Searching for swans.....

November 1, 2015 the first swans of the season were seen here at the estuary....so today, being the 1st of 2016, went out in search of swans......didn't find any swans, although they have been showing up in the valley the last few days, in fact saw 6 adults on the Deroche slough yesterday....

It was a beautiful morning to head out...

looked like a snowstorm out there...

with all the gulls....these are just a few of them.

Meanwhile...

there were quite a few Bald Eagles....like this trio making use of the almost dry land to feast...(a couple of Mallard in the foreground)

and this trio in one of the 'eagle trees'....

over at the log bay....

this one....

was doing some sort of vulture or bat imitation!

By the time we headed over to Harrison Bay in the afternoon...

the sunshine had disappeared and the next 'system' was moving in....

at first there didn't seem to be too much activity...spotted this Song Sparrow...but then...

heard some carry on and there was the eagle pair busy working on their nest....

while we were watchin the eagles, a peregrine falcon flew over.

Walking back...

there were a number of Northern Flicker, including this male that was working on the same tree that holds the eagle nest....

and then....

we came across another trio, this time Pacific Wren...that actually stood still long enough for a photo or two....

but most exciting....

was spotting this Western Grebe!  in fact we think there may have been more than one but jet boats rushing up and down the river tend to cause anything with a brain to dive out of their way.  This particular bird was in closer to shore....and speaking of shore...

look at the salmon!  There sure is no shortage of food!!!!