Life on the Outer Coast

Yesterday the class was treated to a relatively sunny morning and reasonable birding just outside the door of Sage building. There were three rather eclipsed pintails, two black turnstones, a single mew gull and the usual glaucous-winged gulls near the outlet of the hatchery. The pintails were distinguishable by their sleek, long necks, bluish-grey bills and dabbling duck behavior.
The turnstones were working the drift, but also seemed to be feeding on a pink salmon carcass, something I hadn't noticed before.
We couldn't have had a clearer view of a mew gull. Great look at the yellow legs, size and black wingtips.
This morning at home, there are song and golden crowned sparrows, juncos, robins, varied thrush and two ruby crowned kinglets. Don't see too many of this type of kinglet in the garden.
Although the fireweed (Epilobium angustifolium) is going to seed in town, there isn't any ripe fruit in the garden.