Clear skies with frost overnight and temperatures into the 50s. Breezy during the day (though not so much at my house).
I spent most of the day at home sorting papers and pulling numbers together in preparation to get my taxes taken care of.
After lunch I took a break and relaxed out in the sun. The wind felt cool, but it was light enough that the feeling of the sun’s warmth more than compensated.
Late this afternoon I went for a walk down to the park.
Along the way I checked willows I’ve been keeping an eye on. I found that both the willows which are not Sitka willows along Park Street appear to be male. I was hoping one would be a female, since they’re easier to identify (based on flower parts). The larger tree I thought might also be the same species is looking like Sitka willow.
At the seawalk, the larger mystery willow is also a male. The smaller ones on the other side are now looking like Sitka willow to me (earlier in this investigation, I thought they were the same species as the mystery one).
Several Orthosia praeses were on the walls at the park. It’s seeming like a good year for them.
I noticed Alaska blueberry has started to bloom.
I gave more attention to some early blueberry bushes and found some with pink-ish and white flowers on the same bush. Also different colors of stems, with more red ones being closer to the light (when there was a broken canopy). I noticed one single stem that was more red where it faced the light than the other side.
At a spot I’ve previously found fern-leaf goldthread blooming earlier than elsewhere, I found a single flower stem with nearly fully developed flowers.
A dipper calling along the river drew me up towards the bridge. I was interested to see no sign of nests under the bridge. The support beams offer a very protected spot. Previously I had seen old nests still present for multiple years. Maybe a maintenance crew cleaned them off.
I saw two dippers near a crevice in the rocks, and wondered if they might be building a nest there. They flew upstream just after I saw them, so I sat along the river to wait and see if they might return.
I had noticed someone snorkeling in the river. I was curious if it was a recreational activity, or part of some sort of survey. While I was watching for the dippers, he came back along the shore and I spoke with him briefly.
He’s in town for the dive semester to get certified for scientific diving. Ordinarily he gets into the ocean, but with all the herring activity and plankton blooming, he said he couldn’t even see his hand yesterday. He recommended checking out the river. From the sounds of it, he was mostly focused on fish. He showed me the setup he has. Basically the same model of camera as I have, but he has an underwater housing and a bright light on a DIY frame.
My iNaturalist Observations for Today
