20 December 2020

 eBird data: https://ebird.org/checklist/S77756153

Weather:   8 am 5C, wind calm;  1pm 10C wind WSW 8kph

Tide:  10 am  4.8m, turning

A warm and (mostly) quiet morning.   Overcast, and the warmth has brought down snowmelt from the mountains to the west.  

Despite the snowmelt, and a high tide, the Estuary wasn't as inundated as it was on Thursday.  Paths were muddy, but navigable.  The fields are full of ducks--mostly mallards and wigeons.  The ducks must be what are attracting eagles--I counted at least 10 this morning.  Reading up eagle behaviour on the Birds of the World website, I find that in addition to their usual soft twittering, they can indeed shriek when there are territorial issues.  I was startled at how loud they can be as I walked through the shrubbery near the entrance of the Estuary.  I couldn't see them and didn't realise what I was hearing at first.  Then I saw 6 adult eagles, not looking really friendly.


I'm assuming these two are a pair--it's not immediately visible from the photo but the lower bird is substantially bigger and is likely the female.  They were very vocal and seemed to be driving off four other birds.  

Although the fields are less flooded than the were a couple of days back, there are still ponds along the walk.  The wild rose bushes and dogwood are showing colour.


A view of the mountains makes it clear why the river is as high as it is (more to follow).


The snow level is higher, although snow is forecast in higher areas for the next days.

The tide was in, and there were several new logs offshore.




The usual flocks of ducks were less visible.  I suspect they're just dispersed through the fields.  There were flights of wigeons at times.  The eagles were further inland, and didn't do their usual strategy of frightening waterfowl into the air.  

The river was more full than I've ever seen it, and seemed to be attracting more birds.  I'd have thought that as full as it was, and the salmon run ended, the birds wouldn't have been as active, but I saw goldeneyes and mergansers taking some kind of small fish.  I couldn't get a photo and couldn't identify what I was seeing.  Perhaps future visits will clarify matters.



The river was very muddy.  Long-time locals blame logging for the turbidity--saying that the clear-cuts on the mountains lead to run-offs and erosion.  It seems possible, even likely that this is the case.



The river will re-arrange its banks with this much water coming down.  Hopefully it won't effect the salmon spawn.  


It was actually warm by the time I ended my walk.  In the next few days it's supposed to become chilly and clear, although rain is forecast for Christmas day.




Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

8-10 August

Image
  I find myself wondering if I'm becoming a party poop in my old age.  My home, across from a community park, near the sea and an estuary, is a delightful place to live--most of the time.  August is the exception.  It's not the climate, although we do get a few toasty days, but the annual Beachfest, which attracts hordes of visitors.  The nadir of the event is the Rock the Park weekend, when there's incessant VERY LOUD pop music.  In previous years, I've found it hard to escape and  tiresome.   This year, I decided to spend the weekend at Cluxewe, my favourite campground, up-Island by Port McNeill.  It was a good choice. I left early Friday morning, driving north by the Oceanside Route--there's a faster inland highway, but the slower route is pleasant and has good spots to stop, eat lunch, enjoy the view.  It's consistent with a decision to seek quiet.   I knew Cluxewe would be busy, but it's set up in such a way that it h...
Read more

6 July

Image
  Summer has definitely arrived in the Hamilton Forest and Wetlands.   The distinctively warm light on the vegetation signals the change. The huckleberries are ripening, and are more abundant than I've seen in past years. The very durable foamflower continues to bloom. Although described as common, ghost pipe hasn't been evident in the Forest for the past three years.  This year there is an abundant patch of it near the path. Pojar and MacKinnon file ghostpipes under their heading, "Oddballs," and indeed they are.  As the photos show, the plant has no chlorophyll, gaining its nourishment from mycelium beneath the ground.  It typically appears in a spell of warm weather after a rain--not so in this case--it's been warm and dry.  They seem to be abundant this year; reports and photos are appearing throughout the region. This big trillium is fruiting, its flowering completed.   Two other, smaller, younger, trilliums are visible in the photo abov...
Read more

Two days up-Island

Image
  A somewhat fleeting trip up-Island to explore Alert Bay and attend the T'sasala Cultural Group's final public performance of the season.  There was a lot to see in that brief time. We made our way up, first along the Island Highway, then shifted to the Inland Island Highway to avoid the traffic of Courtenay and Campbell River.  Past Campbell River the highway narrows, and there are many signs warning drivers of elk and other wildlife on the highway.  We didn't see any elk, and the highway was, for the most part, sparsely travelled.  It appeared as though the tourist season is waning. I had misread the ferry schedule from Port McNeill to Alert Bay, but as is often the case, the ferry itself was running late.   We were able to spend time at the dock, where we admired the view across Broughton Strait of Mount Waddington and the Coast Range. We were also impressed by the drinking fountain along the quay, which accommodates both humans and dogs. Arriving ...
Read more