2, 3, 5 september

 2 September

eBird data: https://ebird.org/checklist/S94081128

Weather:  7 am 11C wind W6,  11 am 19C wind NW 13 clear

Tide:  9 am 1.4 m

3 September

eBird data: https://ebird.org/checklist/S94121794

weather:  7 am 9C wind WSW 2,  11 am 18 C wind E 6 partly cloudy

Tide:  8:30 1.5m  falling

5 September

eBird data:  https://ebird.org/checklist/S94229109

Weather:  7 am 12C wind calm, 11 am 17C wind NW 5 cloudy

Tide:  9 am 1.8m


Three days of low tides, and increasing cloud.   September 4th we finally had quite a good rain, and more is forecast as "probable" for later this week.

There was brilliant sunshine on the 2nd, illuminating the now genuinely autumnal foliage.



The morning of the 3rd seemed lively, both for birds and other critters.


This is the entry gate for the path leading into the Estuary.  Deer and bunnies abound, but I've not often had the chance to photograph both.   

It was a beautiful morning--the clouds and mountains to the southeast were at their best.


Along the path, there was a somewhat perplexing newly fledged towhee:


It seems late in the season for a bird to be this downy.  From what I read, towhees typically fledge in late July at the latest.  I think this bird may be in a second moult after fledging.  The colouring looks more like an adult bird than the first fledging.  But he sure is untidy.  That's pacific crab apple he's chowing down on.  He seemed to have a healthy appetite. 

I'd not seen many savannah sparrows so far this season, but there have been several just lately.


The morning tides have been quite low lately, and yesterday there was fog over the nearby islands.

Yesterday was much less peaceful than usual.  There was a large group of senior hikers, talking the hind end off a horse and asking loudly if I'd seen any "REALLY RARE birds."  Nah.  Maybe I should have been snarky and told them about the emu...

...and then there was a big crowd of about twenty ravens, also noisy.   They were producing the strangest vocalisations, and pairs were doing some wild aerial acrobatics--barrel rolls in tandem!  Wow.  I'm not sure what had drawn them in such numbers;  usually I see three or four.  Possibly a Labour Day convention?


Just for the record, here is an adult male towhee in normal plumage:


I don't know if I'm right in thinking this, but towhees seem exceptionally sloppy about keeping their beaks clean.  This guy is typical.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

8-10 August

Image
  I find myself wondering if I'm becoming a party poop in my old age.  My home, across from a community park, near the sea and an estuary, is a delightful place to live--most of the time.  August is the exception.  It's not the climate, although we do get a few toasty days, but the annual Beachfest, which attracts hordes of visitors.  The nadir of the event is the Rock the Park weekend, when there's incessant VERY LOUD pop music.  In previous years, I've found it hard to escape and  tiresome.   This year, I decided to spend the weekend at Cluxewe, my favourite campground, up-Island by Port McNeill.  It was a good choice. I left early Friday morning, driving north by the Oceanside Route--there's a faster inland highway, but the slower route is pleasant and has good spots to stop, eat lunch, enjoy the view.  It's consistent with a decision to seek quiet.   I knew Cluxewe would be busy, but it's set up in such a way that it h...
Read more

6 July

Image
  Summer has definitely arrived in the Hamilton Forest and Wetlands.   The distinctively warm light on the vegetation signals the change. The huckleberries are ripening, and are more abundant than I've seen in past years. The very durable foamflower continues to bloom. Although described as common, ghost pipe hasn't been evident in the Forest for the past three years.  This year there is an abundant patch of it near the path. Pojar and MacKinnon file ghostpipes under their heading, "Oddballs," and indeed they are.  As the photos show, the plant has no chlorophyll, gaining its nourishment from mycelium beneath the ground.  It typically appears in a spell of warm weather after a rain--not so in this case--it's been warm and dry.  They seem to be abundant this year; reports and photos are appearing throughout the region. This big trillium is fruiting, its flowering completed.   Two other, smaller, younger, trilliums are visible in the photo abov...
Read more

Two days up-Island

Image
  A somewhat fleeting trip up-Island to explore Alert Bay and attend the T'sasala Cultural Group's final public performance of the season.  There was a lot to see in that brief time. We made our way up, first along the Island Highway, then shifted to the Inland Island Highway to avoid the traffic of Courtenay and Campbell River.  Past Campbell River the highway narrows, and there are many signs warning drivers of elk and other wildlife on the highway.  We didn't see any elk, and the highway was, for the most part, sparsely travelled.  It appeared as though the tourist season is waning. I had misread the ferry schedule from Port McNeill to Alert Bay, but as is often the case, the ferry itself was running late.   We were able to spend time at the dock, where we admired the view across Broughton Strait of Mount Waddington and the Coast Range. We were also impressed by the drinking fountain along the quay, which accommodates both humans and dogs. Arriving ...
Read more