25, 27, 29 August


25 August

 eBird data: https://ebird.org/checklist/S117544545

weather:  7:30 am 18C, wind WNW 8, 10:30 am 22C wind N8, clear

tide:  9:00 am 1.9m,  falling

Flocks of goldfinches, increase in WC sparrows, black-bellied plovers 

27 August

eBird data:https://ebird.org/checklist/S117657807

weather:  8 am 21C wind WNW 8, 1 pm 24 C wind NNW9 clearing

tide:  l0:00 am 2.1m, falling

29 August

eBird data:   https://ebird.org/checklist/S117776029

weather:  8 am 21 C wind WNW 8, 12:30 pm 24 C wind NNW 9, intermittent cloud, brief rain shower, humid

tide:  10:30 am 2.8m, falling


The days and the land are becoming increasingly autumnal, to my delight.  At the moment, the bird populations seems to be down.  I'm told this is because of the autumn migration.

There are big flocks of goldfinches, chattering away, and the white-crowned sparrows, which haven't been apparent for some time, are back.  On the 25th, there were shorebirds just barely visible at the distant shoreline--black-bellied plovers and yellowlegs.  I think there were also sandpipers but at that distance it was hard to distinguish them.


The tides are very low when I make my way out in the mornings.  The night before last was a high tide, and combined with wind, I could hear surf in the distance.  

By morning, there was a chop on the Straits, but again a very low tide.


I do so love the morning light on the fields and forests.

Dune grass is abundant in the fields that have flooded in the winter tides.



Again, we're starting to see what I would regard as autumnal cloud. Perhaps one day I should take a course on meteorology and come to understand cloud formation better.  

29 August

A falling tide, and a few birds.

At the furthest shore of the Straits, a gathering of gulls and a procession of mergansers.


In one of the channels of the Estuary, a greater yellowlegs.


...just one, which is a bit unusual. They're mory typically social birds.  

And on a snag, still in the estuary, what I take to be a female merlin.


...off to camp up-Island tomorrow.  More in another blog.






 

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