The kids and I braved the wind to walk down to the park and see what might be around. I thought the gusts of wind pushing spray across the bay was particularly interesting.

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Red-breasted Sapsucker along SJ Hatchery outflow.

Red-breasted Sapsucker along SJ Hatchery outflow.

Pacific Loon along Sage Beach.

Pacific Loon along Sage Beach.

Pacific Loon along Sage Beach. This bird seemed to have an injury or abnormal growth just behind its head.

Pacific Loon along Sage Beach. This bird seemed to have an injury or abnormal growth just behind its head.

A lone male Common Goldeneye was riding t he waves.

One of the buoys marking the tideflats at Totem Park was taking its share of waves.

Wind-blown spray blurs the view across Crescent Bay.

From time to time an especially strong gust pushed spray across the water.

Indian River from bridge in Totem Park.

Ducks taking refuge from the wind close to shore.

A male Gadwall was hanging in with the Mallards at Totem Park.

Red-breasted Sapsucker on alder tree near SJ Hatchery.

Red-breasted Sapsucker on alder tree near SJ Hatchery.

Snow overnight with some scattered snow showers today left the ground covered in an inch or so of snow. Between the snow showers, the sun was actually shining for a good chunk of the day. Was nice to have another day of brightness as we approach the new year.

I did a little birding this afternoon, with the main goal to try and photograph a Lincoln’s Sparrow that has been visiting a feeder since at least late fall.

On a brief stop at Swan Lake, I was interested to see how aggressive the Trumpeter Swan was being with a couple of Mallards that were getting between it and the corn someone was tossing out. The swan would grab the mallard (male in each case) by the neck and swing it around a few times. The ducks seemed to get the idea and leave a little space around the swan. I thought it was funny to see the first year Glaucous Gull fly in and slip into the dense crowd of Mallards to try a bit of the corn. I didn’t get the impression it was much to the gull’s liking, as it didn’t make much effort to go after more.

Across the lake 24 or more Ring-necked Ducks were all gathered up in the open water near the little cove on the west side. This is the best time to observe the ducks, as when the lake is open, they tend to be scattered around and most of them are distant and hard to see very well. When the lake ices over completely they leave – and are rarely observed elsewhere. In the same opening was an American Wigeon – a bird I’ve not noticed lately.

I did get to see the Lincoln’s Sparrow. Wasn’t a great time for getting pictures of it, but did get one shot that was at least recognizable. Might try for a better photo on a future occasion when I have more time and the direction of the sun is a bit better.

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Swan Lake was partially covered in slush from the snow that had fallen overnight and this morning.

Snow squalls and a setting sun made for some soft light over the water and Mt. Edgecumbe this afternoon.

Snow squalls and a setting sun made for some soft light over the water and Mt. Edgecumbe this afternoon.

Snow squalls and a setting sun made for some soft light over the water and Mt. Edgecumbe this afternoon.

It is very unusual for a LIncoln's Sparrow to be found this late in Sitka.

There was a chance that frisbee might be played this morning at Moller Park, so the kids and I walked up the west side of Swan Lake to check it out. I figured in the likely scenario that frisbee was not happening, we could at least get some birding in – see if there was anything of particular interest as we head in to count week for the Christmas Bird Count this Sunday. As it turned out, there were a couple people playing catch, so we joined them for a bit, before continuing on.

Rowan was surprisingly interested in birding today, while Connor was much less so. Usually it’s the other way around. Rowan had played on the playground for part of the time Connor and I were playing catch and she opted to go with me along the Path of Hope while Connor decided to play on the playground for a while. I sent her off into the lower brushy area to see if there were any sparrows or thrushes lurking about. She ended up coming up through a (very) minor unofficial trail to try and sneak up on me while I was at the overlook checking out what was on Swan Lake (and there wasn’t much I could see). She wanted to return the way she came, so I went over to the parking for the path of hope – noticing mostly juncos and a few Pine Siskins in the parking lot and at the feeder across the street (earlier Rowan heard then we saw a couple of small flocks flying over – perhaps 30+ birds in all).

