After getting breakfast at the Backdoor this morning, I decided to take advantage of the sunny morning and only one scheduled work call and go for walk.
There were Song Sparrows along the waterfront, and I saw what I suspect was a Savannah Sparrow in front of the library, but never got a good enough look at it (no binoculars) to be 100% sure.
Connor had been regularly seeing a Black Scoter regularly from the beach at Totem Park, so I decided to see if it was still around. Despite waiting and watching for some time, I did not see the scoter, but I did enjoy the warm sunlight.
While walking along the upper edge of the beach from the battle site bench towards the river mouth, I noticed Rowan walking along the trail. She came out and sat with me for a while, and then we finished our walks together.
We walked along the river-side trail above the bridge, and I checked for evidence of fern-leaf goldthread (Coptis aspleniifolia) flowers, but did not see any. We did see and hear a Pacific Wren singing near the trail.
At the Sitka Counseling buildings I saw my first moth of the year, one I recognized from prior years, Orthosia hibisci. Considering the relatively warm weather, it might be a good time to get my black light set up going to see what shows up.
As we approached the maintenance area of the SJ campus, we saw a couple of yellow jackets visiting the flowers of a blueberry bush. We stopped and took some photos (though Rowan was not inclined to get very close). I’ve seen three or four different species here, but I’m not that good at telling which one I’ve seen yet (especially with the early season ones).
Coming back along Etolin Street, we looked and listened for the Red-winged Blackbird Rowan had seen on her way down to the park (I had also heard about it from someone else who lives in the neighborhood and saw it earlier in the morning). Unfortunately, we did not see it, but Rowan did show me the places she had seen it.
My iNaturalist Observations for Today
