Not much time to get out this weekend since I have a project I need to get done, but I did make time for a short walk to Totem Park.
Weather: Light to moderate rainfall was the order of the day. On my walk this afternoon there was a steady breeze out of the Southeast.
Birds:
I heard then saw a Ruby-crowned Kinglet near the trail as it approached the battle site. I was not able to get a photo of it, but I did notice that it seemed to be loosely associating itself with a small mixed flock of Golden-crowned Kinglets and a Chestnut-backed Chickadee or two.
I saw a small flock of shorebirds flying near the water (while I was near the forest edge) that looked about the size of dowitchers, but by the time I made it back around the shore to where I had seen them land, they were no longer there. I did see two Dunlin that seemed less active than typical. They probably just recently landed after a long flight.
There was a Black-legged Kittiwake in with a small flock of gulls on the southwest beach. In the water not far from the gulls was a Red-breasted Merganser female. I did not see a male bird.
There were a number of Buffleheads scattered around near the shoreline.
I saw Common Mergansers Barrow’s Goldeneye near the river mouth.
There were several crows on the west beach on my way out. On my way back I saw them again, but they were in closer to Sage Beach. I observed a couple of them picking up shells and dropping them on the rocks to break them open.
On my way back, I saw a raven being accosted by three crows. The raven was perched on top of the Armstrong Building (on SJC campus). The crows were diving at it. Finally the raven took off and flew over to the library. The crows chased it across the campus, diving at it along the way. Finally, after it landed on the library, the crows flew back across campus and left the raven alone.
Other Notes: When I got to the estuary, I saw a couple of students in one of my classes fishing for steelhead. One of them told me he thought a few of the steelhead had started up river, but most of them still seemed to be in the same hole as they were yesterday.
When I was on the beach getting close to Sage Beach, I saw a sealion not too far out from Crescent Harbor. It was tossing a hunk of meat back and forth. Its actions attracted some gulls over to scavenge pieces.