The ocean seemed pretty calm, and although it was chilly this morning, I decided I would head out on the kayak again. My plans were to head toward Eastern Channel, to see if the whales were still out there and also to see about getting photos of some of the seabirds I haven’t typically had the chance to watch. When I got out there, I saw the whales were quite a bit further out away from the mouth of Silver Bay than they had been on Friday and I decided not to venture that far. I turned back toward Silver Bay and paddled along looking for birds. On my way back in, I made a detour to the mouth of Indian River before meeting Melissa and the kids at Sage Beach.

Weather: It got down into the upper 20s last night and things seem to have frozen a bit harder, though there was less frost. High thin clouds moved over town, though there were occasional breaks in them through the afternoon. Although the sun could still be seen through the clouds, it definitely felt much warmer when the sun was not obscured. Winds were light and variable, blowing mostly out of the south when I was out in Eastern Channel.

Birds: There was a pair of Marbled Murrelets right out in Crescent Bay as I headed out this morning.

There was a loon just off the park, but I was not able to get close enough for a good identification.

As I was paddling through Crescent Bay, I saw a Long-tailed Duck flying toward the bridge.

There were quite a few alcids out north and east of the green can at the rocky patch. I could hear them, but was unable to get very close to most of them. I did manage to get photos of three murres that look to be Thick-billed Murres, possibly first year birds.

On the way in, I think I saw a Red-necked Grebe, but it took off before I could get a picture.

There were several Black-legged Kittiwakes in with the gulls near the mouth of Indian River and out further on the beach. They seemed more skittish than the rest of the gulls, as they were the first to fly off when I approached the shore (and most of the gulls did not fly off at all).

There was a flock of 20 or so Surf Scoters near the park. I also so several Harlequins and Buffleheads.

There was one Goldeneye, a first year bird or a female, at the mouth of Indian River. It was probably a Barrow’s Goldeneye, but it was hard to say for sure. I think it’s the first one of those I have seen this fall.

Most of the Mallards seemed to be out on the southwest tidal flats today. There were only a couple over by the river mouth that I saw.

Off of Lincoln Street beach, a male and two female American Wigeons took flight. They had been a little ways off-shore.

Marine Mammals: The whales had moved farther out, but they were still in Eastern Channel.

Shortly after I left the mouth of Indian River, I saw a Sea Otter. It’s the first time I have seen one of these in so close to town. It’s nose was noticably raw. I have heard that they bite noses when mating, so perhaps that is what had happened to this one. It seemed a little curious about me, and stopped to look at me for a little bit before swimming off.

There were two harbor seals quite near shore. Both of them approached/let me approach fairly close. One of them was in water that was no more than 4-5 feet deep. When it swam off, I could see it under the water.

Other Notes: There must be quite a bit of small feed fish schooled up in Eastern Channel right now. The gulls were active again in the area, the whales are still around, and there were several trollers fishing. I did not see any of them bring in fish, but I am guessing they were going for King Salmon that were going after the same thing as the birds and whales.

The freeze last night was the hardest this fall, so far. I think it was probably only the second widespread freezing tempeatures, actually (with the first being the night before). Needle ice formed in the garden beds, even with plastic over them. I think Melissa’s lettuce might be done for now. I was actually a little surprised that it seemed to have survived the frost without a cover the night before. Temperatures are supposed to stay above freezing for the next few days, so we’ll see if any of the lettuce survived.

For some reason I haven’t really been getting outside too much lately. I guess it’s easy to feel like staying in as the days get shorter, the rain falls, and the temperature hangs in the cool 40’s instead of the more pleasant 50’s.

Weather: After the Sunday and Monday sunshine, more typical October weather moved in on Tuesday. Clouds and rain with some spots of significant wind persisted through Tuesday and Wednesday. Today there were pretty big waves crashing out on the islands in the sound, but it was only a little breezy around campus.

Birds: A couple of days ago I saw Buffleheads for the first time this fall.

Today there were several Greater Scaups on Swan Lake as well as a couple of American Wigeons.

Flora: The alder trees in the back yard were really losing leaves in the wind on Tuesday.

I noticed a carrot family plant blooming on Lincoln Street today. I think it’s fairly safe to say that it will not have time to make seeds. I think it was a Kneeling Angelica.