Walking down the road, Connor came out to meet me, but Rowan still hadn’t found her way out of the forested area. While waiting for her, Connor and I spotted a Downy Woodpecker – a bird I’ve only seen a handful of times around here over the years. I sent Connor to find Rowan so she could see it also, while I tried to take some pictures. The photos didn’t turn out that great, but fortunately it stuck around long enough for Rowan to get a look at it.

Rowan had found a bird skeleton in the bushes along the ‘trail’ she had been on. She picked up the skull and wanted to pick up some of the other bones, but it sounded like after looking away to get a stick to use, she couldn’t find where the remainder of the skeleton was. She thought the skull might be a sparrow, but I suggested a warbler was more likely, since there were still yellow feathers associated with it. Also, the bill looked better for a warbler, though she and I didn’t talk about that at the time. She carried the skull all the way home so we could keep it. At the time she was talking about trying to figure out what it was by looking in the bird book, but by the time we got home, I think she just wanted to eat lunch, and then forgot about that project.

Rather than retrace our steps, we continued around on Cascade Street, then down Lake Street. Connor decided to head on home to start lunch warming up, while Rowan and I stopped to check out the birds on Swan Lake. I was able to count 15+ Ring-necked Ducks, as well as some scaups and mallards near the radio station. At the peninsula there was the lone Trumpeter Swan, many more Mallards and a few gulls, including the first year Glaucous Gull.

Rowan noticed all the tracks in the snow at the peninsula and said she thought the swan had been walking around a bunch. I’m not sure what made her think they were swan tracks instead of gulls and mallards, but she realized the difference when a couple people came and spread some corn out for the birds. The swan walked over to get some, and then Rowan was able to check out the tracks where she had seen the swan walking. We were both impressed with the size.

Overall it was a quiet day – a bit of wind, but not too much, bird activity seemed pretty low, and there wasn’t a lot of precipitation. What did fall was kind of a heavy wet snow, but there wasn’t enough to add any depth to the thin ground covering that we got overnight.

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This Downy Woodpecker foraging on trees near Moller Park.

Rowan found this bird skull (probably a warbler) in brush near the Path of Hope.

Rowan found this bird skull (probably a warbler) in brush near the Path of Hope.

Two Glaucous-winged Gulls and a Glaucous Gull at Swan Lake.

Trumpeter Swan tracks in the snow at Swan Lake.

Trumpeter Swan tracks in the snow at Swan Lake.

The gathering of gulls at Swan Lake this time of year provides a good opportunity to practice identifying them.

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Gulls can still be a challenge, but this seems to be a fairly typical Thayer's Gull (Larus thayeri).

Gulls can still be a challenge, but this seems to be a fairly typical Thayer's Gull (Larus thayeri).

Gulls can still be a challenge, but this seems to be a fairly typical Thayer's Gull (Larus thayeri).

Two similar pictures - slightly different postures. Probably a pale-eyed Thayer's Gull.

Two similar pictures - slightly different postures. Probably a pale-eyed Thayer's Gull.

Trumpeter Swan feeding on grass at Swan Lake.

This gull is a little confusing to me; very pale eye and apparently dark underside of primaries (plus minimal white on primary tips) lead me toward Herring Gull, but orbital ring appears pink rather than yellow and both bill and overall size seems small, suggesting Thayer's Gull.

This gull is a little confusing to me; very pale eye and apparently dark underside of primaries (plus minimal white on primary tips) lead me toward Herring Gull, but orbital ring appears pink rather than yellow and both bill and overall size seems small, suggesting Thayer's Gull.

A fairly typical dark-eyed Thayer's Gull.

Another confusing gull for me. Overall structure relatively small - I'm not great at judging bills, but it doesn't seem particularly large. Underside of primary tips looks fairly pale. All pointing toward Thayer's Gull. On the other hand, very pale yellow eye and orbital ring looking closer to orange than pink suggest Herring Gull.

