Male long-tailed duck.

Another absolutely cloudless morning. In fact, the sunlight angling across the bay began to warm things quickly—from about 14 degrees (F) first thing to a bit above freezing in afternoon. Filling the air were the voices of the crows that flapped across the road, stalked the neighbor’s driveway, perched for a moment in the leafless lilacs. The sky remained a perfect blue all day.

Bonaparte's gull.

From the deck, I watched a herring gull hurrying north as if late for an appointment. On a trip to town, I saw ring-billed gulls and rock doves and exactly seven starlings in a tree. The day remained calm, the air seemed warm. On the way back to the office, I decided to walk the breakwater.

Tide headed out. Mallards in the shallows. A few humans walking the great granite stones. Right away I spotted common goldeneyes and a loon. From somewhere came the chuckling yodels of long-tailed ducks. Then I heard a faint high-pitched whistling in the direction of the islands—a sound I soon recognized as the voice of a guillemot. Through my long lens I spotted three of them; one had something to say.

Harbor seal.

Herring gulls dropped urchins on the flat stone surfaces, as usual. I saw a great cormorant and a red-breasted merganser on the wing. Twice I caught sight of the flight of bonaparte’s gulls. On the return trip, a pair of long-tailed ducks came near. And sunning themselves on small tidal rocks offshore were three harbor seals.

I write this at night. In the still clear air just a minute ago, the stars of Orion and Sirius seemed as bright as they’ve ever been.

Today’s List

1. American crow
2. Herring gull
3. Ring-billed gull
4. European starling
5. Mallard
6. Common goldeneye
7. Common loon
8. Long-tailed duck
9. Black guillemot
10. Common eider
11. Bonaparte’s gull
12. Black duck
13. Red-breasted merganser
14. Great cormorant

Herring gull with urchin.