Lower and lower.....

 As the month goes on, the water levels just get lower and lower....

taken yesterday, I am standing at the very end of the boat launch at Kilby - needless to say the boat launch is closed because it is impossible to actually launch a boat.

here is a view of what should be the 'bay'.....compare this to...

to the same view taken exactly 1 year ago - of course that wasn't normal either - there seems to be no such thing as 'normal' anymore.

another abnormality this year, but in a good way, are the numbers of American Coots that continue to populate the area....easily a thousand out there...there are a couple of American Wigeon and a Mallard in this picture as well

up here at the estuary we are high and dry too....no shortage of Salmon though in the little bit of water that is here.

there is one Trumpeter Swan family that has staked out this area as home.

and the eagles are arriving....certainly no shortage of food to eat!

We've got some Killdeer hanging around....

and even a Wilson's Snipe!

Song birds have been in short supply.  Think they are here, it has just been quite windy a lot of the time so they tend to be taking shelter...

of course having this guy hanging around doesn't help - Sharp Shinned Hawks eat little birds.

so we will end with an iconic photo for this time of the year here at the estuary - a not quite adult Bald Eating eating a spawned out Chum Salmon.

Coots continue

 I guess the biggest story right now, other than the chilly weather, are all the....

American Coots that continue to be over at Harrison Bay.  With the cold outflow winds we've had, a number of them have been sheltering in close to shore.

with the cold weather, water levels are once more, way, way down.

Such an unusual year!

dead salmon line the shoreline the whole way - with nothing eating them.

there are a few Bald Eagles around, like this resident pair that were working on their nest the other day, but you'd be hard pressed to find 50 where normally, this time of the year, you could easily see 500.

the lack of eagles isn't the only unusual thing this year....we still have lots of American Robins around....

and then there was this young Trumpeter Swan all by itself on the beach the other day.  There are lots of swans way out on the bay....but this one wasn't anywhere near them.

and then there is this guy - a young Band Tail Pigeon that is hanging around our yard.  

It is a case of 'what next?'......maybe some of the Scrub Jays that have been seen not that far away?!

Sunny start to November

 We've had a sunny start to the month of November, although that isn't supposed to last.

at the estuary we the short bill gulls continue to be very active among the spawning salmon 

here is a close up of a Short billed Gull - they used to be called Mew Gulls

there are a few of these young Ring-bill gulls mixed in as well.

and it is getting pretty busy way out there....

this was Kilby beach yesterday afternoon

there were hundred's of American Coot out there yesterday, these were just a few of them.

today it was geese....

a mix of Canada and the smaller Cackling Geese.

out on the log booms, which are almost high and dry again, a Great Blue Heron

there were a few Mallard there as well.  Way off across the bay there were American Wigeon as well.

in the bushes, a male Red Northern Flicker was eating the berries of the Red Osier Dogwood

there have been quite a few American Robins as well eating not just the Osier berries, but the fruits of the Pacific Crabapples.

If the weather forecast is correct, next week is going to be pretty chilly, so maybe Varied Thrush will show up.  I've been hearing Pacific Wren but haven't managed a picture yet.

Getting busy out there

 Well it took a while but things are starting to get busy!

we finally got some rain which cleared out the smoke that had settled over the area but has done little to raise water levels...

despite that, the Chum Salmon are arriving and managing to spawn.

and with the arrival of the salmon, the Bald Eagles are showing up as well.

this was out on the flats yesterday morning...

and in close, lots of gulls are showing up, especially these Short-bill Gulls with dive in among the spawning salmon after the eggs.

over at Harrison Bay, we've never seen the water levels quite this low, 

but way out there, on what water there is, lots and lots of American Coots and American Wigeon

Mallards out there as well.

and.....the first swans of the season!

not just birds on the river either, we've been seeing quite a few Harbour Seals.

hopefully some of the rain forecast for the next week or so will raise these water levels.

It is time to get back on the job

 I just checked.  I've been neglecting this since May, time to get back to work!  Normally by this time we would be welcoming the salmon and the eagles and looking forward to the swans arriving.....but there is nothing normal about this year.  Summer arrived late and now simply will not leave.   We have had no moisture for over 2 months now and none forecast in the foreseeable future.  There are salmon out in the rivers....but the spawning areas are high and dry...

here is the log bay as of this morning (October 9, 2022)

and there is the first bay....

a few things are normal, like Great Blue Heron staking out areas....this fellow seems to have caught a catfish the other day....

and this Glaucous wing Gull seems to have found a salmon....we are hearing lots of gull activity way out along the river.

There have been no ducks at all yet....there were a few shorebirds before the water dropped even further...

Pectoral Sandpiper back on September 23rd

and Killdeer for a few days around the same time...

we even had an exciting discovery of a small flock of Horned Larks....the first time in several years...

and if you want to talk about 'exciting' - this was yesterday afternoon

small herd of Roosevelt Elk out on the estuary.  Magnificent buck and his harem.

here is a look at the bull....

here they were starting to move off towards the tree line.

So it is really hard to say how things are going to play out this fall/winter.  Only time will tell I guess.....