling it Hola, and most times we walk by, one of them will point him out. (I am not convinced it’s a male squirrel, but I’ll go with their thinking regarding its gender until there’s evidence otherwise.)

A neighborhood Red Squirrel has been clipping hemlock branches with cones.

The other day we were walking past the island and I noticed a lot of little hemlock branches on the ground. Upon pausing to consider how they came to be there, another one dropped a short distance from me. I looked up and saw Hola working at trimming the ends of branches. All the trimmed branches had cones on them, a fact which I hadn’t really noticed before.

Connor and Rowan seemed to be unsurprised by this behavior, and proceeded to show me a hole where Hola would go at times. Connor believed this hole to be Hola’s home, and he showed me where he had made an effort to help Hola with his work by putting branches at the entrance.

A neighborhood Red Squirrel has been clipping hemlock branches with cones and piling them at the base of trees.

The next day Connor and Rowan were playing down on the island and I asked them about Hola’s activities while I waited for someone to stop by with a delivery. They told me that Hola had been gathering the trimmed branches and piling them at the bases of several trees. I guess that would make them more convenient for grabbing and eating from a favored branch, but the issue of convenience brings up the question of why he’s trimming the branches in the first place. He could just grab the cones from the branches as he wants.

I can think of a couple of reasons Hola harvests the cones in the way he does. The branches ends where the cones are located are quite flexible, and it seems unlikely that he would be able to hold on and eat while out there. That would require a trip to the end to grab a cone, followed by a retreat back to a steady location for eating. This seems like an inefficient process for getting food. Another reason might be that the cones will continue to mature if they remain on the tree. Sometime this winter when conditions are right, they will open up and release their seeds to the wind. Once trimmed, it seems the cones are much more likely to remain closed, leaving the seeds available for Hola to eat. One thing I wonder about though is the quantity of cones harvested. So far it does not look like very many cones have been collected. I would think only enough to last a few weeks, but not the whole winter. Perhaps some are being moved to locations where they are not so visible. I will try to pay attention over the coming weeks and months to see whether Hola continues to harvest and use cones in this way.

A neighborhood Red Squirrel has been clipping hemlock branches with cones and piling them at the base of trees.

The over the past day or two, the gull has been pulled further into the whole in the bank.

Last week I noticed a gull cached in the bank of the flume. In the days since, I have managed to stop by there a couple of times to check on it, and until yesterday it hadn’t looked much different to me. Yesterday, there was much less of the gull in evidence, with only a wingtip and a few scattered feathers visible from above. I am assuming the gull has mostly been consumed at this point.

The over the past day or two, the gull has been pulled further into the whole in the bank.

Connor noticed there was a hole above the bank beside the trail that appeared to be active and likely connected to the where the gull was stashed. I didn’t check carefully, but I think the hole was probably only 2-3 inches in diameter, a size that makes me think a mink is most likely who is working on the gull.

Mallard remains observed a short distances off trail in Totem Park.

A couple of weeks ago while walking through Totem Park on a typically fall cool overcast day, something odd caught my eye near the northwest edge of the younger second growth stand on the south side of the river just up from the estuary meadow. It was a pale form with a streak of orange color lying about 10 paces off the trail along a very minor side path, not even really enough to qualify as a game trail. I mentioned to Connor that I had seen something, and though he didn’t see it, he decided to investigate more closely. I waited at the trail while he made his way through the mostly leafless salmonberry bushes that lined the main trail where we were.

It took him a few moments to spot it, and when he told me it was part of a duck, I went over to look it over more closely with him. I have seen dead birds before, but not like this. All we could see was the lower half of a Mallard, feet, but no wings. The bird had been separated in a relatively clean manner, I didn’t really look like it had been ripped apart, in any case. We did not look too closely, but there were not other obvious signs of damage on the remains we could see. The bird also seemed relatively fresh, though given the cool fall temperatures, I wouldn’t necessarily expect it to rot quickly.

Mallard remains observed a short distances off trail in Totem Park.

Save for a single feather that probably came off the main part we found, there were no other pieces of duck that we could find in the nearby area. It’s hard to imagine what scenario might have led to half a duck on the ground where we found it. Actually, it is mostly hard to imagine how the duck got separated from itself. The most plausible scenario I can come up with is that a human did it. Once cut in half, it is not too hard to come up with ways it might have ended up where we found it. Eagles sometimes drop food when being chased and are not able to find it again. Another possibility is that one of the many dogs that get walked in the park one could have found it along the river and moved it up into the woods.

This Glaucous-winged Gull may have been stashed under the bank by a Mink, or possibly River Otter.

While walking near the flume a couple of days ago, I noticed something white along the bank. From a distance I couldn’t tell what it was, the only thing that crossed my mind was some sort of plastic packing material, but I decided to take a closer look.

This Glaucous-winged Gull may have been stashed under the bank by a Mink, or possibly River Otter.

As I approached my eyes and brain tried to make sense of what I was seeing before it finally clicked; it was the wing and body of a Glaucous-winged Gull that had been partially pulled up under the bank. Given the size of the bank opening, my best guess is that a mink got a hold of the bird and pulled it up in there, but there is also a chance that an otter could have done it. I didn’t pull the bird out to take a look at it, but will probably go check on it over the next few days.

Pictures taken along Jarvis Street.

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I am not sure why such large frost crystals formed along Jarvis Street, as I did not notice them elsewhere.

Many Ravens seem to hang around the Jarvis Street transfer station. These tracks suggest they took advantage of the snow covered sand and gravel piles to have a little fun.

Many Ravens seem to hang around the Jarvis Street transfer station. These tracks suggest they took advantage of the snow covered sand and gravel piles to have a little fun.

Fresh snow blankets the Sisters in this view from the bench muskeg on Indian River Trail.

A couple of weeks ago I took advantage of the first sunny day in ages and went for a hike up Indian River Trail. With only 3 hours or so, I did not have a lot of time, but it was nice to get out and enjoy the bright conditions.

Indian River Trail bridge over the creek that drains Billy Basin.

I made it as far as Billy Basin Creek bridge before I turned around in order to get back in time for my afternoon responsibilities.

Fresh Brown Bear tracks on Indian River Trail.

On the way back, I noticed some fresh Brown Bear tracks in the mud. They were headed down the trail. They seemed pretty obvious, but I had not noticed them on the way up. It could have been the lighting wasn’t as good, since the sun had not risen high enough to light the valley bottom, but it’s also possible that the tracks were made in the hour or so between the times when I passed that spot on the trail.

Day’s summary copied from weekly summary:

It was Christmas Bird Count day, so I hiked up Mt. Verstovia to Peak 2550, down into the bowl and finally into Indian River Valley.
Weather: Light snow was falling when I started this morning, it continued through morning, but had stopped by the time I got down into the river valley. Graupel was falling this evening. Snow was probably at least 3 feet deep out of the trees near Peak 2550 and down into the bowl. There was a thin layer of fresh powder on top of semi-consolidated snow that would not hold my weight. I was typically wading up above my knees. There was a pretty good breeze on the peak and down into the bowl, though less breezy elsewhere.

I looked at the shrubs up on the hillsides and did not notice any swollen buds. However, I did see swollen buds along Indian River trail.

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I suspect these are Marten tracks due to size and location, but I'm not positive about that.

A light snow was falling as I reached the treeline on Verstovia Trail and had this view of Harbor Mountain Peaks.