Halloween....and the scariest thing has been how quiet it has been for birds the last few days.
the weather has been beautiful...this was the scene over at Harrison Bay yesterday but the list of birds seen was absolutely pitiful! The only item of note was....
that Western Grebe still out there. Haven't seen a swan at the bay yet although there were 30 or so in a field on the Agassiz side of Mt. Woodside the other day.
Today's walk was over to the park and a bit later in the day than normal...
but just as quiet. There were a few salmon spawning, although certainly not in the numbers one would hope for....
and if you really looked way out there...
there are some Bald Eagles...probably 50 or so...also a good size flock of Canada Geese has been moving in every late afternoon....not sure where they are spending their days.
Other than that there just wasn't much of anything...
although just like last year, Anna's Hummingbirds are the most reliably seen species.
What a beautiful day! First walk of the day was down to the boat launch in hopes those swans would be there. Of course they weren't. They may well have been ones heading further south who just dropped in for an overnight snooze.
Our main walk today was over at Harrison Bay...
there wasn't a lot of activity....
this gull is a hybrid but not exactly what type.
Bald Eagles were actually quite co-operative today....
from the shape of it's crop, it has had a good meal!
a little further along, this one was perched among the last of the fall foliage.
this one, and then there was this.....
'find the eagle' moment.
Other than eagles....out on the river....
that Western Grebe was spotted again... and along the shore, not one, but two...
Belted Kingfisher.
Now, late afternoon went back down to the boat launch and there weren't the 15 or 16 like last night, but....
there were a couple of swans way out there....so proof they are arriving back for the season. Also, I've been hearing for the past week or so, sounds that I thought were....
Greater Yellow-legs Sandpiper....Sunday this fellow was down there, just opposite the boat launch area, so the ID has been confirmed.
No pictures but just had to report....we've just gone for an evening walk and watched 15 or 16 swans come flying in, landing out just off of the estuary. Hopefully they will still be there in the morning so I can get some pictures.
Took advantage of the first dry day in what seems like forever, to check out a few spots...
started the day like we do everyday, with a walk down to the boat launch...had to have been over a hundred Canada Geese down there.
a few Bald Eagles out there. I'd guesstimate about 30 all told.
We then decided to drive up to the Weaver Creek Spawning channel.....
very quiet. Some Salmon but numbers are pretty sad and what was really shocking was the lack of birds...usually there are lots of gull here....
today there were 2....this being one of them. Not sure what type as it has a light eye and a strange black mark on the bill.
There weren't even any in the....
natural area of the river that leads to the site.
There were a few...
Common Merganser in the creek that runs alongside the hatchery grounds.
Next stop was the hatchery....not the hatchery itself, which has expanded since last time we were there,
but the walk to the river behind the hatchery...there were a few salmon....
and again, a grand total of 2 gull! Other times we have walked here at this time of year there are gulls everywhere! It was also the first time ever that we haven't seen an American Dipper at either location....or an eagle.
Home for lunch and a bit of a break and then we headed over to Harrison Bay...
quite the breeze blowing out there...water levels have crept up too....and there was a mower working on the sides of the dike, none of those factors contribute to good bird watching!
What birds there were, were concentrated close to the campground...
a good size flock of European Starling.....
this one posed for a closer look.
What is surprising is the large number of...
American Robins that continue to be in the area! There were also quite a few Junco....but, again, not a single eagle seen, not even by the nest where the local pair have been hanging about again, at least until today.
Managed a quick walk between rain showers at Harrison Bay today.
not much of anything around. The only item of note was....
the Bald Eagle pair back at the nest. Seems they have been working on it as it looks a lot more substantial now than it did the last time we checked it. While this one worked...
the other perched nearby. There was also a very vocal....
Northwestern Crow nearby.
On the water only saw a trio of Mallard and a couple of loons way out plus a handful of gulls including this one...
not sure what it is...possibly a Western Glaucous Wing hybrid? not sure.
Due to both the weather forecast predicting rain moving in, and the fact had a lot of chores to do in town, we walked over to the park earlier than we normally do....
could tell there were a lot more birds out there today than there had been....
this young one was perched on the broken off piling....
Could see some were perched in various trees along the foreshore as well...
then at the log bay there was a lot of activity. The number of gulls has been surprising low compared to other years, but this Glaucous-wing was busy sharing with the eagles.
that log out there was the site of a lot of activity...notice the Canada Geese way out there.
there are also lots of ducks out there...these were just a few that took flight when an eagle spooked them.
this guy posed nicely the whole time we, and several other morning dog walkers were there.
Yesterday was a beautiful day, but not a lot to be seen...
this gull, which I think is a Glaucous-wing/Western hybrid, was at the log bay...
and the little family of young Hooded Merganser were just off the grasslands, but that was about it.
Today was a cloudy gray day....but for the first time this year, you could hear...
Bald Eagle activity out on the flats.
here is another view, this one showing lots of Mallard in the foreground as well.
Back to the park....
see that lovely young Cottonwood tree to the right in this picture, which is taken from the viewing platform....
well it is going to be a miracle if it is still standing after this winter....Beaver have obviously been at work!
the path itself was quite busy with American Robins, Spotted Towhee and Song Sparrows.
Showers, and very quiet at the log bay except for....
a male Hairy Woodpecker on the post in the corner. Twice an eagle flew past, so close you could hear the wings, but neither stayed around.
The last couple of days have been beautiful and sunny....
chilly though, with frost both mornings.
Yesterday....
we walked over at Harrison Bay where there was a real brisk wind blowing down the river, consequently, not much of anything to be seen although we did notice a fair number of robins still, although no where near the numbers that had been there the day before.
Not a single eagle to be seen or heard.
Today we stayed here at the estuary....
there were a number of Salmon right in the log bay...
here are just a couple of them. Nice to see the numbers slowly climbing, but as for eagles, a grand total of two were seen and that was after watching for close to an hour.
In fact it was very quiet for birds today...
this Spotted Towhee cooperated for a picture but that was about it.
There were a number of heron flying about and probably a hundred & fifty geese, but they were way out. A few Mallard and Hooded Merganser were in close. Nice to see the ducks showing up again. Am wondering when the first Swans might arrive with the crazy weather wouldn't be surprised if they were here a little earlier than normal.
saw this Meadowhawk on our way home....and that was about it.
