Rain

Our first really rainy day in sometime, hopefully it is coming down as snow in the local mountains because boy, is it needed!  I did get out for a walk but only saw one wet eagle, one wet heron,  a chickadee and a few ducks so instead I'll report on yesterday's walk which was done over at Kilby at Harrison Bay....all still part of this IBA.

it wasn't actually raining yesterday, but it was very gray and drizzly.

a few Mallard and one Green-wing Teal (the little guy in front) sauntered towards the river as we walked along the shore.

walking back along the dyke we noticed these signs of spring - Pussy Willows!  There were a number of Killdeer running around in the fallow corn field beside the dyke, all froze and disappeared from sight when I aimed the camera that way.

The bramble hedgerow that divides the corn field from the dyke was full of birds, here a couple of Gold-crowned Sparrows, but also lots of Junco, Towhee, and Song Sparrows while the other side of the dyke was alive with Chickadees.

it was even busier further on where there are bird feeders in a residents back yard.  Don't like to stare at their place, but these House Sparrows obliged by being on the right side of the dyke.  House Sparrows are something we see very seldom up here at our end of the IBA.

this Steller's Jay co-operated for a photo....

while a bit further along this is one of two Great Blue Heron that were perched in one of the larger tree's.

circling back to the beach, more signs of spring, this time 'catkins'.  There were a number of Eurasian Collared Dove here too, they had been down on the railway tracks just to the left in this photo, but a work truck had driven along the tracks just then and sent them all flying up into the adjacent trees, too high to get a decent photo.

back on the beach, this was one of a scattering of gulls, think this might be a Western/Glaucous Wing cross....regardless he had a hunk of salmon carcass that he was wrestling with.  

and that pretty much rounded out the species other than a few various ducks.  We will have to try to spend at least one of the upcoming Backyard Bird Count days over in this area.