June 14, 2009
Tillie S: Owl watching. Found a Barred Owl (dark eyes) and a Great Horned Owl (yellow eyes). At different times, Robins, Townsend's Warblers, and hummingbirds were mobbing them.
June 15, 2009
Julie L: Blooming in the garden: Yellow flag iris (which is a Class C noxious weed. Recommended replacements are Japanese or Laevigata iris), a red lupine, Turkish poppy, Oriental poppy, California poppy, garden sage, feverfew, peony, rose, Johnny jump-up. Strawberries and salmonberries are ripe, pie cherries are yellow.
Midday walk to Hammond from Severson Bay, with a cloudless sky. A few robins hopping along the wrack line, a Great Blue Heron in the shallows, a Bald Eagle sitting on the rock at Hammond. Very few other birds, no marine mammals visible.
David L: Salmon and juvenile herring remain at the dock in big schools. The big seep at the foot of the bluff at the entrance to the dock is completely dry, which I've never seen before. Where are the swallows under the dock getting their water? Are there still the same number of swallows?
A couple of people have found Sand Lances buried on the north beaches, one very recently, and one a few weeks ago.
Midday walk to Hammond from Severson Bay, with a cloudless sky. A few robins hopping along the wrack line, a Great Blue Heron in the shallows, a Bald Eagle sitting on the rock at Hammond. Very few other birds, no marine mammals visible.
David L: Salmon and juvenile herring remain at the dock in big schools. The big seep at the foot of the bluff at the entrance to the dock is completely dry, which I've never seen before. Where are the swallows under the dock getting their water? Are there still the same number of swallows?
A couple of people have found Sand Lances buried on the north beaches, one very recently, and one a few weeks ago.
June 19, 2009
Julie L: A female elephant seal has been hauled out at Smallpox Bay on San Juan Island for a few days. By today, it is obvious that she is molting, a process that will take several weeks. A team of volunteers is taking shifts to keep people away so that she doesn't become too habituated to humans, though this is difficult as she's been exploring the access roads, the kayaks, and generally everything she can get to.
June 30, 2009
Glen R: I frequently see juvenile salmon on the beach down on the beach directly down from Rebecca's yurt, and sometimes at Point Hammond. This week I saw about 5,000 juvenile salmon swim by at Point Hammond, within 20 feet of shore as I watched them from above with binoculars for 20 minutes.