19 april
eBird data: https://ebird.org/checklist/S85914947
Weather: 8 am 12 C, wind SE 6 1pm 19C, wind ESE 18
Tide: 10 am 3.6m
A very birdy day (44 species!) that started inauspiciously. I wakened at 5:30, got up, breakfasted, organised myself and had set out by 7 am. And when I got to the Estuary trailhead I discovered that --pathetic moronic person that I am--I'D LEFT MY BINOCULARS HOME! Dang. How dumb is that?
Actually it wasn't all that awful--on the second attempt I saw a couple of new birds and the morning was gloriously beautiful.
The snow is gradually leaving the Arrowsmith massif,
leaving the river high and turbid
There are tiny fish jumping in the Merganser Pond--no idea what they are, nor if they'll draw ducks to feed on them.
There is a stand of birch near the shore which has shown itself throughout the year, first golden, then white, now bright green, illuminated by the morning sun.
The past days there have been chipping sparrows, returned from--who knows where--but among my favourite sparrows, perhaps because I have a soft spot for gingers...
There is more new (to me) flora appearing.
This behaves something like shamrocks, is called "vanilla leaf." It will show spires of white bloom in time--there's a lot of it.
Along the river there was an extrovert Bewick's wren, posing and singing magnificently.
I spent quite some time trying to get a good photo, and then an annoying person nearly ran into me on a mountain bike! Snarl! Snarl! And he didn't apologise and I'm afraid I may have used rude language after him.
The eagles are on their nests--I still am not seeing the young being brought food, but I'm pretty sure they'll have hatched by now. The flickers who were so busy building a good nest cavity seem to be feeding busily now.
This is Dad Flicker, hard at work.
Walking back I found another Bewick's wren, this one more pensive.
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