Temp in the 50s, mostly cloudy, occasional light rain/drizzle (the “occasions” being when we stop and get out of the truck!), wind S 10-15 mph.

Not much new birdwise today.

We added Black Oystercatcher to the trip list.

The Red Knot is still here and the Sanderling flock has increased to 11. Also, we had an immature Peregrine Falcon today.

Our one incident today happened near the Seawall. There is some old chainlink fencing here and there, often topped with barbed wire. Such exists at the south end of the Seawall. As we were parked there, Barb glanced at the nearby fencing and saw a longspur hanging from the top wire — and fluttering.

I went over and saw that it had gotten its foot caught in one of the barbed wire barbs. The fence was too high for me to reach, so Barb pulled the truck next to it and I climbed on the bed to reach it. Its foot was already mangled and bloody, but I managed to pull it out and the bird flew away.

Longspurs sure have sharp beaks!

Lapland Longspur caught in barbed wire, September 13, 2016

When we went down to Finger Creek the other day, before turning down the switchback to get to the road next to the creek, I walked over to the bluff that overlooks the creek to see if the road had cleared from the flooding of the past few days. It had, but as I looked down, I was surprised to not see salmon in the creek. This creek is usually brimming with salmon this time of year.

However, when we drove down to creekside, I could see why I had that impression. The stream was full of salmon, but unlike previous years, the water was still so high that their dorsal fins and backs were not sticking out of the water! The water has normally been so low that you see hundreds of salmon backs and fins all across the creek!

Barb photographed the Salmon eggs (roe) in the stream.

Salmon eggs, Finger Creek, September 12, 2016

I found a new mushroom today and am working on its Identification (with the assistance of Kitty LaBounty). I will post it once she IDs it.

Our triplist is 43.