21, 26 October

21 Oct 

eBird data: https://ebird.org/checklist/S96514980

Weather:  8am 13C wind SE 4  11am 14C wind SE 42 Gust 60  cloudy, occasional showers

tide:  10 am 3.6m, falling

26 Oct

https://ebird.org/checklist/S96739405

Weather:  8:30 am 8C wind SE 12, 11 am 11 wind ESE 18 gust 33  cloudy, occasional showers then clearing

tide:10 am 4.2m, rising

21 Oct

A mixed day--the path into the Estuary remains a tangled mess at one point, and the recent rains have left flooded bits.  The duck migration is increasing, although there isn't a lot of variation among them so far.  

A point of interest:  near the downstream eagle nest, there is a second nest being built.  I hadn't known that eagles did their nest construction in the autumn, but it makes sense.  They're usually brooding by February, so having a nest in good order early in the season seems a smart move.


I'm somewhat puzzled at the proximity to the earlier nest, which I was told had been there for about 30 years.  It's obscured by foliage just now, and is further inland.  Perhaps it has met with mishap and is being replaced.  It seems unusual for eagles to next quite this close together.

26 October

Several days of wild weather since my last visit.  I try to avoid the forest when there is high wind forecast, and sure enough, there were several trees down today.  Ominous weather today, but nothing too drastic.   Unfortunately the shore teemed with twitchers, looking for unusual migrant ducks.  There is beginning to be some variance--nothing close enough to shore that I could photograph.  

It was a very high tide.


The tide combined with the recent heavy rainfall to bring the river to a higher level than I've seen this season.




The forecast looks somewhat better for the rest of the week.  Here's luck.




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