The signs of a very early spring just keep coming. The other day we actually saw a garter snake.....have seen them as early as mid-March before, but never in February....then today...
thought I was seeing things....but no, the 'pink' turned out to be a Salmon Berry flower....not just one, but several. Normally one might expect to see them about Easter....not this year!
Don't have a photo but a pair of Purple Finch were in the yard today - first of the season and saw a Yellow Rump Warbler and some White-crowned Sparrows in Chilliwack today, so just a matter of time before we see them here. Am also wondering when the first Rufous Hummingbird will put in an appearance.
The brilliant red wing patches....
on the male Red-wing Blackbirds is also a pretty good indication that spring is on its way!
Another beautiful day!
Walked over to the log bay in the morning....
spotted 5 of the Tree Swallows this morning....not much of anything else around though.
In the afternoon went over to Harrison Bay for a walk and it was really quiet over there too, partly due to a Merlin in the area causing everyone to hide. They were just starting to show up...
like this Spotted Towhee getting brave enough to come out from cover.
There were a number of little birds...
bathing in this secluded area.
a Eurasian Collared Dove remained perched over head. A bit of a treat as normally these birds are so flighty.
Also found the first wildflower of the year....
this Indian Plum growing in a sheltered sunny spot was in full flower and being enjoyed by some early honey bees. There used to be a lot of these shrubs in the area but sadly more and more of them have disappeared as the place gets more and more developed.
On the way home we found where all the...
Canada Geese were hiding....this is just a few of them. Also some American Wigeon ducks hiding down there in the very (for February) lush grass.
Finally something exciting to report!
The first Tree Swallows of the season were spotted this morning! Not a great photo but still, proof they were there. Only 3 of them so far.
Weather has been lovely the last few days but other than the swallows it has been pretty quiet.....no doubt that will change pretty soon.
After probably the most disappointing bird count ever, due to steady rain and fog we finally saw some sunshine so just had to get out there!
Started out over at
Harrison Bay where you can see the water levels have come back up thanks to the rain and warm temperatures.
It looked....
like spring with American Robins....
and sounded like spring too, unfortunately too far away to get photos there was a flock of 20 or 30 Western Meadowlarks....
out in that field with all those Canada Geese - there were a bunch of American Wigeon out there as well.
and speaking of spring....
some of those geese are already pairing up.
also out in the fields....
European Starlings on the hay bales.
and then just to add a touch of magic this rainbow appeared...
later went for a quick walk over to the park....
it was pretty quiet although this...
Belted Kingfisher was perched out on the broken piling....
and in another spot...
a Gadwall and 3 female Common Merganser.
Sorry, no pictures and I know it has been a while but it has just been so quiet lately with nothing to report...
but had to share this great news. I had mentioned previously that there was an application into the district to change the zoning to allow for a Contaminated Soil storage site. This site would be just up stream of the Chehalis River and right beside Boulder Creek which flows into the river. The Chehalis, of course, flows down to meet the Harrison River and forms the estuary - all part of the I.B.A.
Today, thanks in large part to the considerable efforts of area residents, the F.V.R.D. passed a motion to REFUSE the application.
To anyone reading this who may have signed any of the petitions, including the on line one - the Bald Eagles and other 200 or so species that enjoy the area, say Thank you!
and a reminder, this coming Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday is the Backyard Bird Count - get out and count those birds - I'll be doing it and hopefully I'll have something to report!
