Connor and I went to pick up Rowan from preschool today and made a brief stop and Swan Lake after we got her. There was a pretty high tide today, so I took a walk down to Totem Park early this afternoon to check it out.
Weather: It was raining and windy for much of the day.
Birds: We saw the Pied-billed Grebe right near the inflow of Swan Lake. The Cackling Goose and Coots were also still there.
At Sage Rock, I saw quite a few shorebirds, presumably Black Turnstones and maybe Surfbirds. I did not check carefully when I was on my way to the park, and on the way back, the birds were gone.
At the park I got three glimpses of a bird that I think was a small raptor. My guess is that it was a Merlin. Each time I saw it just after it took off and flew further up the trail. The first time I saw it was where the trail passes nearest the beach as it approaches the battlesite bench. The last time was off to the side in the woods near the domestic apple tree (which I had not previously noted).
There were quite a few gulls along the shoreline, but mostly they were flying in the wind and sitting on the water, as there was not much beach available with the high tide.
There were Mallards in the estuary, and I heard some Golden-crowned Kinglets.
Other Notes: I saw at least one seal near the shore at the park, and probably two. One was so close, right near the battlesite bench, and it seemed to be curious about me. It made me consider the possibility that seals come up along the shore to people watch like we watch them.
These were taken at Sage Beach on one of the highest tides of the year. It was predicted to be 12.39 feet. Tomorrow’s is actually slightly higher at 12.56. Tomorrow must also be one of the largest tide differentials, as the following low tide is -2.75 feet.
One of the highest tides of the year was bolstered by a pretty good wind.
Tomrrow's High Tide is actually supposed to be a little higher, but with less wind, it may not seem like it.
I spent a little time at Swan Lake this afternoon looking for and then watching the Pied-billed Grebe. As I was leaving, the rain started, so I took shelter under the trees at the lower end of the lake.
Weather: It was overcast with periods of rain, but the sun did break out briefly a couple of times.
Birds: At Swan Lake I saw the Pied-billed Grebe, scaups, a Cackling Goose, and 2 American Coots.
While I was taking shelter from the rain, I managed to see a snipe just before it took off. Of course it was moving its wings to fly, but it was still on the ground. This constitutes improvement, as usually I only see them after they are airborne. It flew a big loop, but I could not tell if it landed in the little park area again or not. I ended up walking along a little bit looking at other things and happened to spot it on the ground. At scurried about trying to find a good hiding spot before it took off. It was actually pretty interesting to see how it moved. It stayed close to the ground, but still moved quite quickly. In the end, I guess it did not feel like the grasses concealed it adequately.
Other Notes: There are a lot of crabapples on the trees at the lower end of the lake. I had noticed them on the trees by the road previously, but there are even more closer to the lake. If I had realized that earlier in the year, I might have gone down there to pick them. Now they are mostly soft, and that doesn’t make for very easy picking in quantity. I did pick a few to eat while I was there, however.
snipe, grebe, scaup, cack, coots