Speaking of carrots, Connor and Rowan helped me pick some carrots in our small garden. They seemed to think it was a lot of fun.

I did manage to get in a short walk through the park today early in the afternoon and a more leisurely walk through later in the evening.

Weather: It was fairly wet today with a little bit of wind.

Birds: I saw quite a few birds today. There were lots of sparrows around the neighborhood, including Fox Sparrows, Song Sparrows, several Golden-crowned Sparrows, and Savannah Sparrows.

As I was leaving home after a mid-morning snack/brunch, I happened to hear an odd call. I decided to investigate and eventually figured out that it was a Sharp-shinned Hawk. I spent half an hour or so watching it and the Steller’s Jay that has been coming for peanuts.

Later in the afternoon, when I went to the park for the second time, I stopped to look at a Northern Flicker in the alders near the battle site when I caught some motion out of the corner of my eye. I looked up to see a Sharp-shinned Hawk land in the alders. It flew off toward the beach before I could get a photo. However, I did go out to the beach and got there just after a flock of Black Turnstones flushed and flew down the shoreline. I think the hawk may have made an attempt at them. A little later, while I was looking at ducks in the estuary, I saw the hawk chasing a Kingfisher. It also chased after a small bird, probably a Savannah Sparrow. I never did see it catch anything. I think it was the same bird that was around our neighborhood earlier in the day.

There was a Marbled Godwit out on the flats during my first walk through the park, but I did not see it the second trip.

There were several Green-winged Teal and American Wigeons in the estuary along with the Mallards and lots of gulls.

Other birds I saw today included several Fork-tailed Storm-petrels still out in Crescent Bay, an Oragne-crowned Warbler in front of Stratton Library, Harlequin Ducks and both Double-crested and Pelagic Cormorants out off of Sage Beach and some Winter Wrens in the park.

Other Notes: It looks like a deer nibbled on the leaves of my carrots.

On my second trip through the park, I saw a seal up in the river. The tide was in fairly far, so the water was deep, but it was definitely in the river channel.

I saw at least one squirrel that looked like it was eating alder cones. They are pretty green still, but maybe that’s the best time for the squirrels to get the seeds out.

My parents are in town and my dad and I went over to the airport to pick some strawberries. We also went down to the park this evening so he could see what spearscale looked like and to check out the cherry tree.

Weather: Very wet. The rain did actually stop briefly for a time this evening, but not for too long. Winds seemed to be light, when they were noticable.

Birds: The fall migration is getting started. There were at least 50 Black Turnstones down at the park this evening as well as one probably Rock Sandpiper and one bird that I believe was a dowitcher. The bird that I think was a dowitcher had a flight call that seemed a bit different than I remember from the Short-billed Dowitchers, so I am wondering if it could be a Long-billed Dowitcher.

There were some gulls along the beach, with quite a few of them looking like Mew Gulls.

Off-shore aways from the mouth of Indian River, there was a single Surf Scoter.

On the way back from the park this evening, we saw a juvenile Hermit Thrush hopping about catching inch worms.

Flora: Despite the abundant blooms a month or so ago, I could not find any still developing cherries on the tree.

I picked a couple of carrots today. They are doing well. The kids and Melissa both liked their taste.

My dad and I went over to the airport strawberry patch and got about a quart of strawberries. Since the strawberries I tried to transplant a few days ago do not look like they are doing so well (it didn’t help that I waited two or three days to replant them). My dad and I got some new plants and planted them when we got home. Hopefully they will do a little better.

Other Notes: I have heard that there are a number of bears around town currently. There were signs on the trails near the Raptor Center indicating that a bear had been seen in the area recently. I also heard about a couple of bears out at Starrigavan and one up along Edgecumbe drive. With the poor berry crop, I wonder if bears will wander into town more than they have the last couple of years. Hopefully, for the sake of the bears, the salmon run is not too bad. They have started to move up into Indian River and there were quite a few jumping along the shore by Arrowhead Trailer Court near the mouth of Indian River.

There was a seal that was hanging out in the water of what would be the southern large tidepool. It seemed to be staying in one spot, though it would sometimes dip its head under the surface. We saw it on our way down the beach, and also on the way back, 15 or 20 minutes later.