19, 22, 24, 25 May

19 May

 eBird data: https://ebird.org/checklist/S138405469

Weather:  8:00 am 17C wind WNW 7, 12:00 m 20C wind N 7 clear

Tide:  10:00 am 1.7m, falling

22 May

eBird data: https://ebird.org/checklist/S138915148

Weather:  8:00 am 13C wind NW 19 gust 28,  12:00 m 14C wind NNW 14 clear

Tide:  10:00 2.9m falling

25-27 May

eBird data:  https://ebird.org/checklist/S139226419

Weather:  8:00 am 14C wind WNW 11,  12:30 am 18C wind NW 10 clear

Tide:  10:00 am 3.4m, falling

Gloriously sunny, summery days, and a couple of relatively new bird arrivals.  


The path into the Estuary is becoming very overgrown with Himalayan blackberries, thimble berries, and Nootka roses.



I wish there were a way to record and transmit the heavenly scent of a path lined with wild roses.  

There were a pair of black-headed grosbeaks along the path.  The male was singing his varied song, which Roger Tory Petersen described as "like a robin with voice lessons."  It is rather virtuoistic.


As I watched and listened to the grosbeak, I noticed a yellow warbler on a nearby branch.


He too, was singing, perhaps a bit less sophisticated song than the grosbeak.

Along the path, the red osier dogwood is in bloom.


Its leaves look like those of the common dogwood, with veins converging to its tip, but it has clusters of flowers and no white bracts.  

A song sparrow was fetching breakfast for its hatchlings.


I watched as a chipping sparrow enjoyed a bath in one of the creeks.


I have yet to see eaglets on the cottonwood by the river, but the parents are still staying nearby.


I'm quite sure this is the male;  he still has smudges on his face and beak.  I wonder what he'd been into.  He looks a bit uneasy, for reasons unknown. 

24 May

Helping to organise an insect survey at French Creek Refuge.  So far we're focusing on butterflies, and so far there aren't even a lot of butterflies to be seen.

That said, it's a lovely place to spend time. 


 The schedule was a bit unclear, so I arrived early along the French Creek estuary, and spent an hour photographing herons,  busily fishing in the Creek. 






There were also killdeer, trying to persuade me that they were injured.  I assumed they were nesting and  kept my distance.


The forest has an abundance of black hawthorn, the only hawthorn native to BC.  It is beautiful but malodorous.


25, 27 May

A couple of birds that haven't been evident until just now.

The song and note of the Swainson's thrush is a marker of summer in the Estuary.



It's a pretty bird, and abundant in the area.  It is, however, more often heard than seen, so seeing this little character was a treat.

Cedar waxwings will become frequent visitors.


At present, there are only a couple that I've been able to spot.

Orange honeysuckle is in bloom, another welcome seasonal marker throughout the forest.


I continue to regard living in this area as a wonderful gift.  




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