Another confusing gull for me. Overall structure relatively small - I'm not great at judging bills, but it doesn't seem particularly large. Underside of primary tips looks fairly pale. All pointing toward Thayer's Gull. On the other hand, very pale yellow eye and orbital ring looking closer to orange than pink suggest Herring Gull.

This gull seems to be a fairly typical Thayer's Gull (Larus thayeri)

Sapsucker weather continued today, though it did begin to moderate. Temperatures reached the mid-20s, warm enough that the sun warmed ground was sufficient to start melting ice along the roads and sidewalks. Forecast is for increasing wind and cloudy conditions with temperatures still remaining chilly, but not nearly so cold as over the past few days. While out today, it seemed like the predominant wind was out of the east, though it was a bit swirly – a couple of times I was hit by small gusts coming out of the west. It also seemed as though on the water waves were coming partially out of the south.

I went on a walk around the park to get to the Post Office. I was curious about how many sapsuckers I would find. I don’t have the count handy, but I think it was at least 10 between the house and the end of the park near the river mouth, plus an additional couple later in the day that I saw in the neighborhoods around the new house. The tide was up during my walk and I noticed Mallards and Barrow’s Goldeneye were feeding quite close to the shore along the rocks at the northwest end of the little sandy cove between Merrill Rock and the bed rock out crops before Sage Rock (this was in addition to another 50 or so Mallards sleeping on gravel at Sage Beach). It’s not unusual to see Mallards close in like this, but I don’t often see Barrow’s Goldeneye feeding quite so close to shore.

Crossing the river, it appeared the ice was starting to collapse and the river was running higher. Given the still below freezing temperatures, this seemed a little odd and I didn’t think the tide was high enough to push quite that far up the river. Perhaps I should have checked out when temperatures were still down in the teens. Quite a few Varied Thrushes were foraging along the river banks, while one American Dipper was splashing about in the open water in the center of the river.

On my return from the post office, I noticed something running across the street in front of the drive to the lower park parking lot. I suspected it was a cat, but didn’t get a great look before it was out of sight behind a house. I decided to investigate more closely and found that it was a cat. It had caught a sapsucker (no doubt when it was at the base of a tree tapping – they’re not accustomed to cats as predatory threats, I suspect). I heard a squeak or two from the sapsucker and approached to investigate more closely. The cat was distracted by me, and the bird took the opportunity to roll upright and take flight, returning to the spruce trees near where it had been captured.

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Part of a group of Barrow's Goldeneye observed in front of Merrill Rock.

It's been cold enough for ice and slush to form and persist along the shoreline.

It's been cold enough for ice and slush to form and persist along the shoreline.

Wind shaped snow adds texture to the surface of the mountain slopes.

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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A gull soars in front of the front peak of The Pyramids.

Snow blows off the twin peaks which make up the the southeastern end of the Pyramids.

Middle Sister illuminated by a late afternoon sun that broke out from behind the clouds as dropped low in the sky.

Canada Geese at Totem Park feeding in a shalllow tidepool that reflects the colorful sky at sunset.

Canada Geese at Totem Park feeding in a shalllow tidepool that reflects the colorful sky at sunset.

Winds gusting much stronger than at sea level were blowing snow off the peaks of the Pyramids.

Pilings off of Sage Beach are silhouetted by the colors of sunset reflecting off the water.

Pilings off of Sage Beach are silhouetted by the colors of sunset reflecting off the water.

The forecast was for cloudy to mostly cloudy skies with a chance of snow. Instead it ended up partly cloudy with the sun only occasionally being partly obscured by a small cloud. After lunch I was thinking the kids and I would go for a walk around the park, but the sun was nicely warming a spot on the beach protected from the light breeze, and I couldn’t resist sitting down on a rock and enjoying the feeling of the sun warming my skin. (In actuality, I gave the kids the choice to walk around and hang out near the park entrance. However it was pretty much a foregone conclusion they would want to hang out, they are usually reluctant to walk around the park, preferring instead to catch bullheads in the tide pools near the visitor center.)

