Heavy overcast with low clouds and rain for much of the day. A transition to more showery weather later in the afternoon brought some lighter skies and a break in the rain. Breezy and temperatures around 50F.
Much of the morning was devoted to working through collections from yesterday’s hike. I mostly bagged and labeled them, but also did microscopy on a few. I made tentative identifications on a couple of them, but wasn’t feeling inspired to devote much energy to some of the others.
I managed to catch a break in the rain for a walk along old airport road. I noticed Song Sparrows and at least one Savannah Sparrow singing, but not too much else. It’s a time of the year when I focus more on what I can hear than what I can see. The leaves have filled in so much in the trees and shrubs, it’s not so easy to consistently spot birds.
When I checked the channel, I thought it was time for Franklin’s Gulls to be showing up (if we were going to get any this year). I didn’t spot any among the handful of gulls there. Later this evening Connor texted to let me know there were two down at the park. He hasn’t been birding much this year, so good timing on his part. Unfortunately, they flew off before I had even left the house. I went out anyway, just in case. They didn’t reappear at the park, and I didn’t spot them when I looked over Silver Bay or from Eastern Channel. In some years Franklin’s Gulls stick around for a few days, so maybe this will be one of those years. I might head down for a look first thing in the morning.
Today I felt sore due to yesterday’s efforts. I don’t remember feeling sore after any of my trips to Picnic Rock or up Starrigavan Ridge over the past couple of months. Even though I may have only done 600 feet more elevation on Bear Mountain, I think the steepness makes it more of an undertaking even when not pushing much higher elevation-wise.
My iNaturalist Observations for Today
