Last February after a cool calm night, I took a morning walk to Totem Park and was interested to find that most of Crescent Bay was covered in ice. Salt water is supposed to freeze at 26F, and overnight lows probably got a little bit below that, but it was hardly frigid. Temperatures on other occasions have certainly been cooler without the extensive ice on the water that was present on this day.

Ice to Eastern Channel

When I arrived at the end of the park, I was able to see the ice extended all the way out to Eastern Channel, though I could not really tell how far out into the channel it went. On the other hand, I discovered that Indian River estuary had no ice in it at all. Given the fact that salt water requires colder temperatures to freeze, this seemed a little strange.

After some thought I decided the key to this mystery must be the calm clear night. I think the there was probably very little movement of surface water in the bay overnight. Clear skies allowed the surface to cool quickly, and since there was little or no mixing (perhaps partially facilitated by a freshwater lens on the surface?), the surface was able to freeze. In principle this would seem little different than making ice in the desert by digging a hole and placing an insulated pan of water in it that is exposed to the night sky. Presumably the reason the river/estuary did not freeze is the water was flowing and the resultant mixing prevented the surface from getting cold enough to form a layer of ice.

Ice free estuary

Today was the Christmas Bird Count and I made my fourth trek up Verstovia and down into Indian River.

A light snow was falling as I reached the treeline on Verstovia Trail and had this view of Harbor Mountain Peaks.

I suspect these are Marten tracks due to size and location, but I'm not positive about that.

Sunday:
I had a basketball game and stopped by Swan Lake on my way there, but did not spend much time outside otherwise.

Weather:
Temperatures were warmer. There was water on the surface of the ice at Swan Lake, but the lake was still pretty much entirely iced over.

Birds: Mallards and the Cackling Goose were back at Swan Lake. There were a few gulls on the ice. There were only two of the domestic breed Mallards on the lake. I think the other one may have been killed (I’m pretty sure the one that’s missing from when the lake was frozen is the bird that was getting chased and bitten by another one).

Monday:
I did not really get out at all today.
Weather: Warmer temperatures continued and it was breezy.

Tuesday:
I stopped by Swan Lake on my way to pick up Rowan this morning.
Weather: It was rainy today and there was a little bit of hail at various times. Swan Lake was still almost completely frozen. Snow level seemed to be down around 800 feet.
Birds: The usual Mallards and Cackling Goose were at Swan Lake.

Wednesday/Thursday:
I did not get out much these days.
Weather: It was warmer with rain. There was a brief period of clearing Thursday night.

Friday: (Photos)
I went to Swan Lake this morning before picking Rowan up from preschool. Connor and I went to Swan Lake then I walked through Totem Park this afternoon.

Weather: It was quite windy throughout the day. Winds were blowing from the east and southeast. There was little rain. Swan Lake is still 90% or more frozen, but there were several small patches of open water scattered around at the edge of the lake.

Birds: This morning at Swan Lake I saw a Double-crested Cormorant fly over and check the lake out. The Mallards and the Cackling Goose were there as well as a handful of gulls. When I stopped by later with Connor, there were more gulls around. While there this afternoon, I noticed a Bald Eagle across the lake. A little later it flew across and flushed quite a few ducks and a Hooded Merganser from an opening at the edge of the lake. I had not noticed there were birds there (though I had made a brief scan of the upper end of the lake) until the eagle had caused them to scatter.

On the way home with Rowan this morning I noticed a heard and saw a flock of Bohemian Waxwings. I was able to get a better look at them in the afternoon with Connor. They were alternating between a Mt. Ash tree at the corner of Park St. and Biorka St. and the top of a tall alder on Biorka Street.

I noticed quite a few starlings up in the top of conifers in the neighborhood today. I’m not sure what they were doing up there. It was almost like they were finding something to eat, but it’s hard to imagine what it might have been.

At Crescent Harbor there was a Great-blue Heron that flew over. We also saw a couple of Common Mergansers in the harbor.

Along the Lincoln Street Shore and the front of Totem Park I saw, 20+ Barrow’s Goldeneyes, 7+ Buffleheads, 6+ Harlequin Ducks, and 1 Common Goldeneye (a little further out). Out further off-shore, I saw a Pelagic Cormorant. There were a few Mallards in the estuary.

Other Notes: The buds of several shrubs seem far more developed than I would expect for this time of year. Some Rusty Menziesia (Menziesia ferruginea) plants in particular seemed to have buds that were quite swollen. I’ll have to try to remember to keep an eye on them.

Saturday:
I spent most of the day inside.
Weather: Things seemed much calmer after yesterday’s winds. Clouds were low on the mountain and it started raining this afternoon. Temperatures were in the mid to upper 30s.
Birds: I noticed a few juncos in the back yard this afternoon, including the pale junco (which I had not noticed recently). I also saw an Orange-crowned Warbler. It is probably the more yellow of the two I was able to see at the end of November. I did not expect that it would survive the cold snap we had, but apparently it was able to. Perhaps the other one is still around as well.

(click to see slightly larger version)

I took this picture last February at Swan Lake. Currently, my best guess is that this is a hybrid gull, possibly Glaucous-winged x American Herring Gull, or a somewhat odd (to my eyes) Thayer’s Gull.

I eliminate pure Glaucous-winged Gull because of the very dark on the primaries. I eliminate pure Herring Gull due to the dark eyes and not-black on the primaries.

(click for slightly larger version)

I’m not sure that I can really eliminate Thayer’s Gull, though neither am I convinced it is a Thayer’s Gull. This may be due primarily to my inadequate understanding of the range of variation in Thayer’s Gulls, however. The orbital ring of this bird seems to be almost a mix of yellow and pink, suggesting the possibility of a hybrid, as Thayer’s Gulls should have a pink to pinkish-purple orbital ring. This bird also seems to be a little bit bulky for a Thayer’s Gull, though unfortunately I neglected to take a picture that included other, more easily identified, gulls for comparison. There is a skirt, which Thayer’s Gulls can show, but it’s more typical of Glaucous-winged Gulls. Also, the dark on the wing-tips seems a bit light for most Thayer’s Gulls. If there are other characters I am neglecting to consider that would help with the identification of this gull, I would be interested in learning about them.

(click on photo for larger version)
I saw this gull the same day as the one considered above. It also seems to suggest the possibility of a hybrid Glaucous-winged x American Herring Gull. Though it looks more or less like a third-cycle Glaucous-winged Gull, the eye is unusually pale, and the wingtips are a bit dark for a pure Glaucous-winged Gull.

More Gull ID challenges