2 April

eBird data:  https://ebird.org/checklist/S106111446

weather:  9 am 7C wind S3, 1pm 10C wind E17 gust 28, increasingly cloudy

tide:  11 am 2.7m, falling

This will be the last blog for a few days, as I'm about to hit the road for Sacramento, and won't be back until the end of April.   I'll try to write up my travels a bit, but internet access may delay things.

The path between Nerbus and the Mills Road trailhead was supposed to be signed and blocked off by now, but nothing has happened.  I have no idea what is going to happen.  I was chatting with one of the folks who live beside the path and he still thought that the city was going to acquire the path and make it a public right of way.  Who knows?  I find myself wishing this were Scotland, where, it seems that continued use of a path eventually renders it a right of way.   Anyhow, I manage to make my way through the brush piles and over the now unbridged ditch without mishap.  It all seems rather stupid.  I'll be interested to see what has transpired by the time I return.


The morning began sunny but became increasingly ominous.  It didn't actually rain, but it definitely threatened.  The early light over the Estuary showed the spring growth beautifully.


It was a moderate tide, falling, and fairly ducky.


There were many brant flying past--there was another birder out at the point and we counted over 150 northbound birds.

Alas, the nesting eagle wasn't in evidence.  It's quite possible that she was down in the bottom of the nest.  On reflection, the eaglets will likely have hatched by my return but they are unlikely to have fledged.  It will be interesting to see.

There are increasing numbers of mergansers on the river.


This was the female of a pair.  The male didn't photograph at all well.  Her feathers look as though they've been arranged with styling gel, but in fact she had a tailwind.


This house finch is quite orange--I gather the colouring is related to diet.


And that's it until I hit the road.

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