15 January

 eBird data: https://ebird.org/checklist/S79289939

Weather:  8 am 1C, wind calm;  1pm 8C, wind E5  (initially clear, fog offshore moved inland)

Tide:  11 am 4.1m, turning


I awoke, late (7am), to clear sky, and a brilliant sunrise.  There had been rain and strong winds in the night, and a high tide, so the fields were flooded.  There was a big flock of Canada geese in the distance, and lots of mallards.

There is a beginning of spring already--buds setting on the alders.



This is new territory for me at this time of year, so I don't know what to look for.  In Victoria and Vancouver one sees early blossoms by the end of January, but this is further north--not greatly, but possibly enough to tell.


There are big flocks of robins just now as well--there were similar flocks at the end of October.  I take them as harbingers of change.



Still, the path to the river (the shorter route to the shore is still submerged), looks like winter woods, with stands of bare alders and maple, and many fallen trees.







 I gather that the snow melt brought down a lot of mud from logging operations up on the Arrowsmith range.  It's now turning colder and I'd guess the snow pack will stay put for a while.   In fact, although the Weather Office reported a low of 1C last night, there were patches of frost along the path this morning. The river is subsiding  and the water is clearer. 

There was a nice little Bewick's wren along the path:



It was chilly on my duck counting bench, but hot coffee and a warm jacket made the time pleasant.  There was a fog bank, not common, offshore, hiding the islands and coast.  As I headed home, the fog moved inland into the forest, looking rather mysterious.


It had cleared again by the time I got home.  The forecast is for better weather than we've been having in the coming week.  More chances to explore and track the changes in foliage and birds.

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