Life on the Outer Coast

The 8 nuthatches are still visiting the feeder, they are pretty dedicated at food gathering. They go through whatever amount of food that is put out for them. Still wish I could get a reasonable recording of their chatter, but haven't managed to do so as yet. The birds are pretty tame, at least they keep eating when I'm standing right next to the feeder. Kind of odd for here but, the Juncos and Chickadees are less numerous at the feeder than the Nuthatches.

A Northern Flicker came to the feeder tree a few times over the last two weekends. Didn't land on the feeder or the rail, stayed on a branch nearby.


The Golden crowned sparrows seem to have moved on.


Seeing the Fork-tailed storm petrels most days on my commute, on the 14th they were in the channel between Japonski and town. Also on the 14th saw the first Longtails of the season in the channel.
The commute birds are starting to settle into winter mode; saw a loon with a distinctly yellow bill (I'm willing to call it a Yellow-billed loon) on Thursday and a Common loon on Friday. I noticed the first Harlequins on the rocks by the Galankin dock on Thursday and a pair of mallards on Saturday morning.
The Fork-tailed Storm petrels are around most days. I've only seen one that I thought was a Leach's. Other birds seen on the commute include: Black-legged Kittiwakes, Pelagic and Double Crested Cormorants and one Horned Grebe on the 14th.

Planted the local grown garlic plus 2 new varieties from Territorial, Belarus and Chesanok Red, over the last two weekends. It is the latest that I've planted it, so I'm crossing my fingers that it does well. Have most of the garden harvested and cleaned up, most of the harvest was rather pathetic, but what grew, tasted good. The Maria heirloom potatoes from Haines produced several knobby potatoes somewhat similar in shape to Swedish peanut.
On another catch-up sort of note, there was snow on Picnic Rock on the 6th of October.