20, 21 January


20 January

eBird data:  https://ebird.org/checklist/S79611264

Weather:  8 am 5C, wind W4,  1 pm 5C, wind NW 4, cloudy

Tide:  11am 4.5 m, peak tide, falling


21 January

eBird data:  https://ebird.org/checklist/S79656905

Weather:  8 am 4C, wind WSW 6;  1pm 5C, wind  NW 12, cloudy then clearing

Tide:  11 am 4.4 m peak high


Two dark and uninviting mornings, neither of which materialised in rain, but both of which seemed to get colder, despite the air temperatures.  The wind definitely picked up this morning and by the time I got home, I was ready for hot soup and warm slippers.

Setting out, both mornings were ominously dark.


Yesterday there was a covey of Californian quail along the path.  I usually recognise them initially by their vocalisation.  There's a story about that:  Most bird books list their cry as "Chicago!  Chicago!"  which is about right.  But in my mother's family, it was "Furtado!"  not after Nelly, but after a classmate who apparently bullied my uncle.  Apparently my grandfather always told Johnnie that the bird was yelling "Furtado," and I still can't hear anything else.  Despite which, they are kind of cute:


The river is still descending, although I'm not sure that will continue for the coming week.



This sandbar and pile of fallen timber was submerged until last week, and the river was a torrent.  You can see from the sand how quickly it's descended.

The Straits were at about mid-tide today, and although it was dark over the Estuary, there was bright sun over the  Gulf Islands and the Coast Range.


There were lots and lots of wigeons offshore, making their usual commotion.  There seem to be more Eurasian wigeons (not visible in this photo) among the American wigeons than would be expected.  It doesn't seem to be a problem for either breed--they get along just fine and after the manner of ducks, interbreed, making identification kind of tricky...



Making my way home, there was a tree with five flickers all of which looked somewhat atypical.  I posted this photo in the BC Bird Facebook page and was informed that they may be "intergrade" --a mix of red-shafted and yellow-shafted flicker.  There does seem to be quite a lot of variance in flickers.  



It is, in any case, a handsome bird.

I was definitely ready for hot soup and slippers when I got home.  It's supposed to be even colder tomorrow, although dry.  I see it's now just dropped down to 0C, so yes, I'd guess it will be a nippy day tomorrow.  Warm socks are indicated and I just piled an extra blanket on the bed for tonight.




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