23, 28, 29 September; 4, 6 October

 23 September

eBird data: https://ebird.org/checklist/S150578068

weather:  9:00 am 14C wind ESE 5,  11:00 am 15C wind ESE 15, light rain

tide:  10:00 am 2.6m, rising

28 September

eBird data: https://ebird.org/checklist/S150949925 

weather:  10:00 am 12 C wind NE 3, 1:00 pm 11C wind NNW 16

tide:  11:00 am 1.3m, turning

29 September

eBird data:  https://ebird.org/checklist/S151016806

Weather:  9:00 am 9C wind W5,  12:00 m 12C wind NW 11, gradually clearing

tide:  10:30 am 2.0m, falling

4 October

eBird data: https://ebird.org/checklist/S151426174

weather:  10:00 am 13C, wind NW5,  1:00 pm 15C wind N 9, clearing

tide:  11:00 am 4.5m, peak tide, falling

6 October

eBird data: https://ebird.org/checklist/S151563590

weather:  9:00 am 11C wind calm, 12:30 pm 17C wind NW 8, patchy fog, then clearing

tide:  11:00 am, rising

I have been a neglectful blogger of late.  I could make excuses, but won't.  It's been a time for watching the arrival of autumn.  The weather has changed--we now have had occasional rain, and then crystalline clear days.  Today (6 October) there was fog--unusual for these parts, but again a marker of autumn.  

23 September

A greyish day, with welcome light rain at times.  

The river began to rise, and the foliage along its banks began to turn.

The brown creepers, typically very evasive, have cooperated with photos this season.  I like the juxtaposition of lichen and bird in this photo. 

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28 September

A return to the river after a couple of days of good rain.

The river was finally up a bit.  In fact, I haven't seen it this high since May.  The salmon will be happy;  perhaps they won't need to learn to walk.

The weather had brought down several trees.  I'd guess they'd been weakened by heat and drought and then the wind just took them.

A low tide.  There still weren't many shorebirds or waterfowl in evidence...

...but the eagles were returning.  I've seen one of them today.

Seasonal colours are emerging.  The dune grass and the bank of nootka rose foliage compliment one another, I think.

My seasonal markers--the stand of bitter cherry trees-- were already shedding leaves.  It seems early, perhaps because of the dry summer's stressors.

This bitter cherry is another seasonal marker that I really enjoy.

Readers may recognise it from last year's Christmas card.

4 October

A morning that started grey but cleared to brilliant.

The river is up after the rain, and the trees along the bank are moving toward their autumn splendor.  The river was very calm--I like the reflection of the mackerel sky.  It looks a bit like Caithness glassware.  

It was a high tide.  The view from my coffee and duck-counting bench was quite lively.  

A flock of ducks above the fishing boat, a guy in a fishing kayak, gulls, and close inspection shows a red-breasted merganser in the lower left corner.  By the way, do readers know that if they click on the photo as shown in the blog, it enlarges?  (I only just stumbled on this a day or so ago, but it does improve the photos.)  

As I walked the path along the marsh, a flight of sparrows pursued by a merlin burst forth.  I generally don't get good photos through instant reactions, but here's the merlin. (A photo that will definitely benefit from the enlargement mentioned above.)  Maybe I'll develop quicker reflexes with my camera.

As the morning cleared, the autumn colours began to gleam.

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Curious.  Last year there were no steller's jays to be seen (other people commented as well.) and this year there are lots.  A second unusual sighting for this area is red-tailed hawks.  Both times I've seen them, they've been juveniles.

I think this youngster is quite handsome.

He seemed to be returning my observation.

I had to disappoint a group of Chinese tourists (also an unusual sighting) who were exclaiming at the "bard eager."  They saw I had binoculars and a camera and assumed I was expert (oh well...), so they had to tell me all about the "eager."  (No, really, that's how they pronounced it.)  And I had to say, no, that's a hawk.  Actually much less common here than eagles.  They seemed satisfied that it was a rarity.  

6 October

Finally, a morning without many birds*, but glorious light effects.  Fog isn't all that common along the coast here, but I found today's patchy fog and autumn colours exceptionally beautiful.  

 *And, as I reviewed my photos just now, I realise I'd seen a rarity.  A yellow-shafted flicker--rare in these parts. 

It's been apparent for some time that there must be yellow-shafted flickers, because of reports and sightings of intergrades (red- and yellow-shafted interbred), but this is the first fully yellow-shafted bird I've spotted here.  Yellow on tail and wing feathers, no red malar stripe, and a red patch on the nape.  Sure enough! Hot damn.

And the fog had lifted...or at least, the fog and the brilliant sunlight interspersed produced fine effects of light.

The river had subsided from its rain-fed height, 

and held an uncommon air of mystery in the fog. 

Along the shore, the luminous fog and the high tide gave a new perspective to a familiar setting.

Rosebushes and pacific crabapple, in their autumn colours,were highlighted against the fields, while fir trees in the forest were still wrapped in fog.

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I often say that the Estuary is always different every day that I visit.  It 

exceeded expectations this morning.