In a group mentoring call series I am a part of, we have been challenged to use what is called the ‘story teller’s mind’ to try and capture a full sensory experience and be able to retell it later. (An attentive mentor will be able to listen to these stories and start to notice patterns of emphasis and/or gaps in awareness, and over time subtly draw the teller in a fuller awareness by asking questions about things that might have escaped attention.) While relaxing down at the beach today, I tried to bring my full attention to bear on my surroundings and will attempt to recreate the experience in words. I’ll say up front that I’m not super good at this yet, as I have a tendency to pull back into my thoughts in general (and this afternoon was no different), and today I’m pretty sure I dozed off for at least a couple of minutes once or twice.

The sun is in the south as I try to decide where to sit. I want a place that is relatively comfortable, dry, and not subject to even the light breeze that is moving across the tide flats to the southeast. There’s a drift log stranded high on the rocks – each end perched on a bed rock outcrop, the central part suspended a couple of feet above baseball-sized and smaller rocks worn round and smooth by the tumbling action of waves over time. This log has been here for many years – I have memories of it going back to my childhood. I reflect briefly on searching for beach glass in the cobbles under it while I was in elementary school. I consider sitting on the cobbles in front of the log, but between the drips of snow-melt falling regularly along the length of the log, and still significant moisture just below the sun-dried surface rocks, I decide it’s unlikely I would be able to stay dry there. Instead, I find a spot on the bedrock outcrop where it is dry, I can recline reasonably comfortably, and yet I’m not out too far so that I catch the cooling puffs of wind.

The bedrock is cool to the touch. Rough edges have been rounded and smoothed, but there are still angular joints where, at some point in the long distant past, a chunk of rock cracked from the main body and was eventually removed. It’s in one of these spots I choose to sit facing between South and West (I can’t remember precisely, but I think it was SW or maybe closer to WSW). I rolled up my pant legs and turned my head to get the full sun on my face. The warming of my skin from the sun’s radiation was greater than any heat I gave up to the still cool air, and I closed my eyes to relax and enjoy the feeling.

The branches of a spruce tree growing up from just above the beach behind me extended out to a point a few feet above me. I heard and felt an occasional drop of water from the snow melting out between the needles. I could hear the high-pitched contact calls of Golden-crowned Kinglets foraging for insects in those branches, while on the ground closer to the trunk I could hear an equally high-pitched single note repeated sporadically by a sparrow (later confirmed to be a Song Sparrow). Somewhere in the west to northwest a little distance away, I could hear a crossbill singing. It did not seem to be a full song, so I don’t recall noticing the call notes of a foraging flock, so I don’t know if this might have been a young male practicing his song while looking for territory, or what.

The tide was out a fair bit and seemed to be falling, so between me and the ocean was a fair distance of exposed flats. I noticed silhouettes of gulls and ducks out just offshore, but the bright sunlight and distance didn’t inspire me to work too hard to confirm any identities. While there was little or no surface chop close to shore, small remnants of the large swells that move through the sound lapped against the shore (I think I could hear them, I can’t recall specifically). Rowan spent much of the time squatted down intently looking for bullheads in a tidepool southeast of my position. A short distance behind me past a small patch of trees, the overall quiet was disturbed from time to time by a passing vehicle on the road.

I’m sure there must have been odors to smell, but I don’t remember noticing any at the time – especially considering the exposed beach and small bits of seaweed and such that were pushed up by the high tide.

Overall, it felt like a pretty relaxed time. I don’t recall feeling like there was any tension in the air, even though I heard a Song Sparrow alarm a couple of times, I think that was more territorial squabbling or mild agitation at passers-by on the sidewalk.

There are other details I recall – the spider crawling up my jacket that I watched closely for a moment after I got it to crawl on my hand – a fly or two landing on the rocks – people walking their dogs along the park trail – but I think I’ll leave it at that.

