After the best viewing day so far for seeing birds.....the rain came, and when it was all over....
the water was back!
no more flats out there! With the water, the swans returned and from the calls, quite a few of those were Tundra Swans as well as Trumpeters.
and the Canada Geese....but with no where really to walk, today we headed over to Harrison Bay because while driving by yesterday, we'd seen more eagles perched in the trees than we'd ever seen before.
and the trend continued today....
as well as on any dry spots out on the bay....a dozen total here. With clear and cooler weather in the forecast, water levels should continue to slowly go back down.
adjacent fields are filling with assorted waterfowl. Besides the geese, Mallard and Northern Pintails for sure. Probably some American Wigeon as well.
we've noticed a lot more Northern Flicker than we'd normally expect to see this time of the year.
The European Starling are flocking up....must have been 60 or 70 in the group.
Song Sparrow were quite active today, unfortunately lighting was great with the sun behind and low in the sky.
Good size flock of Dark eyed Junco today as well.
and one shy Spotted Towhee. Saw a couple of Downy Woodpecker, and one Pileated, as well as a Brown Creeper and some Black-capped Chickadee.
there was even a pair of eagles by the nest, but whether they were 'the' pair of not couldn't say as there were eagles perched all along the route.
Have no idea what is out there today because it is absolutely pouring and I'm not venturing any further than it takes my dog to do his business....but I did get out yesterday morning.
I am hearing, that according to David Hancock, there are the most Bald Eagles he's seen in the area since 2010.....I know we are certainly seeing more than we have for sometime. Unfortunately have also heard that it has been a pretty poor Chum Salmon run. Seems to me the salmon were late starting - probably due to the low water levels at the time, there still seem to be quite a few so hopefully the run will continue for a while yet which will keep the birds around.....
Anyway, here goes.....eagles, eagles and nothing but eagles....
as I was starting out, this young one was determined to catch this still living salmon....there was a lot of splashing, but the bird succeeded and got it up on the shore.
this one guarding a pretty good size salmon.
over at the log bay....all those little black dots out there are eagles...
these two just had to perch on the same little stick....
this pond area to the south of the log bay is an absolute hive of activity....no wonder when you look at all the salmon carcasses floating in it!
the flats out there....with all the rain this will probably be underwater again if it isn't already
a pair squabbling over breakfast
and a third comes in to join the party
and take that!
Finally settling down to eat.
heading back....tranquil scene
and a final pair on the shore.
Well the Eagle Festival is over for another year and with sunny skies both days it was the busiest yet. Depending on your point of view, a great success, or, if you are concerned about the natural aspects of this area, a great pressure. Reports abound of persons wandering out on the flats where they shouldn't be and walking all along the foreshore in the gravel where salmon had already spawned....
anyway, it is over.....
and with no one disturbing them....the Bald Eagles are back...88 visible in this photo and this was just one small section...
and in the trees all along the shoreline....
and feeding down on the shore....
and perched on pilings......
and with just the regulars walking, staying respectfully on the trails and with their dogs kept close by on leashes.....the birds all stayed put.
Of course, not just eagles either...
pilings that didn't sport eagles, had Great Blue Heron instead.
There weren't as many ducks today as there have been but....
there were quite a few smaller birds, like this young White-crowned Sparrow, just one of a small flock, mixed with lots of Dark Eyed Junco and some House Finch.
Spotted Towhee....
and interestingly, quite a few American Robins still around. There is quite the crop of fruit on the native Pacific Crab apples this year and birds are still feasting on them.
yesterday, that included a Varied Thrush, the first one I've seen this season....
and also, yesterday, in the pouring rain there were a pair of Pileated Woodpeckers over at Harrison Bay, also feeding on the crab apples.
In fact at one point, these 2 Pileated joined a Downy Woodpecker and a Northern Flicker, all on the same tree - unfortunately it was just too dark and wet to get a picture!
Hard to believe it has been a week since I posted anything. Sometimes life just gets in the way of birding.....either that or the weather....
everything is pretty much as you'd expect it to be out here this time of the year. This photo was taken a few days ago. Water levels have dropped since then so Bald Eagles more spread out but still quit condensed onto the gravel bars.
a few Great Blue Heron about....and ducks, mainly Mallard but a few Green Wing Teal and also Common Merganser.
Only interesting in small birds recently....
was seeing 2 Brown Creeper together on the same tree the other day....hard to see I know...
here is a better shot of an individual bird.
This afternoon we managed a fairly dry walk....
over at Harrison Bay. It was pretty quiet. Some swans way out, a few Mallard....
more Bald Eagle than we've seen there before, scattered along the walk, like this young one...
and this adult who laid claim to this salmon carcass that initially,
this gull,
and then this Northwestern Crow, had laid claim too.
Got to admit that is one gutsy crow!
Sometimes one just can't explain where all the water comes from....
despite 2 beautiful, sunny, dry days....this is the path to the park this morning....so, we headed over to....
Harrison Bay for our walk....as we had also done the day before....
not too many Bald Eagles around the last couple of days either but this fellow was perched watching the people looking for eagles.
this young one was a little harder to find.
slowly the swans are starting to show up. There have been 3 up my way and there were 8 way out on the bay....presumably Trumpeters as Tundra tend to be rather 'chatty' and these were quiet.
Song Sparrows have been the most frequently seen or at least heard birds over there....
the occasional Spotted Towhee too....
and today, saw the first Brown Creeper of the season....
the first interesting find of the day was this Northern Flicker eating the fruit of the Pacific Crab apples....notice that it is an inter-grade with the gold colouring of the Yellow-shafted and the red mustache of the Red-shafted.
here is a back view showing a faint red 'V' on the back of the head which is another marking normally found only on the Yellow-shafted.
and then there was this which I think is a young Red-Tail Hawk. When we first spotted it out in the field, we thought it had a gull but it looks rather like someone decided to share their catch by throwing it out for the birds. This one tried to pick it up and carry it but it was too heavy for it.
there hadn't been as much bird activity yesterday, although this lone European Starling was seen both days.
as have been Black-capped Chickadees. Something also seen both days were garter snakes. Have never seen garter snakes in November before. Usually by mid-October can breath easy that they aren't around (yes I know they are wonderful for the environment - just don't like things that don't have legs).
a few Great Blue Heron have been seen both days too.
