A fairly full day didn’t see me spend much time outside. It was mostly cloudy or overcast throughout the day, and we even got a bit of light rain, our first in a week or so, but only just enough to make the ground wet. I stepped outside this evening and snapped a photo of the Verstovia with the clouds nearly gone from the peak. I also took pictures of two of the several sparrows that continue to hangout among the crab pots in the neighbor’s yard.

I suspect the Song Sparrow(s) that have been there recently are first year birds or females. I have heard one singing, but not the full-on songs from a prominent perch like I’ve been hearing elsewhere in the neighborhood and beyond. The singing has been a more continuous sort – maybe a whisper song? Though it’s quieter than the regular songs, it’s not exactly a whisper. I’m not sure how quiet whisper songs typically are, though. Maybe stage whispers count.

Speaking of Song Sparrows, I checked on my observations for the year and I’m up to 149. Well short of the pace for 1000 by year’s end, but the pace has picked up in the last couple of weeks with all the singing birds. No doubt things will slow down dramatically by late fall, so if I have a hope of getting to my target, I’ll need to get a lot of observations in over the next few months. I started a map with notes on the Song Sparrows I’ve been observing and have been updating it regularly.

Song Sparrow Map

On the 1000 species front, I probably have a similar number so far, but I’ve not been keeping careful count yet, and have many observations (with photos) I need to get recorded.

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The clouds were breaking up over Verstovia when I looked out this evening.

I think this Golden-crowned Sparrow is a first year bird. It may be the one that has been singing frequently for several days.

Two of the sparrows that have been hanging out in the neighborhood recently.

For the first time in what seems like weeks, it skies were more clear than not. We didn’t do too much outside, but did take a short walk up the lower part of Gavan Trail. An Anna’s Hummingbird was visiting the feeder periodically – I hoped to get pictures, but didn’t manage to catch it any of the 3 times I saw it.

The clouds broke up over town this morning after snow overnight. By around noon, it was again completely overcast and the snow started shortly thereafter. Coincidentally, the kids and I headed over to SJ since someone had suggested frisbee for those college students back in town for the holiday. A couple of other people showed up, and Connor and I played catch with them for a while (Rowan joined at the end, but spent most of the time helping other kids with a snowman and doing a little sledding). I was impressed that Connor was able to keep his hands warm without gloves on – he told me they only got cold when he took a tumble as we were walking back toward home, and I had given him a long throw to chase after. It snowed pretty hard the whole time we were there, with a decent breeze blowing in from the west or northwest (it was a little hard to tell, as it didn’t seem very steady).

Around 2pm or a little after, the clouds started to break up again, and we were treated to some nice light as the sun was going down.

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Connor often (though not always) seems to enjoy shoveling snow. He did a good job today clearing out much of the driveway area.

The clouds were starting to break up this afternoon after a period of snow showers that lasted for a couple of hours.

The clouds were starting to break up this afternoon after a period of snow showers that lasted for a couple of hours.

It's possible to see Verstovia from the house, though trees make it a little bit tricky.

It's possible to see Verstovia from the house, though trees make it a little bit tricky.

It turned out to be pleasant weather for Christmas. Winds were calm and the clouds broke up a bit in the afternoon. I took a short walk to Swan Lake to see what was around before going to eat dinner with family.

Was fairly quiet at the lake, though I was interested to a male Common Merganser cruising around – they mostly stick to salt water and rivers around here, in my experience. A lone Trumpeter Swan was resting near the peninsula, offering easy views, and a first year Glaucous Gull was bathing in the lake before coming to shore to preen.

Before I left, the sun broke out a bit on Verstovia – it was nice to see the bright snow and blue sky behind the broken clouds.

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First year Glaucous Gull at Swan Lake.

Trumpeter Swan at Swan Lake

Trumpeter Swan at Swan Lake

First year Glaucous Gull at Swan Lake.

Trumpeter Swan at Swan Lake

Sunlight on snow and broken clouds behind Verstovia made the lighting a little more dramatic than it would otherwise be.

Sunlight on snow and broken clouds behind Verstovia made the lighting a little more dramatic than it would otherwise be.

Around noon (shortly after the 12.38 high tide) I went for a walk down along Lincoln Street and through the park. I was thinking with the high tide there might be some birds fairly close to land, but it was much quieter than I hoped. I did see some Harlequin Ducks and gulls by the park. Black Turnstones on the beach, and Red-breasted and Common Mergansers off-shore and in the river, respectively.

Weather was quite gray this morning, though it was starting to get brighter by the time I left. While out walking, the clouds broke up and I saw a brief bit of sun and blue sky between the rain and hail squalls.

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Immature Mew Gull in Flight over the water at Totem Park.

A pair of Harlequin Ducks off Totem Park.

Immature Mew Gull in Flight over the water at Totem Park.

Immature Mew Gull in Flight over the water at Totem Park.

Black Turnstones sitting on a driftlog at Totem Park.

This Mew Gull was picking at the surface just off the beach at Totem Park.

Raindrops hit the surface of the ocean just off the beach at Totem Park.

Glaucous-winged Gull in flight off Totem Park.

Eurhynchium oreganum growing on long-stranded driftlog at edge of forest in Totem Park.

Eurhynchium oreganum growing on forest floor in Totem Park.

