Weather: Once again it was another day without significant rain. It varied from partly to mostly cloudy throughout the day. I am not sure how warm it got, but I think it may have hit 50. There was not a heavy frost this morning, though it’s possible there was a light frost in places. Winds were calm this morning, but I was not paying enough attention later in the day. This evening the kids and I went for a walk down to the beach and over to the park. On the way back, I noticed some clouds with rain (possibly virga?) illuminated pink by the light of the setting sun.

Birds: The flicker was back again this morning, but only briefly. I heard it calling in the distance and then again near the house. It started drumming and quickly stopped as if it were interrupted. I did not hear it again after that except in the distance. The kids were up and making noise, so it is possible that it was disturbed by them. When I went out a few days ago to investigate, it was quite wary, so it is also possible that someone walking by may have been enough to get it to move on.

On our walk, we did not see too many birds. There were few birds down at the beach. The tide was out and it looked like there were ducks of some sort out on the water, but I did not get close enough to have a good look. Quite a few gulls flew overhead, the majority of them heading in the direction of town. In the park I heard what I think was probably a kinglet (perhaps more than one), a winter wren was singing, and there was also a brown creeper singing. I was going to try to get a recording of the creeper, but between the kids and talking to someone I knew for a few minutes, I was unable to do so. As we were coming up the shortcut hill, I noticed a bird chirping repeatedly. I think it was probably a winter wren, and it very well may have been an alarm, but I am uncertain about that.

Other Notes: There was a cat down at the beach eating on some dead herring that had washed ashore. There has not been any spawning in the area (and herring do not typically die when they spawn), so I am not sure where they came from (I saw at least three of them).

Apparently the deer have been all over campus. A couple of people told me about seeing them by Family Housing, one guy told me about seeing them by the Gazebo/Flume with people walking by within 20 feet.

Last night I had community band and went past Swan Lake at dusk. I saw a few mallards, and a group of what looked like Ring-necked Ducks or Scaups with heads tucked under wings. On my way home, well after dark, I saw mallards that appeared to be active. I also saw a strange duck that looked like it was standing on top of the ice. The problem was the temperature was not below freezing, so there should not have been any ice. As I got a little closer, I realized that what I had intially taken to be a duck was a Great Blue Heron standing in the water. In the dim light, the body was visible, but its neck and head were not so apparent.

In the early afternoon, I watched the gulls flying toward town. I am pretty sure their ultimate destination was one of the beaches where the herring had spawned; most likely north of town. The herring still have not spawned in Crescent Bay. I guess it remains to be seen whether they will this year or not.

It is definitely harder to get out and see what’s going on with school in session. It did not help this morning that I was feeling like I might be getting sick. I woke up around 6:30am and stayed awake until about 7am, but decided it would be better to go back to sleep to help fight off the illness.

Skies were mostly clear this morning and it looked like there was a pretty good frost. Through the morning, clouds built up over the mountains, but over town and the near shore area it remained mostly clear. I did seem some clouds and haze far off-shore. Wind was calm this morning, but by noon there was a breeze out of the south near the spruce tree and west on campus. I suspect the topography makes the wind seem to come predominately out of the south at the tree. The tree is on a slope that faces south.

I saw a couple of Fox Sparrows in the salmonberry thicket near the old path to Kelly Street. These are the first Fox Sparrows I have seen this year, there will probably be more coming in the next few days and weeks. I left some sunflower seeds and a few peanuts out on the ground in the clearing south of the spruce tree a few days ago, but so far nothing has eaten them. I wonder how long it will take for them to be discovered by the birds or a squirrel.

I have been trying to pay attention to how the deer scat ages. There are quite a few different piles of it in the old garden area, but I did not notice any that looked fresh today.

Today was one of those days that seemed very subdued. I heard few birds calling this morning when I woke up, and the birds I did hear sounded far away. I got ready for class a little early and spent a few minutes walking around by the flume and behind Yaw building. I heard a couple of different juncos trilling, a flicker in the distance a few ravens and crows within hearing distance. Even the birds that were close sounded quieter than usual. It was partly cloudy and cool this morning.

Around noon I took a side trip down to look at Sage Beach before going home to lunch. The tide was near its highest point for the day. Goldeneyes and Buffleheads were swimming and diving near the hatchery outflow and there were many gulls sitting in the water a short distance out from shore.

I spent a few minutes sitting by the spruce tree. As I was nearing the tree, I heard a sound like branches breaking and looked over to see an eagle taking off with some branches from an alder. Skies were overcast with a light breeze from the south. Later in the afternoon I noticed the wind coming out of the east on campus, but I am uncertain whether that was due to a change in the wind or topographical effects creating different winds.

This evening as I was starting for home, but clouds were bunched up over the mountains with mostly clear skies over the water. The transition zone seemed to be nearly overhead and there was a hint of a mist falling. The evening sun combined with the rain to create a nice rainbow behind the campus.

Connor, Rowan and I went for a walk down to the beach near sunset. The tide was out and there were some mallards on the beach near where the outflow from the hatchery runs down the beach. There were some buffleheads and I think goldeneyes off shore. The buffleheads looked very small, I think the distance was deceptive with the tide out. I saw very few gulls present. My assumption is that they were someplace where the herring had been spawning to take advantage of the low tide that was exposing the newly deposited eggs. There was little breeze, but temperatures were chilly.