Daily Observations

Snow in the Forest

Today seemed very fitting for a last day of winter in many respects. Snow had fallen overnight and there were snow showers with clear and chilly breaks between. I spent much of the day on a snowshoeing adventure wandering around Indian River valley. The forecast for tomorrow is warm temperatures, wind and rain. So perhaps our winter is now over, right on time (though later than we are used to).

Weather: Today there was occasional snow showers with short periods of sunshine in between. There seemed to be little wind. There was a little breeze that came along with a snow shower and resulted in snow bombs dropping from the tree branches. Mercifully there were no direct hits.

Birds: It was a pretty slow day for birds, overall. There were a couple of different locations where dippers were singing along Indian River. There were probably more, but looking for them was not a priority.

Up the valley past the muskeg, there was a couple of times when small song birds could be heard. I think they were probably Brown Creepers, but I never was able to see one to confirm.

The definite highlight of the trip was a small flock of Pine Grosbeaks that allowed a close approach. I’ll give them an entry of their own.

Other Notes: The snow was exceptionally deep in some places, especially in the muskegs and other openings in the woods. In the stands of large trees, it was not nearly as deep. Near the large hemlock, the snow seemed to be only a foot or so deep. That’s still plenty deep, but it would definitely make for easier going than the much deeper snow (probably 3 feet or more) at other locations.

There was some evidence of deer. Several places where deer had been walking, some very fresh. I’m not sure how many there might have been in the area, however.

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