Crazy weather!

With 48 hours of steady rain you would think the weather couldn’t get much worse – but you would have been wrong – this morning was the darkest, rainiest, windiest stretch of weather I’ve seen in a long time….temperatures shot up to 7 degrees (centigrade) – the warmest it has been around here in probably at least 6 weeks.

But then…even as we started our walk…the rain stopped!  You can see the water levels have risen a bit – not surprising since it has even rained on the tops of the mountains…

For the second day in a row there were a number of Bald Eagles around the log bay and not a single duck in sight!

Every piling was starting to sport an eagle…most with their wings held out – drying….in fact there were more eagles out there today then I’ve seen in several weeks…I’d guesstimate at a hundred and fifty or so…

as we headed back…what is that?  blue sky!!

another eagle on a piling ~ might as well toss these pictures in because no telling how much longer the eagles will be around.

There had to be at least 50 of them soaring….

and a closer look at the ‘ray of sunshine’ – of course this picture not only demonstrates how attractive a clear cut area is (said with tongue in cheek), but shows how much snow has been washed off the surrounding mountains.  The forecast now calls for a cold front to move in…depending on how fast and how cold, things could get interesting if all this ‘wet’ freezes.

One last note – I did not see 1 single duck of any sort today! – not one.  There was a Great Blue Heron and 4 Trumpeter Swans flew down the Harrison…but no ducks.

Back in business….

OK all, we’re back in business….all it took was for me to get a bit brave…it said it could take up to 24 hrs. for everything to be back to normal once I’d paid my nominal amount…but it was working within 15 minutes…

As you see I’ve done some ‘catching up’ – as for today…well lets just say ‘yuck, yuck, yuck’ ! it’s horrible out there!

Oh yuck!

The weather today is awful!!!  The temperature has been sitting at exactly zero (centigrade) all day.  Sometimes it is snowing out – sometimes, like while we were walking – it is pouring…

The ground is covered in about an inch of slush….

everything else is coated in what ever this is….I don’t know if it is freezing rain or what…

Between the weather and some duck hunters who are hunting way too close to the road and the populated areas…there just wasn’t much out there…that flock of Red Wing Blackbirds were still at the log bay…

and there were a few Bald Eagles sitting around…

including this guy on one of the pilings.

Yellow Rump Warbler?!!!

Our stretch of clear days has come to an end.  Environment Canada has issued a snowfall warning, but haven’t seen a flake yet…

It was just kind of gray and with the increased dampness…felt chilly..

Don’t know if it is the change in the weather or the fact that everyone is back at work and school now so the birds pretty much had the place to themselves….but there was sure a lot of activity.  Must have been close to a hundred Red Wing Blackbirds…

They were everywhere!

There was even a female (lower bird) ~ usually we only see male’s during the winter as females usually migrate much further south.

There were also an abundance of Woodpeckers – saw 3 Hairy Woodpeckers and then ‘tapping’ led me to this little Downy Woodpecker… he was working away in between those two logs…unfortunately it was pretty dark in this spot so couldn’t manage a better picture – not with a dog in one hand anyway.

The big surprise though, didn’t happen until I got home.  I’d seen this little bird drop down into the bay and grab a quick drink, and I’d managed to snap this shot…but it wasn’t until I got home I realized it was a Yellow Rump Warbler!  One doesn’t really expect to see any sort of Warbler in January!

New Years Day

It is a clear, cool start to the year 2011….

not a bird in sight…

with temperatures remaining just below freezing ~ even during the day…ice is forming along the edges

the ‘first bay’ by the viewing platform is pretty much ‘water less’

A couple of adult Bald Eagles remain….a few more scattered about… 

There were a lot of Red Wing Blackbirds in this area this morning, as well as some Towhee, Song Sparrow, Varied Thrush and a couple of Fox Sparrow.  Heard a Hairy Woodpecker as well.

and the log bay, with water levels about as low as they go…there were only a few Mallard way out….

Another sunny day

Another sunny but chilly day, although temperatures did climb a few degrees above the freezing mark today.

Nothing out of the ordinary to report today apart from hearing some Chestnut-backed Chickadees this morning.  A few years ago that wouldn’t be note worthy but for the past couple of years they have been almost totally absent from the area and when they are heard they seem to stay in the natural forest rather than coming to feeders.  I guess, in a way, that is a good news story because it means there is enough natural food available for them.

Waiting

Just want to let everyone who may be checking this site….I’m just waiting for the holidays to be over…I have the possibility of another host for Kathy’s Korner …..so please don’t give up.  If the new alternative doesn’t work out, I’ll be shelling out the money to continue here.

In the meantime, since my last post, the weather has remained clear and cool, with temperatures rarely rising above freezing.  There hasn’t been any change to the water levels, they remain very low….and the birds in the area remain pretty much as they have been.  Perhaps more Varied Thrush around with this continuing cold weather and I saw a male Purple Finch this morning, the first in months.