It's coming! (hopefully)

I guess that heading could refer to a lot of things....the Bald Eagle Festival for example, but what I'm really referring to is winter.....

went out to fill the bird feeders this morning and did a double take when I looked over at Mt. Woodside - snow?!.....seems pretty early in the season to have snow that far down...could it mean we'll have an actual winter this year?  Sure hope so!

After yesterday's rain it has been a beautiful day here at the estuary, looking up towards Hemlock those mountains were very white this morning.

there were a few Bald Eagles and gulls feeding in close...unfortunately it appears those signs that have been placed all over in the area advising people to stay off the flats right now, don't seem to be having much effect....

as sadly, I saw more people out on the flats today in just a short 15 minute period than I have ever seen, including at least one person reported to me that walked through a gate with one of the signs attached to it, then stomped through the water at the log bay - the water where salmon have been spawning for several weeks now and therefore full of salmon eggs....and out onto the flat.  Very disheartening.

I only walked as far as the viewing platform, this is a terrible picture, but that was a Fox Sparrow there in the bushes....

now I'll post a few more pictures from our stay at Kilby....

I love this moody photo of some Canada Geese coming into a landing in a field adjacent to Harrison Bay....the morning we were leaving there was a Black Bear in this field....of course by the time I got there it had disappeared into the hedgerow.

Black-capped Chickadees were very active, they would come through in waves....

House Finch in the hedgerows as well as Song Sparrows, Towhee, Junco, Red-wing Blackbirds and who knows what else!

not a great picture but the first pictures I've got of those Eurasian Collared Doves that have, in the past few years, spread up into B.C., in fact they seem to be taking over!

and we'll finish off with another Eagle because there were certainly eagles there, in fact on the afternoon of the 31st there were so many eagles flying about over the bay it was astonishing!