Life on the Outer Coast

Have to make do with a feeble attempt to photograph the blueberry flowers in the garden. These flowers are the first sign (promise?) of more flowers to follow. They don't imply any promise of when the next flowers will bloom, but do give some assurance that spring and summer are coming. The salmonberries buds are fat on the island, but not showing pink yet. The other sign of spring I notice this week was the breeding patches on the Pelagic cormorants. The weather is also rather spring-like, snow, hail, and sun usually within the same hour.


Seemed suitable to acknowledge the first full day of spring by wandering up Indian River trail to check in with the dippers. It also happened to be mostly sunny, with a few light intermittant snow showers. As usual went further than I had intended or perhaps further sideways. Found one dipper on the way up the trail at the gravel bar by the boundary line clearing(?). Found both birds on the way back, not sure if both were there all along or if one was foraging in another reach. Watched one eat a fish, no luck for the other.

Crossed the river a bit lower because the other side was beckoning. It looked a sunny and mossy, so how could I resist? Found a confluence of a small creeklet, so walked up it a little ways. Distracted by an upturned root wad. Even without my glasses, I could see the Schistostega. There wasn't much, what I could see was sporophytes. There was alot of uncolonized soil and several other species (didn't do a very complete inventory, but did notice Pogonatum contortum, Bartramiopsis lescurii). I could vaguely make out the cilia on the sheath of the Bartramiopsis with a hand lens, meant to check it with something more powerful, but my extremely small collection seems to have disappeared. I still wonder if alluvial soils favor establishment of Schistostega. Back near the main river found a pool (12 x 4) with alot of salmon (by the size of the fish (up to 3-4 inches), I'm guessing some were in their second year).

Also heard/watched several flocks of redpolls, working the trees along the river, but on the ground further back in the woods. To my ignorant ear, the redpolls sound alot like siskins and I've been wondering if some of the flocks that I've heard (not seen) in the past that I've assumed were siskins were in fact redpolls.
There seems to be alot of redpolls in the area. This morning in the commons on Galankin there were between 60 and 80 redpolls mostly foraging on the ground. They would fly up as we got close, but fairly quickly went back to ground. I didn't see any siskins in the flock.

Also saw/heard Chickadees, Golden crowned kinglets and winter wrens up the river.

Earlier in the day briefly stopped by Swan lake. I'm fairly certain that there were both Lesser and Greater Scaups around. Still a little hesitant on that one. The female Ring-necked duck, 2 swans, Cackling Goose, Buffleheads, Mallards and a few gulls were also present. I was kind of amazed to see any gulls on the lake, given the activity in the channel and between town and the island.

The rocks by Breast and Turning island were covered with gulls on the way home this evening. Herring?
Commute birds: 4 Pacific loons, Harlequins, Common murre (breeding plummage), Common mergansers, Surf Scoters, Barrow's Goldeneyes, Buffleheads, Mallards, and a Heron or two.