17 March

 eBird data:https://ebird.org/checklist/S83576495

Weather:  8am 0C wind SSW2, 12m 9C wind E 14, scattered clouds, and patchy frost

Tide:  10 am 4m

Initially less birdy than usual, although the fields chimed with (invisible) red-winged blackbirds.  A high tide, ducks and eagles were mostly elsewhere.

The Arrowsmith massif was lit brilliantly and gleamed in the snow.  It is now a backdrop for new foliage.


The eagle population seemed down;  I'd guess that they were somewhere enjoying the herring spawn.  There was a handsome northern harrier who flew past before I could get a photo.  This happens.

There were a lot of gulls.



I figured out how to photograph through a cyclone fence!  Here are the first skunk cabbage.  I haven't found that many really boggy spots in the Estuary where these will grow, but there were bound to be some.


The salmonberries are blossoming splendid hot pink:  They're hardly exotic, but I've always liked them because they show up so early in the season.  


The growth along the river is changing almost hourly and the river is running swift and clear.


On the return path there was a pair of Steller's jays--the male very big and talkative, the female clucking and crooning.  I expect youngsters.


It seemed as though there were fewer sparrows for some reason, but the golden-crowned crew were in evidence, their crowns all very bright.


Rain forecast for tomorrow.  A day for domestic stuff.  Ah well.



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