Later in the day I stopped by Swan Lake briefly. Most of the previously open water had slushed over, but there was still a sizable opening near the peninsula. In addition to the usual assortment Mallards, there were also 5 Ring-necked Ducks, 4 or so Lesser Scaup, and 3 American Wigeons.

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The snow covered Sisters and Verstovia form a scenic backdrop behind Swan Lake.

The peak of Verstovia points up to the moon above.

After catching the free brown bag concert put on by the Jazz Festival the kids and I got caught in a little snow squall. We waited out the strongest of it at the Crescent Harbor shelter as the snow, mostly in the form of graupel, fell. The forecast had called for snow with no accumulation, but by the end of the day the snow on the ground was approaching an inch deep.

The ice at Swan Lake continues to retreat. There were three Ring-necked Ducks, quite a few Glaucous-winged Gulls, at least one Thayer’s Gull, as well as Mallards and scaups. Today’s mix of scaups was different than yesterday’s, with two male Greater Scaups hanging together while another group of 5 Lesser Scaup males dove repeatedly at the edge of the ice. After the Greater Scaups moved around the peninsula to where the Lesser Scaups were, it was interesting to be able to compare them more directly and see some differences.

I noticed a Common Ragwort (Senecio vulgaris) with flowers still present. It was under a pine tree at the town end of the Lincoln Street green belt. Presumably the cover provided by the pine kept the plant from being significantly damaged by the frost. It seems unlikely the flowers will be able to produce seed, but I guess as temperatures rise in the coming months it will be interesting to see.

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Snow falls at Crescent Harbor.

Snow falls at Crescent Harbor.

Greater Scaups observed on Swan Lake.

Greater and Lesser Scaups observed on Swan Lake.

Greater and Lesser Scaups observed on Swan Lake.

Greater and Lesser Scaups observed on Swan Lake.

Greater and Lesser Scaups observed on Swan Lake.

Greater and Lesser Scaups observed on Swan Lake.

Greater and Lesser Scaups observed on Swan Lake.

Greater and Lesser Scaups observed on Swan Lake.

Greater and Lesser Scaups observed on Swan Lake.

Winds picked up through the morning and by this afternoon it was blowing Southeast with strong enough gusts that the crew working on roofing the new house decided it was prudent to shift their efforts to parts of the job that didn’t have quite so much exposure. Accompanying the winds was a moderate rain that seemed heavier as it was driven by the stronger gusts.

Connor and Rowan had seen four Trumpeter Swans on Swan Lake this morning, so they wanted to stop by and check to see if they were still there. I had arrangements to test drive a pick up just up the street, so we all walked to the lake together. There were 40 or more Mallards and a few gulls resting on the ice around the open water adjacent to the peninsula. It was interesting to see the wind whipping the rain and surface water across the ice that remained over much of the lake. The south end of the lake had opened up quite a bit since I walked by on Monday, and I saw at least two Ring-necked Ducks along with a handful of scaups.

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Gusty winds blow water across the surface of the remaining ice on Swan Lake.

Gusty winds blow water across the surface of the remaining ice on Swan Lake.

Wind driven waves and rain made for a blustery wet afternoon at Sandy Beach.

Marge Ward has lived in Sitka for over 60 years and Marlys Tedin nearly as long. They have been recording their daily bird observations since 1980 using 5×7 inch note cards, with a row for each species. This time of year the number of species they observer in a given week doesn’t usually require more than two cards, though at other times they may nearly fill three. Marge often writes additional notes on the back giving additional details about some observations of particular interest, weather observations, or reports of non-bird plants and animals.

Although their records are an amazing store of information about bird occurrence in the Sitka area, it is not so easy to sort through and access in card form. Over the past year or so, I’ve started working to get their observations into a computer database by using a CyberTracker application I created for that purpose. Last winter I made some progress on getting through the historical records, but as the season changed, I became busy with other things and have done little work on the older records since then. I have kept up with current observations, however. I try to visit them most Fridays to get the most recent week’s observations put in.

