20, 21 May

20 May

 eBird data: https://ebird.org/checklist/S110773346

weather:  8 am 10C wind WNW 16, 1pm 13C wind NNE 10, partly cloudy

tide:  11 am, 3.2m, falling

21 May

eBird data: https://ebird.org/checklist/S110875836

weather:  7:30 am 10C, wind WNW 16 12:00m 13C, wind NE 9, sunny

tide:  10:00 am 3.7m, falling

Two dry and mild days.  

Finally, it's clear enough that the islands between here and the mainland were visible.



It was a relatively low tide, so that the Caspian terns that I heard on the distant sandbank weren't possibly to photograph.  They're very vocal, though, and unmistakeable.  For what it's worth, a recording: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Caspian_Tern/sounds

My season-gauge cluster of birch is starting to look summery!




Honeysuckle (actually native to these parts) is coming into bloom, which should attract more rufous hummingbirds.  

A quail was not even a little bit shy:


The fields are full of chipping sparrows, pairing up.  


Soon there will be juveniles.

Towhees are very common here, so I don't photograph them all that often, but I liked the combination of bird and foliage in this.


As usual, the towhee looks rather anxious, almost as though he's trying to remember where he left something.  





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