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Totem Park Sunset

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This entry is part 39 of 133 in the series 2011 Photojournal
The Pyramids

I spent most of today trying to sleep off a cold, but finally decided I should get out for at least a little while late this afternoon. So I used a trip to the post office as an excuse and walked there via Totem Park.

It was cloudy for much of the day, but as the sun dropped toward the horizon, it broke through. There was a pretty good east wind blowing – but I mostly noticed it out toward the southeast end of the flats – other parts of the walk were more protected.

The usual birds were out and about along the shore – including a Common Murre or two in Crescent Bay. The Bald Eagles were apparently feeling predatory or something – they don’t always spook the Mallards off the beach, but a couple of times today I noticed them responding to the flight of Bald Eagles. Also of note were 10 Canada Geese feeding along the flats in front of the Visitor Center.

On the way back from the post office I was able to catch a pretty nice sunset.

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Rainy Respite

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This entry is part 38 of 133 in the series 2011 Photojournal

It warmed up significantly last night and today, though the forecast is for a return to cold conditions in the next 24-48 hours. It’s been an interesting winter in Sitka – fairly mild overall, but quite chilly more recently (though still without much snow). I didn’t get outside today until later in the afternoon. It … Read more

Clear Skies Continue

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American Robin

Temperatures got down in the teens overnight. I spent some time over at the house this morning, but didn’t pay too much attention to what was going on – I did notice that winds were calm however.

On the way over to UAS I saw several American Robins. I’m not sure if it’s just the weather, or if more have shown up recently, but it does seem like there are more around than there had been.

After calm conditions through much of the day, it seemed like a breeze picked up a little bit around sunset this evening.

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Northbound Sun

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Sunset at Sage Beach

Another busy day kept me from spending much time outside. Temperatures were pretty chilly today, and there was enough wind to keep the warmth of the sun from helping too much. While at the house this afternoon, the kids told me the Eurasian Collared-Dove dropped by the yard near where they were watching the fire (burning up the scrap wood).

I headed home around sunset, and thought I had a chance to look for a green flash. I was a little surprised at how far north the setting sun has moved since I last watched it set from near Hillcrest. I didn’t have much time, but was able to just catch it going down from Lincoln Street near Sage Rock. I’m not positive I was seeing the horizon, however – as there was just a small gap between other islands and such.

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Dropping Temperatures

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Mt. Edgecumbe

Not much outside time today – pretty much just my walk over to UAS (and a hurried one, at that).

Temperatures have started dropping again, with the forecast for even colder overnight and tomorrow. Outside of the wind, today’s temperatures weren’t bad, but a breeze that seemed to be variable out of the Southeast (mostly) and East made things seem quite a bit colder. It seemed odd for the wind to be out of the Southeast when that’s more associated with low pressure, clouds and rainy. I suspect it was really more of an East wind, but the topography of the island resulted in the wind getting bent around to come out of the Southeast in the downtown area. It was mostly clear, but there were some high level cirrus clouds as well as some lower clouds that formed around some of the mountains.

On my way across the bridge I noticed a Raven carrying a stick flying from near the fuel dock (where I first saw it, anyway) south under the bridge to where it landed in a tree on Turning Island. I took a brief look, but couldn’t make out a nest or anything where I saw it land, but I did not have time for an extended investigation.

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Starrigavan Birding

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This entry is part 34 of 133 in the series 2011 Photojournal

[Work and visiting with family have taken up a lot of time the past few days, so I’m having trouble keeping up with these posts – as a result they’ll probably be brief and posted, but back dated, later than I prefer.] We made it out to Starrigavan today to enjoy the sun and do … Read more