23 August --

23 August 

Time:  10:00 am- 1:30 pm  

eBird data: https://ebird.org/checklist/S192494428

weather:  cloudy, then rain:  10:00 am 17C,  1:30 pm 18C

tide:  11 am 3.6m, falling

After some time without blogging the Englishman River Estuary, I've resolved to resume the blog.  It's likely that I'll write less and include fewer photos, but the area retains its fascination.

The river is up a bit after the rains of the past week.


Despite a long dry season, this cedar remains at an angle.


Given the space of the root ball above the river, I'm ready to put money on the outcome of the coming season's high water.


The tide was relatively high at mid-day.


Although quite distant, there is beginning to be evidence of the autumn waterfowl migration.  There were mallards--first heard, then seen, ditto black oystercatchers, vocalising their agitation, and greater yellowlegs, black-bellied plovers, and a killdeer (in residence all year).  

Watching this assortment of shorebirds, and likely planning an avian lunch, a handsome pair of bald eagles.  The female is on the right, visibly bigger than the male and with a heftier beak.


And FINALLY!  After first spotting the bushtit nest at the end of May, and then losing it, after weeks of futile searching:  THE NEST!


Definitely not the most elegant architecture, but given its thorny location, it must have been a safe haven!

28 August

An afternoon walk in the Estuary on a very fine day.  Brilliant sun, friendly breeze, warm but just welcoming warmth--not hot.

The river is up a bit more


Perhaps because of an high tide, a great blue heron watched the river.


Typically, herons hang out in the salt marsh or the fields to the west of the forest.  Perhaps a population of small fish is coming up the river.

A high tide, but very few birds.   


Heading home, I paused to check out the bushtit nest, a bit concerned that the heavy rains of previous days had damaged it.


It looks a bit untidy, but the spider webs that are the structural support of the nest are holding it together.  As many as a dozen birds will huddle together in the nest, which is lined with feathers, grass, and moss in cold weather.  

...More to follow.  It is starting to look like the autumn migration!




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