My only significant time outside today was walking over to Marge and Tedin’s place. Temperatures have continued to be in the upper 30s and low 40s, and although the ground remains frozen, most of the surface snow and ice in the central part of town is gone. It had been some time since I was by Swan Lake, and I was interested to see that it remained covered in ice, though the ice had an inch or more of water on top of it. (I remember walking/skating across the ice in such conditions more than once when I was on my way home from my paper route – but I don’t think I would feel comfortable doing it these days.) Despite the lack of open water, there were 45 or more Mallards and over 10 Glaucous-winged Gulls at the peninsula.

While visiting with Marge and Tedin, I mentioned that robins had been around this past week, but they said they hadn’t seen any at their place. Apparently, in winter at least, the robins prefer other neighborhoods. We also talked about the arrival of Pine Siskins at feeders this week. There had been a individual Pine Siskin or two visiting the feeders at my house, but today there was a sizable flock feeding on the ground in the neighborhood, and making stop by our feeders. I noticed another flock foraging on a gravel driveway along Lake Street – I suspect they were going after conifer and/or alder seeds that were probably released during the last cold snap. Marge commented that the first flock of siskins she had seen at their feeders in a while was today as well.

During our visit we had commented on the abundance of Varied Thrushes this year. I mentioned seeing a couple of loose flocks while on a hike up Indian River last weekend. It was interesting because they weren’t together like a flock of starlings or finches might be, but rather moving in a much more distributed association. When Marge and Tedin dropped me off at the bottom of the hill, we saw 10 or more Varied Thrush – most of them foraging on a mossy roof, but a few more poking about on the gravel road in front of the maintenance building. When they spooked as I got out of the car, they all flew off in the same direction, but only one or two at a time.

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Marge Ward and Marlys Tedin's observation notes for 11-17 Jan 2011.

Marge Ward and Marlys Tedin's observation notes for 11-17 Jan 2011.

Marge Ward and Marlys Tedin's observation notes for 11-17 Jan 2011.

Mallard remains observed a short distances off trail in Totem Park.

A couple of weeks ago while walking through Totem Park on a typically fall cool overcast day, something odd caught my eye near the northwest edge of the younger second growth stand on the south side of the river just up from the estuary meadow. It was a pale form with a streak of orange color lying about 10 paces off the trail along a very minor side path, not even really enough to qualify as a game trail. I mentioned to Connor that I had seen something, and though he didn’t see it, he decided to investigate more closely. I waited at the trail while he made his way through the mostly leafless salmonberry bushes that lined the main trail where we were.

It took him a few moments to spot it, and when he told me it was part of a duck, I went over to look it over more closely with him. I have seen dead birds before, but not like this. All we could see was the lower half of a Mallard, feet, but no wings. The bird had been separated in a relatively clean manner, I didn’t really look like it had been ripped apart, in any case. We did not look too closely, but there were not other obvious signs of damage on the remains we could see. The bird also seemed relatively fresh, though given the cool fall temperatures, I wouldn’t necessarily expect it to rot quickly.

Mallard remains observed a short distances off trail in Totem Park.

Save for a single feather that probably came off the main part we found, there were no other pieces of duck that we could find in the nearby area. It’s hard to imagine what scenario might have led to half a duck on the ground where we found it. Actually, it is mostly hard to imagine how the duck got separated from itself. The most plausible scenario I can come up with is that a human did it. Once cut in half, it is not too hard to come up with ways it might have ended up where we found it. Eagles sometimes drop food when being chased and are not able to find it again. Another possibility is that one of the many dogs that get walked in the park one could have found it along the river and moved it up into the woods.

Pale Mallard observed at Swan Lake.

One of the Mallards that hatched out earlier this year is unusually pale. I am curious if the different coloring will persist as it matures.

Greater White-fronted Goose observed at Swan Lake.