Eurhynchium oreganum growing on forest floor in Totem Park.

Sitka Spruce (Picea sitchensis) bark often has a fairly distinct look due to the way it flakes off.

Sitka Spruce (Picea sitchensis) bark often has a fairly distinct look due to the way it flakes off.

Male Red-breasted Merganser in flight at Totem Park.

The foreground ridge runs west from Peak 2550, while the middle-ground ridge runs north from the same peak.

Today was rather spring-like in many respects. Although snow may have falling as forecast in other parts of the area, very little snow fell in town. There was just enough wet snow to stick to the previously wind-polished ice and subsequently refreeze, leaving things much less slippery than before (a fact that was somewhat disappointing to me, as I had been thinking I would spend a little time skating/sliding down the ice hill with Connor and Rowan). As temperatures rose to over 40 by later this morning, the ice started to soften and melt.

Skies were partly to mostly cloudy through much of the day (with a fair amount of sun), and there was still some wind today, but it seemed to be out of a direction that made it much less noticeable in the areas I was walking around. By later this evening it seemed as though skies were mostly clear, and the ice had hardened up again, though air temperatures were still in the mid to upper 30s.

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Reflection of Mt. Verstovia in the Baranof School windows.

Rowan peers into a window showing the reflection of Mt. Verstovia.

There is a clear line between the Verstovia slopes facing Indian River Valley with snow still on the trees, and the slope facing the ocean where the snow is gone.

Cross Mountain rises on the northeast side of the upper part of Silver Bay to a height of nearly 4000 feet.

Officially called Cupola Peak, this 3976 foot high mountain is more commonly known as Cross Mountain.

Today ended up being a bit more full than I planned, as it took longer to get stuff ready for my dad’s arrival in town this evening. I was able to walk over to the bridge after class and catch the sunset, which was nice. Temperatures were cooler today, but the forecast is for even colder tonight and tomorrow. Winds were minor on the ground, though I noticed the wind turbine going at a moderate pace, so there was apparently at least some breeze aloft (strangely, I don’t recall noticing it much when I was upon the bridge). I took additional note of the patterns of snow on the trees covering the mountains and hills around town. I plan to write a post about my observations later this week.

On my walk I saw a Red-breasted Merganser in the Channel. Their were lots of them in the bays south of town during the Christmas Bird Count, but for some reason they’ve been mostly absent along the road system this winter. It was also interesting that I noticed the smell of seaweed and whatever else goes into the mix to create the fairly distinct low tide smell. (Interesting because I hadn’t noticed it yesterday when I was trying to pay more attention.) Several gulls seemed to be taking advantage of the low water levels to try and find food along the shoreline. I didn’t have enough time to watch and see if they were finding any success. I imagine at other times of year, they wouldn’t even bother, but from now until the herring run is probably the most difficult time of the year for them food-wise.

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Low angle light illuminates the snow covered Sisters and Mt. Verstovia.

Vitskari Rocks can be seen along the horizon.

View to the Southeast from O'Connell Bridge.

Snow has begun its descent down the mountain slopes.

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Overnight the snow level dropped to less than 2500 feet.

Overnight the snow level ropped to less than 2500 feet.

I think this might be (Cladonia transcendens), but the habitat seems off compared to descriptions.

Last summer while coming down Verstovia in early July, I happened to catch some nice light at the first view point. There were some lichens that were illuminated in a manner that I found to be quite striking, so I stopped and took some pictures. As is my wont, I tried to figure out what I saw after I had a chance to sit down a look at the pictures.

I am by no means anything approaching competent when it comes to the identification of lichens. I am also not likely to become any sort of expert, as I am not particularly fond of making collections and even when I do, my motivation to do the chemical testing necessary for identification is minimal. However, I knew enough to tell that this was a Cladonia (which I also knew is a particularly challenging group), but not much beyond that. A little thumbing through the appropriate section of Macrolichens of the Pacific Northwest, led me to Cladonia transcendens as a likely candidate.

The description for C. transcendens seemed to match my photos quite well, even down to the yellowish tinge (as these were growing in a relatively open area), so I felt reasonably comfortable with this choice. I was also reassured by the fact that similar species mentioned in the notes had (or lacked) characteristics that would seem to rule out the possibility that what I photographed was one of them. Some time later, I happened to notice that the prefered growth substrates indicated were not quite such a good fit.

Macrolichens of the Pacific Northwest indicates C. transcendens grows on bark and wood. The Lichen Inventory for Southeast Alaska indicates the species is present in the Sitka area, but also suggests it grows on “bark and lignum of conifers.” While I cannot rule out the possibility that the lichens I photographed were growing on a root or some woody debris, I’m pretty sure they were actually growing on the ground.

Given the difficulty of identifying Cladonia lichens to species, even though I felt pretty comfortable with the description, I decided that it’s best to leave this as Cladonia sp until such time as I decide it’s worth getting a collection and subjecting it to some chemical tests.

[Update: Posted to iNaturalist]

I think this might be (Cladonia transcendens), but the habitat seems off compared to descriptions.

I think this might be (Cladonia transcendens), but the habitat seems off compared to descriptions.

I think this might be (Cladonia transcendens), but the habitat seems off compared to descriptions.