Blog of the Plague Year(s)

27 December  tide:   9:00 am 5.2m, peak (king tide) 28  December eBird stats: https://ebird.org/checklist/S124789739 Weather:  10:00 am 2C wind SSW 2, 2:00pm 8C wind ESE 6, sunny tide:  1:00 pm 4.2m falling A week of weather extremes, starting with unusual cold and snow.  The week began with days that never made it up to 30F, and with heavy snow. I felt fortunate to be able to walk to the supermarket and pharmacy, especially when--DAMMIT--my hot water bottle sprang a leak at 1:30 am one morning.  I made my way up to the local Pharmasave, and bought the two remaining hot water bottles.  They seem to have been popular items just lately. The snowscapes were definitely unusual vantages of the Estuary, although --read on--there were more changes as the week wore on. By Christmas Eve, the snow had abated and the weather began to warm up, but with strong winds and heavy rain.   In fact, it hit unseasonable temperatures--near 60F.  Thi...

13 December  Visit to Cattle Point, Victoria  no data 16 December  eBird data:  https://ebird.org/checklist/S124065026 weather:  9:30 am 0C wind WSW 7, 1:00 pm 1C wind W5 cloudy tide:  11:30 4.7m peak tide, falling 17 December eBird data:  https://ebird.org/checklist/S124134916 weather:  9:30 am 2C wind SW5, 1:30 pm 5C wind SW4, intermittently cloudy tide:  11:00 am,  4.5m 18 December winterscapes Parksville Community Park Beach 13 December During a brief visit to Victoria, I stopped at Cattle Point, a spot valued by birders for waterfowl and shorebirds. There are harlequin ducks along the coast, here, but I don't see them often in my usual haunts.  They are certainly ornate. This surf scoter was somehow isolate from the rest of his flock which was well offshore.  They are rather odd-looking, I think, with the strange beak.   The approaching dusk produced a fine light. 16 December Back to the Estuary for a cloudy and ...

11 December  eBird data : https://ebird.org/checklist/S123832306 weather:  9:30 am 5C wind W6, 2:00 pm 6C  wind WNW10, cloudy tide:  12:00m 4.1m falling It begins to look as though I'm going into hibernation.  Yet another late Sunday morning start, but again, one that was rewarding. It also begins to look as though I'm moving into gumboot season.  It was a high tide last night, and the west trail leading into the Estuary was impassible, or at least in hiking boots, on which the waterproofing has ended.  I'll do something about that, but for now, I think it's gumboot season.   So I re-routed to the bank of the river, where I was happy to watch the dipper for some time. I'm not sure what he was doing with the willow leaf... I was joined by Janet and her really nice little dog, Sadie, who is mostly a Nova Scotia Duck toller, a small retriever with an absolutely delightful personality.  We chatted a bit and she mentioned that there was ...

7 December eBird data:  https://ebird.org/checklist/S123608438 weather:  9:00 am 3C wind SE 7,   12:30 pm 4C wind  ESE 13  cloudy tide:   11:00 am 3.6m low, turning 8 December Day trip to Deep Bay, data unavailable 9 December eBird data:  https://ebird.org/checklist/S123700636 weather:  9:00 am  0 C, wind SSE 8, 1:00 pm 4C wind SE 18 gust 27  cloudy tide:  11:00 4m falling 7 December Warming up a bit on a grey day. The Merganser Pond is still mostly iced over. It isn't evident but there are a little cluster of mallards at the far end of the pond. It begins to appear that the peregrine falcon has taken up residence for the season. He looks a bit less fluffy today, thanks to the warmer weather. The tide was moderate, and the duck population was well represented out on the straits. I watched Big Momma Eagle working at her construction project.  She is quite amazing, lifting and arranging branches.  (NOT twigs-- bran...