One of the Greater White-fronted Geese that were here this spring seems to have been left behind. It seems likely at this point that the bird will remain for the summer and join with a south-migrating flock this fall.

I also noticed an American Wigeon when I was at the lake.

Yesterday I did not feel all that great after a relatively poor night of sleep, though I did stop by Swan Lake briefly and get out on a walk to the park with Connor.

Today I stopped by Swan Lake this morning after dropping Connor off at school. I also stopped by Centennial Building and to look around on my way home. Late this morning I took advantage of pleasant weather to go for a walk to Totem Park.

Weather: Yesterday was rainy and a bit breezy. Snow level dropped to about 2900 feet or so. Today it started out overcast, but became partly cloudy for much of the late morning and early afternoon. Clouds moved in again later in the afternoon, though I did not notice any rain. This evening after sunset there were clear skies over town. The temperature this morning was near 40, and the snow level behind town was probably around 2700 feet. Mt. Edgecumbe was mostly covered in clouds when I looked, but what I could see through the breaks appeared to have no snow, despite the crater rim’s elevation being between 2800 and 3200 feet in elevation. Perhaps the far side (which is the higher part) had snow, or it was just warmer out there.

Birds: Yesterday the two scaups were still at Swan Lake. I also saw three American Wigeons, and the Cackling Goose. At Totem Park we noted the Ruddy Turnstone, American Pipits, Savannah Sparrows and the Spotted Sandpiper.

This morning at Swan Lake I saw two American Wigeons, two Greater Scaups, a Hooded Merganser (on the HPR side of the lake), and the Cackling Goose.

On the rocks near the Crescent Harbor boat ramp, there were quite a few Black Turnstones and Surfbirds. They alternated between the rocks just inside the breakwater, the rocks on the outside of the breakwater, and the rocks across the Kettleson Library cove. There were probably more than 100 birds in total, with most of them Black Turnstones. I saw perhaps 10 Surfbirds.

As I was leaving the house for my walk, I noticed two Song Sparrows singing back and forth. One was by Austin House, the other in the large elderberry just down the drive. I think the sunshine brought out the urge to sing, as I heard more Song Sparrows singing down along the beach also.

There were quite a few Black Turnstones and a few gulls at Sage Beach. There were also several Harlequin Ducks.

I think I saw a couple of Red-necked Grebes out in Crescent Bay.

There was a Hermit Thrush along the beach at the same place where one seemed to join me for a time on my walk a couple of days ago. A little further up the beach I saw two more Hermit Thrushes. Later I also saw another Hermit Thrush in the woods near the trail as it nears the bridge across the river.

There were quite a few Savannah Sparrows and not quite as many Song Sparrows scatter about foraging at the upper part of the beach.

I do not know if it’s coincidental timing or not, but the number of gulls at Totem Park has been much less in the few days since I saw the goshawk kill the gull. At first I thought it might be because I was visiting at high tides, but today the tide was out a bit and there were still far fewer gulls. There are fewer salmon carcasses on the beach, but most of the gulls on the beach before were not eating at the time anyway. Today I saw perhaps a couple of hundred gulls in 2 or 3 flocks at different places on the tide flats. I saw some Black-legged Kittiwakes out from the beach between the Battlesite and the River Mouth.

At the river mouth there were 50+ Harlequin Ducks, 5 Northern Pintails, a Green-winged Teal, several Mallards, 4 Barrow’s Goldeneye, and around 15 Surf Scoters. The goldeneyes were the first I have seen this fall. Six Common Mergansers flew up to the river while I was watching, but by the time I got up there, I only saw 2 diving at the lower part of the estuary. I was interested to see a Northern Pintail diving with them. I think of pintails as dabbling ducks, so it was strange to see this one diving, presumably for salmon eggs. It seemed to require more effort to get underwater than the mergansers did.

There were quite a few gulls in the estuary and river, but still not as many as I had seen last week and before.

On my walk around the flats I also saw several Pelagic Cormorants and I think one Double-crested Cormorant.

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