Mostly cloudy with periodic showers. A bit of sun shown through, though not so much as yesterday. Light winds.
This morning I went up to the first viewpoint on Verstovia while on a call with my parents. This time of year, I feel like I miss a little more, as I’m not able to attend as easily to the birds singing in the forest.
I noticed some cut banks along the trail where intact ash layers were exposed. I got some photos to document as a contrast with what I observed along Herring Cove trail and around Beaver Lake. Verstovia is relatively steep, and the lower few hundred feet were clear cut by the Russians. Despite slope and disturbance, there were several ash exposures.
I started between showers, but another started as I was on my way down. I took shelter under a tree for a few minutes. When it seemed like the shower wouldn’t be short, I continued on. Fortunately, I didn’t have far to go and didn’t end up too wet.
I checked the channel (only a few gulls) and the Turnaround before going home. I did see a single Western Sandpiper at the Turnaround. It’s been a slow spring for the smaller sandpipers, at least along the road system. While it is possible we’ll see higher numbers in the coming days, it’s getting late.
This evening I walked down to Swan Lake. A few Buffleheads are still around, but I expect them to leave soon.
Emergent vegetation has been growing and is now covering the shallower areas in green.
Although many days in the past weeks have had snow levels down below treeline, I think snow has been melting rather than accumulating or staying steady. I had kind of assumed otherwise, but looking at Picnic Rock today through binoculars, I could see there was more bare ground and exposed smaller trees than there had been a few weeks ago.
My iNaturalist Observations for Today
