Blog of the Plague Year(s)

19 July eBird data:   https://ebird.org/checklist/S145068016 Weather:  8:30 am  20C wind NNW 8,   12:30 pm 25C wind NNW11 tide:  10:30 am 2.3m, falling 20 July eBird data:   https://ebird.org/checklist/S145119344 weather:  8:30 am 22C wind NNW9,  12:00 m 24C wind NNE 5 clear tide:  10:30 am 2.7m, falling 21 July eBird data:  https://ebird.org/checklist/S145208950 weather:  8:30 am 20C, 12:30 pm 23 C partly cloudy Tide:  10:30 am 3.0m,  falling 22 July eBird data:  https://ebird.org/checklist/S145208950 weather:   8:00 am 19C wind SE7,  12:30 pm 22C wind NNE 10, partly cloudy, brief rainshower tide:  10:30 am 3.2m, falling It's been some time since I've spent four consecutive mornings in the Estuary.  When I first settled in Parksville, it was my regular destination, but lately I've found myself involved in other projects and have done well if I manage two mornings a week.  ...

13 July A long but ever so worthwhile drive up to Cluxewe Campground.  I’ve never been here during peak season before.  The campground isn’t entirely full, but no doubt will be come the weekend.  Despite high occupancy, it’s quiet. I’m camped in what is likely one of the less desirable sites, one of three lined up side by side with no separation.  It still has a fine view of the estuary. I’ve heard shorebirds tonight.  There is a province-wide ban on campfires, so I cooked dinner on my portable propane grill—a small steak and a salad. It was excellent, and a superb venue for dining.   An early and peaceful night. 14 July Slept in until 7 am.  More shorebirds—I think dunlin, from their behaviour.  A lazy breakfast.   I was uncertain about grey water disposal at this site, so I asked a woman who was cleaning the washrooms.  She didn’t know, and suggested I ask the guy in the office.  Immediately an old guy camped a couple of sites ove...

  6 July eBird data:  https://ebird.org/checklist/S143748207 weather:  9:30 am 19C wind 8 kph,  12:30 pm 23 C wind 12 kph, haze tide:  11am, 2.5m, falling 7 July eBird data:  https://ebird.org/checklist/S143833676  weather:  10:00 am 19C wind ENE 8, 12:30 pm 20C wind E10, hazy, high cloud tide:  11:00 am 3.1 m,  falling 8 July:  No data 6 July A late start on a hazy morning.  Warm, but not excessively so.  I got lazy and drove to the Shelly Road parking area and then walked the usual circuit in reverse.  The forest is in its full summer glory.   The river looks as though it has recovered from the bank collapse, but with no rain forecast, it's really hard to know what will happen to it.  I'm thinking the salmon may have to grow legs in order to get to their spawning areas.   At mid-tide, the estuarine marsh is turning to gold. The light was almost autumnal, probably due to smoke from fires up-I...