10, 11, 13, 15 February

10 February

 eBird data: https://ebird.org/checklist/S128017378

weather:  9:30 am 7C wind NE 6, 1:00 pm 11C wind SSE 10, partly sunny

tide:  11:00 am 3.9 m , falling

11 February

eBird data:  https://ebird.org/checklist/S128094392

Weather:  9:00 am 4C wind W4, 12:30 pm 6C wind NNW 7

Tide:  11:00 am 4.00m, falling

13 February

eBird data:  https://ebird.org/checklist/S12827313615 February

Weather:  9:00 am 6C wind 9kph, 12:30 pm 7C wind 8 kph, high cloud, clearing

Tide:  10:30 am 4.4m, falling

15 February

eBird data:  https://ebird.org/checklist/S128400962 

Weather:  9:00 am -1C wind calm,  1:00 pm 5C wind ENE 8  patchy frost, light cloud

Tide:  11:00 am 4.4m, high tide, falling

10 February

Partly sunny, and warm. 


Somehow it's starting to look springlike, although as of today, Arrowsmith is very snowy.


...Incidentally, if you enlarge the photos and look just below the highest point at the left-hand end of Mount Arrowsmith, and between the stand of fir trees and the blackberry vines, you'll see a brown roof just above the vines.  That's my home.  It's a pretty nice place to live.

11 February

...nothing too scintillating.  I did take a photo of a purple finch (no, they're mostly kind of hot pink, really), but it wasn't very good.  There's a much better purple finch photo in the 15 February entry.

13 February

Finally, some clear weather.  And some nice birds.  There have been a couple of weeks without much evidence of eagles, but they're back in good numbers today.  


... this is kind of interesting.  The right-hand eagle is an adult, the left-hand bird is probably a fourth-year bird.  It does appear that immature eagles will hang with adults.  It's pretty tricky to identify whether the adult is the parent, but one can conjecture.

It really does start to look like spring may be in view, even though it's still quite chilly.


Although the Weather Office stats showed moderate breezy conditions, it was really windy out at the point and in the straits.  And a fine showing of cumulus cloud above the Gulf Islands and mainland.

Along the path into the Estuary, there was a very busy hairy woodpecker, who tolerated my attempts at photography.  (I think he may not have noticed me, so busy was he at his pecking.)

My birding colleagues here, whom I'm sure know the timing of bird arrivals better than I do, agree that the red-wing blackbirds in the Estuary are about a month early.  Notwithstanding, here is a singer.



He's not displaying his fully glorious epaulettes, but he was singing quite wonderfully. At a guess, it's only a matter of weeks before we get the full red-wing performance.  Definitely something to look forward to.

15 February

Chilly, but bright.  

Finally:  an almost recognisable northern harrier. 


I'll hope to improve, but beginning to get near to the recognisable bird.

The eagles haver re-appeared at their nest.  The male at the top of the nest tree, keeping an eagle eye on things:


The female on the nest:


Heading home, I met up with a big flock of purple finches.  They're not really purple, but highly coloured.  


Good singers, pretty birds.

...and that was the morning of a crazy busy week.  Thank goodness for the Estuary.



 

 
Gerard Manley Hopkins

“What would the world be, once bereft

Of wet and of wildness? Let them be left,

O let them be left, wildness and wet;
Long live the weeds and the wilderness yet.”







Thanks, Gerard Manley Hopkins.



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