I spent a good chunk of today working on redoing my Sitka Plants Page and creating a Sitka Bryophytes Page. I did not spend much time out of the house, but Rowan and I did go for a bike ride out to McDonald’s this evening and stopped by Swan Lake on the way.
Weather: It was overcast today with a brief bit of light rain this morning. Temperatures were comfortable around 60.
Birds: There were 4 Northern Shovelers on Swan Lake this evening, three males and one female.
There have been a lot of swallows flying around. I hear them more often than I see them, but I did manage to catch a glimpse of a couple at various points along the bike ride this evening.
Rowan and I went for a good walk through Totem Park today. Plants are definitely progressing on toward summer.
Weather: The day started sunny, but by noon it was overcast with the clouds moving up out of the south. In the evening there was some partial clearing. Temperatures were in the 60s, so it felt pleasantly warm. There was a good breeze out of the south while we were at the park.
Birds: While in the park we heard a woodpecker. I still don’t have the call notes solid, so I am not sure which species.
There was a flock of seven large birds flying over campus this evening. I am pretty sure they were Great Blue Herons, but someone else said they were sandhill cranes.
Flora: The purple sweet-cicely are nearing the end of their blooming in the park. Stream violets are still going strong. Rosy and clasping Twisted Stalk are getting ready to bloom. Beach greens and Siberian miner’s lettuce are blooming in the estuary. There are mustards blooming in various locations. Rowan noticed a slime mold growing on the end of a log near the trail as we walked through the park.
Other Notes: We found some deer tracks in the sand at the upper end of the estuary. I had Rowan try to follow them, but she tended to go back and ‘discover’ prints that were from where the deer came rather than where it was going.
Rowan also spotted a number of the flowers we saw today. She liked to point them out and ask me if I was going to take a picture.
At one point while I was trying to observe a Swainson’s Thrush, Rowan found a side trail and asked if we could take it. It was not much of a trail, but she did a good job following it through the brush.
I got up early and recorded some of the morning bird songs. Later in the morning Rowan spent some time with Melissa’s mom this morning and I had the chance to hike up part of Gavan and along the upper cross trail to the viewpoint. After picking her up, we went to Swan Lake and I spent some time watching the birds there.
Weather: It was overcast throughout the day, but there was no rain. Wind was light.
Birds: There were a lot of birds singing at 5am. It was not early enough for it to be a dawn chorus, but perhaps it was the encore.
Along Gavan Trail there wer juncos active in the muskeg. I also heard chickadees and in the distance Steller’s Jays. In a brushy patch further up the trail in the forest, there was a Wilson’s Warbler actively singing while flitting about.
At Swan Lake there were two dowitchers, two American Wigeons, a scaup, a male hooded merganser, and a pair of Green-winged Teal to go along with the assorted mallards and swallows I expected to find. In addition, I saw a crow that seemed to have a deformed beak. After we had spent some time there, a flock of ten Greater White-fronted Geese flew over and landed. They stayed on the lake only for a minute before flying up again. They circled around a few times with a couple of geese landing at different times, but eventually they all flew off.
Flora: There were sedges blooming in the muskeg along Gavan Trail. Also cloudberries. It looked like the three-leaf goldthread was about bloomed out. I did not see much else blooming there yet.
Swainson’s Thrush Singing (465kb mp3)
Weather: Saturday morning it was foggy, but the fog started to break up in the late morning. Sunday it rained throughout the day with low clouds.
Birds: It seemed like the birds were singing more on Sunday. I am not sure if that had something to do with the bird’s response to wet weather or if it was just me.
Other Notes: Rowan and I went out and gathered greens to add to calzones that I was making for supper on Sunday. We picked spinach, dandelions, and stream violets.