15 March

 eBird data: https://ebird.org/checklist/S83468257

Weather:  8 am 2C wind WSW7 partly cloudy, 12m 5C wind NW 12 brilliantly clear

Tide:  10:30 3.7m, falling


That was a truly glorious morning, with much of spring beginning to show.  It started out cloudy, but cleared spectacularly.  The wind was a true icy March wind, but the sun was blissfully warm in sheltered spots, and trees are starting to blossom.




Even the skunk cabbage is beginning to show, although I couldn't photograph it, because the marshy bit is behind a cyclone fence and I can't shoot through it.  Perhaps later in the season.  Anyhow, the bears will be pleased to find it when they waken.

The sunlight illumined the catkins in a way that always makes me wonder whether spring light was what initially inspired stained glass windows.


There was a splendid young merlin watching the fields.  It's evidently windy.



The herring fleet was very active.  There were many trawlers, and herring boats were being towed.


The wind must have made sailing a challenge, but there they were.

Nearer the shore, there was a group of green-winged teal, looking very bright and industrious.



Once again, the eagles are in the lower nest.


The upstream nest appeared unoccupied, but an eagle flew up just as I was headed away.  

There were a pair of pileated woodpeckers chatting in the woods.

I spotted the female first, and watched her pecking at a fallen log.  After a few moments, I heard her mate calling, and she replied.



Then the male flew in, perhaps to keep her company.  (Males have the red stripe back from their beaks.)  The Cornell Birds of the World website describes them as monogamous, and often forming family groups.  I know I often see them in pairs.

It was definitely a day for bird behaviour.  It's hard to get good photos of the little and very active ruby-crowned kinglet, but this little cutie was quite obliging.


He put a great deal of effort into grooming.  It looks like it took agility.



And then, at the end of my walk, there were a pair of crows grooming one another.


Quite romantic, in a crow fashion.  It must be spring.



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