Blog of the Plague Year(s)

  11 December eBird data: https://ebird.org/checklist/S98752149 weather:  8:30 am 5C wind SSW 4, 11:30 am 4C wind S8, cloudy then rain tide:  10 am, 4.2 m, rising 12 December EBird data: https://ebird.org/checklist/S98804829 weather:  8:30 am 2C wind SSE 4, 12:00m 3C wind SSE 18, cloudy, then rain and snow mixed. tide:  11 am 4.4m rising 14 December eBird data:  https://ebird.org/checklist/S98887133 weather:  8:30 am 0C wind W2, 12:00m 4C wind ESE 9, partly cloudy tide:  10:30 am 3.6m, rising Two days of quite nasty weather, then a chilly but mostly sunny day. The 11th:  The river was high and turbid, and rain arrived early on my walk.  I carried on, and was reasonably comfortable in my rain gear, although I'm apprehensive about my camera's raincoat, and didn't take many photos.  All that said, even when the weather is hostile, there is a beauty to the river.   12 December Somewhat less nasty weather than yesterd...

  8 December   no eBird data entered weather:  clear, sunny and warm 9 December eBird data: https://ebird.org/checklist/S98672678 weather:  8:30 am -1C, wind calm,  12:00m 5C wind NW 20, initially cloudy, clearing tide:  11:00 am 5.0 m, at peak, falling 8 December I headed up-Island with two items on my agenda:  One, to get photos of trumpeter swans in the fields around Comox.  There have been several reports of large numbers of swans on eBird, and I thought I'd see what was up there.  Two, to buy a batch of very fresh, very scrumptious Baynes Sound Oysters for my dinner. According to the Cornell Ornithological website, during their migration in British Columbia, trumpeter swans forage mostly on grasses.  This is consistent with what I've seen here on the Island and in the Lower Mainland of BC.  This means that the birds are very visible against the green and brown of mowed grass crops.  I assume that that was what th...

5 December eBird Data:  https://ebird.org/checklist/S98514347 weather:  8:30 am 0C wind WNW 8, 12:00m 3C wind  high cloud, clearing tide:  10:30 am 4.0m , falling 7 December eBird data:  https://ebird.org/checklist/S98595088 weather:   9 am:  3C wind ESE2, 12:30 4C wind SE 8  cloudy tide:  11 am 4.6m, falling A hard freeze last night.  The Merganser pond was nearly frozen over-- ---I don't know where the hoodies go when this pond is iced over.  I've seen them offshore, but seldom, and they do seem to prefer ponds.   It was a relatively high tide, and abundant ducks, as well as a lone oystercatcher. The light was unusual--although it was sorta clear, it was filtered. I looked for the dipper where I'd seen him yesterday.  I couldn't see him, but he was singing, quite beautifully.  I think he was tucked against the bank out of view. There was a gold-crowned kinglet --I find they tend to be rather evasive, but t...

2 December  eBird data: https://ebird.org/checklist/S98374381 weather:  8:30 am 6C, wind WNW 21,  12:00m 6C  wind NW 16, cloudy, then clearing tide:  10:30 am 3.2 m, rising 3 December eBird data: https://ebird.org/checklist/S98429982 weather:  8:30 am 2C wind WSW 7, 12m 4C wind WNW 7 cloudy, then clearing tide:  10:30 am 3.3 m turning upward Two mornings following on wild weather, and showing some effects. The night of December 1, there was a squall of wild wind, which brought trees down throughout the Estuary forest. In addition to the wind, it's likely that the rain-soaked earth contributed to the fall, and everything I saw looked as though one tree had fallen and taken others down with it.  The above photo is of an old tree that was snapped off by another pine falling across it.  At some point it will need to be cleared by the Nature Trust, because this is an access road for maintenance. The Salish Sea was wilder than I recall se...

 eBird data: https://ebird.org/checklist/S98102702k weather:  8:30 am 4C wind WSE 2,  12:30 m 8C wind NNW 8 Initially clear, then clouding over. tide:  10:30 4.5m After a couple of rainy days, a semi-clear morning.   To my considerable delight, the path to the Merganser Pond was passable.  I found a song sparrow wading in the remaining water, but it was only up to his knees (I guess those were his knees)  so I knew I could make my way in my gumboots without misadventure. And indeed, the mergansers were on the pond. There was a very high tide, and many ducks. There were two ornithologists (real ones!) from the Nature Trust doing a count when I reached the duck counting benches.  One was a young man with whom I've often crossed paths, and who is a mine of real information, without being patronising or snooty at all.  He obviously loves his work and enjoys sharing it.  I've learned a lot from him.   The other one, his bo...

 eBird data: https://ebird.org/checklist/S97980775 weather:  8:30 5C wind W 7,  12:30 8C wind WNW 12, clear, felt colder than reported tide:  10:30  4.5m, falling A very high tide, and flooded fields this morning.   A shorter walk than usual.  Part of my usual route along the river is now closed due to the risk of bank collapse. It's unfortunate, but makes sense, given what has happened to the bank lately.  It's also the part of the river where I usually found the lovely little dippers--I hope they're ok--they apparently roost in close to the bank.  I think I know where they hang out when they're not fishing or singing, and I'm awfully afraid that it fell in recently.   I do hope they weren't under it when that happened.  (I know, in the cosmic scheme of things losing a couple of dippers is pretty minor, but they were lovely singers, and interesting little critters.) When I set out this morning it wasn't particularly ...