23 January

 eBird data: https://ebird.org/checklist/S79770816

Weather:  8am -4C, wind WSW 6, partly cloudy;  1pm 4C, wind SW4 partly cloudy

Tide:  10:30 4.1m, rising


A relatively quiet morning, with a hard frost.  The path, formerly muddy, was crunchy underfoot.  Setting out, I was struck by the view to the east.


There were fewer songbirds visible in the shrubbery.  I surmise that they'd stayed hunkered down for warmth.  

The light over the river was striking as well.


I made my way to the shore, noting the absence of chickadees, juncos, and other little shrubbery inhabitants.  Again, when I got to the shore, although the tide was almost at the same level as it was yesterday, there were fewer birds.  As I sat, more wigeons moved in.  

There are typically several Eurasian wigeons in this crowd, but I could only see one this morning, paired with an American wigeon.



I think they are a very striking bird, with the bright, rusty head.  

On my way back I checked the eagle's nest and sure enough, there they were--one on a nearby tree and one on the nest.


I gather they've truly settled in, and I can look forward to hatching and eaglet nurturance for the coming months.  Unfortunately the nest is quite a distance across the river, so I won't be sending any really big photos, but, to me, watching eagles raise a brood is a privilege.  

Home to warm up.  Snow--worse, WET snow--forecast for tomorrow.  Yuck.   Possibly a day to catch up on domestic chores.



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