Bath day

Bathing seemed to be the theme for the day! 

at the bay by the viewing platform it was the Dark Eyed Juncos and are there ever a lot around right now…typical for the time of year.  Nothing says spring quite like bickering Dark Eyed Juncos!

At the log bay it was Robins and Red Wing Blackbirds…

there was a female Brewer’s Blackbird over to one side.  No sign of the Goose pair today, maybe they were laying down in the grass…there were some Mallards and Green Wing Teal, all very relaxed and going about their business.  Also saw 3 little female Bufflehead today, hadn’t seen any of them for a while.

It is getting to the time of year to start paying attention to water levels.  As you can tell they are very, very low.  Last night’s news cast was the first mention of the possibility of this being a flood year.  It all depends, of course on how quickly weather warms up and the snows melt, there is a much higher snow pack than average and the forecast for the next couple of months is cooler than usual  which will mean that not only will the snows not start to melt…they will still be accumulating…  This is a good time to mention that just as things start to get interesting – water level wise – I’ll be deserting the Estuary and this blog for 6 weeks or so as I follow the Trumpeter Swans north!

Back to the here and now…

This was the view from the viewing platform today…I think the smoke is coming from the area of the new, privately owned R.V. park and campground.  I know smoke bothers some people, I’m not one of them…I love the smell of wood smoke.

Where birds weren’t bathing, they were calling and singing…lots of Song Sparrows like this guy, Spotted Towhee and numerous Steller’s Jay.

Perched in the ‘eagle tree’ by the viewing platform was this Hawk…I’m not great at identifying raptors but although I had hoped it was something more exciting, I think it is a first year Red Tail Hawk.

What makes up the habitat is just as important as the birds – you don’t get the later without the former….so that is why I will be paying particular attention to the various trees and shrubs as the spring progress’s…today the Salmon Berries were really starting to flower….we should see Hummingbirds down here soon!

I also noticed that the Black Twin Berries were in bud…this shrub is one of the first to leaf out…Cedar Wax Wings particularly love the berries this shrub produces.