27 July-2 August

 

 

27 July

eBird data: https://ebird.org/checklist/S145761646 

weather:  9:30 am 17C wind NW 12,  12:00 m 20C wind NNW 9 partly cloudy

tide:  10:30 am 1.6m, rising

1 August

eBird data: https://ebird.org/checklist/S146205234

Weather:  8:30 am 18 C wind WNW 10, 12:30 pm 22C wind NNW 9

Tide:  11:00 am 0.4m,  falling

2 August

eBird data: https://ebird.org/checklist/S146285483

weather:  8:30 am 19C wind WSW 3, 12:30 pm 20C wind NW 11, cloudy, brief light rainshower, gradually clearing

tide:  10:30 am 1.3m, falling


27 July

A belated start to a visit to the Estuary, with an early visit with a young buck, cleaning the weeds out of my gravel walkway.


The depredations of deer in our neighbourhood is a mixed emotion, but I appreciated this youngster's clean-up job.  

The river is very low, the Estuary alarmingly dry.  In general, the expectation is that trees will fall in wet and windy weather, but heat and dryness will bring them down as well.





Although this cottonwood was the most conspicuous fall, it took several other trees down with it.  There hadn't been any wind worth mentioning, the ground is dry.  I've seen this happen in past summers as well.  It's curious to see that it fell right at its base.  

The vegetation in the estuarine marsh is drying out.


The ocean spray is turning bronze--early for that change.


The Oregon gumweed is coming into bloom.  It looks as though there will be a lot of it this season.  I suspect it's a plant that handles dry weather relatively well.  



1 August

The edges of the salt marsh show a generous growth of gumweed.


There was something of a commotion along the river among a pair of kingfishers.  Looking at the relatively short beak and plumage of one, it appears that it may have been a juvenile.  



It looked like some kind of territorial disagreement, and in usual kingfisher fashion the birds were very vocal.  

Both the bitter cherry and the Nootka rose foliage look more like September in this photo.


I've been treating this stand of trees as a seasonal marker since I arrived here, but what it's telling me now is that the season is going to be different.

2 August

A cloudy morning, with a very light rain shower, enough to make the forest and fields wonderfully fragrant.


I wish there were some way to record and share the aroma--it's really heavenly.

A nice little family group of deer observed me, as deer will.  


One of the fawns didn't seem very alert, but the sib was really watching me closely, as was Mom.  

Arrowsmith is almost entirely void of snow.  Some years the snowfield stays up there until replenished in the autumn, but it didn't happen last year and certainly isn't going to this year.  

The river was very calm.


I don't recall ever seeing it so still that the trees were reflected.

A nuthatch cooperated with a photo.  That, too, is an unusual event.


Usually, in my experience, they disappear behind a tree limb as soon as I lift my camera.  Never really knew how they manage that, but they do.  

I spent maybe half an hour watching the dipper hunting.  Mostly he took caddis larvae, but there was an orange insect and a tiny fish as well.  




I've yet to hear him sing this year, but it's nice to see him.  I'd wondered how he would manage the low water, but he seems to be doing fine.

On the subject of hunting, foraging is becoming a good possibility.

The invasive Himalayan blackberries are ripening.  I've found quite a few well ripened and delicious and people are coming out to pick.



This morning I asked a woman with a five-gallon bucket (!) what she planned to do with her berries.  She said she makes wine, jam, pie, and cobblers.  I think I'll try for jam and maybe a pie.  

For the first time, it looks as though the hazelnut trees are bearing.  


I remember now that the British hazelnut tree when I was in England only produced on alternate years.  It doesn't look like a big yield here, but I hope I can gather a few.  

Somehow I seem to have a series of free mornings to explore the Estuary just now.  This is great, since there is evidence that the autumn migration is starting.  

 














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