11 June

 

11 June

eBird data: https://ebird.org/checklist/S90003647

weather:  7 am 12 C wind ESE 9,  11am 16C wind ESE 23 gust 33, cloudy

tide:  10 am 2m, falling

12 June

eBird data: https://ebird.org/checklist/S90060478

weather:  7 am 12 C wind ESE 3, 11 am 15C wind E 18 patchy cloud

tide:  9:30 am 2.7m, falling

I'm gradually getting the knack of bushwhacking my way into the Estuary through the increasingly overgrown first kilometre of my walk.  



Part of it is being certain that my camera and binoculars are protected, not just against moisture but against grass seeds and pollen.  Part of it is carrying a pair of clippers and cutting back the berry vines as they encroach on the path. 

 I'm not sure how this will continue through the summer.  I don't recall things this overgrown last September.  The path is in fact part of maintenance of the hydro services to the city, so I'd think it should be kept clear.  I would expect that the folks who live along the path would be concerned about fire hazards once it all dries out.  Oh well.  At some point, there will be a bumper crop of blackberries and I'll make jam and maybe a pie!

Two grey and rather ominous mornings that didn't actually materialise in rain while I was out, although it pitched down yesterday afternoon.


There have been warnings re electrical storms the past few days.  There was in fact a quite violent storm cell came through on Wednesday, but this mass of cloud over the mainland didn't actually materialise in anything  here.  It just looked threatening.

The battle with the first kilometre's weeds and brambles was rewarded this morning by two new mallard families on the merganser pond.  


These are already well-fledged ducklings.  I assume their moms have kept them well hidden along the banks of the pond until today, because this is the first time I've seen them.

The morning light was wonderful this morning, picking out shrubbery to illumine.


...somewhere back in the dawn of history, when I was in high school, we had an amazing English and Latin teacher.  Mr. Rienhart had his English class write a term paper--footnoted and formatted like they were going to be at university level.  We had a choice of topics, and for some reason, I chose, "Grasses of the Franciscan Region."  I wish I still had the paper.  I'm not sure it was all that original, but I've seen it since (alas, it's since vanished) and I think it probably was a pretty good guide to the grasses.  

This by way of saying that I've always found grasses quite interesting, and the ones here in the Estuary are varied and, I think, beautiful.  Several have a purple tint to their blooms.  (I've forgotten all of the terminology from the paper, of course, but it did leave me with an appreciation of grasses.)




I found both of these grasses to be quite beautiful, and I've just realised that I need to study up on grasses, again.  There's a great website--eFlora, but I don't think this is going to be a quick study.

Yesterday there was a female harrier hunting over the fields.  She caught what I'm thinking is likely a vole.  Not a great photo, but here she is, with her prey.


People who ought to know insist that harriers are rare here, but I wind up seeing them (mostly the females, who I gather outnumber the males), just about every week.   They have a flat face, like an owl, and I'm beginning to wonder whether people are reporting them as short-eared owls.  I probably won't ask, as I suspect doing so would be taken amiss.

There are a lot of chipping sparrows just now, and I suspect that they're nesting and raising little chipping sparrows.  This one looks like s/he is bringing lunch to youngsters.  (I'm not sure what kind of  bug it is, but it looks like a substantial meal for a youngster.)


I've taken to telling myself that when I see a bird of interest (that word, again!) I should shoot first and adjust settings later, as all too often the flighty little creatures leave before I can get my camera set up properly.  Sometimes this actually works.  Today's western tanager is a case in point.  


I managed this shot, and then he flew off.  Don't see a lot of western tanagers here, although I hear them now and then.

In any case, the past two days have been worth the initial battle with the shrubbery and grasses.  






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