Broken clouds with conditions varying from mostly cloudy to overcast. Rain started late this evening.
Having received more details details from LP later yesterday about where she had seen the Blackpoll Warbler, I revisited Japonski Island this morning. It was much quieter today, and I didn’t see any warblers.
KJ let me know the nuthatch was back at her place, so I made a stop by there and was able to get brief look and photo (#158). I also heard and caught a brief glimpse of the Gray Catbird in the neighborhood.
I went up Harbor Mountain with Paul. My main motivation was to pick up a couple of species that I had so far not made observations of this year. He was interested in getting a water sample to check for desmids. We walked the unofficial loop around. I noticed some sparrows and clouds were on and off the peaks
While we were walking, I slipped and fell at least three or four times. None bad, but it also wasn’t typical for me. It was wet, and so perhaps a bit more slippery, but I think the bigger issue is PN has a default pace much quicker than mine, and in trying to keep up, I was more prone to slipping on slippery spots. I might have done better if all my gear was packed up in my pack, but having a camera and binoculars draped were not doing me any favors.
I heard from LP the American Kestrel was at the golf course. I wasn’t able to get out there until around the middle afternoon.
Fortunately for me, it was still around (#159) and I was able to get a few photos before heading out.
From there, a brief stop at Starrigavan allowed me to pick up a couple more species for the year. Osmorhiza berteroi and apricot jelly (Guepinia helvelloides).
A new (to me, anyway) gnome/fairy village had sprung up. I find these from time to time and enjoy the whimsy, but they mostly don’t seem to last too long. Some folks seem to enjoy destroying them, and I think others might consider them not much better than litter in the best of circumstances.
We made a brief stop by KJ’s in case the nuthatch or catbird might be around for Paul to see (no luck on either count, but I did get nice looks at a Townsend’s Warbler).
After dropping Paul off, I made another trip out to the golf course for more photos of the kestrel. I wouldn’t say it was entirely cooperative, but it did stick around and I was able to get more photos.
My iNaturalist Observations for Today
