Partly cloudy for most of the day light winds and temperatures in the upper 50s.
Clear early, then partly cloudy over town during the day, but clearing up again in the evening.
I needed to be home for calls this morning, but was able to get out on the boat with Connor late this afternoon.
Ocean conditions were much calmer than any trip we’ve been on this year. A welcome change.
We put in at Starrigavan and headed out towards the sound.
From off of Fred’s Creek on, we saw hundreds of Marbled Murrelets scattered about with lower numbers of other species. A whale was also in the area. I’m assuming there were food opportunities, but I’m not sure what. Perhaps salmon fry?
Groups of Ancient Murrelets were in the area as well. Some were small family groups, typically two adults and two downy young. Others were larger groups of adults, maybe still waiting for their young to hatch.
We made our way into Low Island and decide if we were quick about it, we should be able to anchor up and not get stranded by the falling tide.
As I’ve observed before, there were many seals on the shore, perhaps hundreds across the whole island. Those near where we came in went into the water long before we made it to shore and watched us curiously from the kelp beds. Others were not concerned.
There were a few birds, including the nesting Black Oystercatchers (I spotted one nest during our quick visit). Some Whimbrels and Brant were also present.
Back on the boat, we went towards Inner Point. On our return, there were still plenty of alcids, but not as many as their had been. I wonder if the murrelets had picked up food to carry back to their nests.
Approaching Inner Point, several Pacific Loons decided they weren’t interest in sticking around while we were there.
We walked around Inner Point. Whimbrel we had seen previously were still around. We also saw Canada Geese and Greater Yellowlegs. Oystercatcher numbers were lower than last time. The 51 I counted then seemed unusually high. I’m not sure why so many happened to be there at the time.
I picked up a plastic bottle at Inner Point that had an interesting logo on the cap. Connor said it looks like a swift to him. I did an image search on Google, but didn’t find a match.
My iNaturalist Observations for Today
