Life on the Outer Coast

Monday, September 3
Another great day to climb a mountain, but since that wasn't going to happen, decided that kayaking was a good substitute. Definately not as botanically interesting, but enjoyable.
Paddled to Bamdoroshni island to pick up Jeanne (she and Jeff took the double) and proceeded around the airport. Saw three phalaropes, several murres, rhinoceros auklets, marbled murrelets, cormorants, mew, glaucous winged and bonapartes gulls on the water and 2 canada geese flying over (saw one at the park last week). A few turnstones were near the gazebo.
Had a seal swim along with me for a few minutes and some curious sea lions.
The skin on the new kayak (may be named phalarope) is so thin that it almost tickles when I paddle over kelp.

Planted some of the seeds I had collected last week. I surface sowed Hiericium triste, Lupine, Dodecatheon pulchellum, and Anemone on a mixture of purchased sphagnum peat and beach sand. I sprinkled a very small amount of the mixture over the top, watered, and covered the flats with the plastic covers I scrounged from the house off Etolin. For now I'll keep the trays in the greenhouse, later I'll dig them into the vegetable beds.
Spent some time cleaning the Mountain Ash seed I collected from Marge's house. Popping the seeds is rather labor intensive. I'm considering treating half the seed with HCl before planting them. There intended sowing site is an empty bed in the vegetable garden where they won't be disturbed. Cold stratification is mentioned in Krukebergs book, but it seems that a little acid wouldn't hurt.

Lincoln's sparrow, ruby-crowned kinglet, yellow warblers in addition to the ususal robins, varied thrushes, juncos, and chickadees in the garden.

Wednesday:
wandered out to Starrigavan in the morning to look for the stilt sandpiper. No luck, did find turnstones and surfbirds. Attempted to conjure a stilt out of the crowd of shorebirds (even got Marge and Tedin out of their car again), but alas wanting to see isn't seeing. It was raining rather hard...
I've also been looking for petrels the last few days on my commute since the weather has been windy & rainy. None yet