4 March

 eBird data: https://ebird.org/checklist/S82751005

Weather:  8 am 1C wind calm, overcast;  12:30 m 9C, wind ESE 23 guts 36, light rain

Tide:  10:30 4.2m


We are certainly approaching spring--morning comes earlier, and welcome.  Today started chilly but with no wind, and then did a real March thing--wind stood up and by mid-day it was pitching down rain.

Early morning was bright--the approach to the path to the shore was sunny, with bright light on the shrubbery.


There are the beginnings of blossoms on some of the Pacific crabapples.


The snow level on the mountains inland is rising, although we certainly could get more snow in the coming weeks.  I've been in a blizzard on the Malahat (between Duncan and Victoria) in April.





It was a relatively high tide, still, when I arrived at the shore.  There were many wigeons, including four very beautiful Eurasian wigeons.  Here are two of them and a couple of your basic American wigeons.  (The Eurasians are the ones with the reddish heads.)


I had never really noticed how tiny teals are.  These green wings look like chicks, but no, they're just little adult ducks, beside the bigger wigeons.



Making my way along the river, it was good to see that the water is much less cloudy, despite the snowmelt.




It always feels colder along the river, but in addition to that, today, the wind was standing up and I was sure it was going to storm.  I made my way home, without much more birding.  I put the raincoat on my camera, but just got home before the weather arrived.  A very satisfying morning and a very satisfying conclusion to be home before the skies opened.

 




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