Thursday Sept 4, 2014 Jenner CA.
I arrived at Jenner to an overcast day. The wind was mostly down, as I put my boat in the water and headed across the river and on up the south shore, working my way up the river.
Barnacles are growing in the estuary
But before I did that, I paddled under the visitor center for a bit and noticed there are some white barnacles growing on the rocks under there. The estuary water has been especially salty this summer, so the fresh water things, such as clams are dying and the salt water things are growing were they haven’t been before in quite awhile.
Headed for the musk rat area
Even though the wind was down, there was a bit of a breeze and I knew it would be calm when I got to the musk rat area.
I’m just approaching the musk rat area here.
These cormorants and mergansers also think this is a nice area and were resting on this rock.
I sat around in this area for a couple of hours.
I watched the fish trackers
The fish tracker biologists were tracking fish and doing tests on the water as I sat there.
Barnacles grow in salt water
While I was sitting there, I noticed some more of the white barnacles growing on a log by the shore line where I was sitting. More evidence of a salty estuary.
Eventually, I decided to head down towards the river’s mouth area.
Pipers here most of the summer
I passed these little pipers feeding along the shoreline. The salty estuary seems to provide more food for the shorebirds as these guys have been here in numbers most of the summer and before they were only here for a short time in the fall.
Seagulls eating crab
Some seagulls were fishing for crab and eating them along the north side of Penny island.
There were a bunch of seagulls and terns resting on the west end of Penny island as I paddled on by.
River’s mouth has been mostly the same all summer
The river’s mouth was about the same as it’s been. Harbor seals and birds where resting on the beach.
I didn’t stay down there at the mouth too long, before deciding to head on in for the day.
Turkey vultures and another realization
I spotted some turkey vultures eating some kind of bird on the shore, which looked like it might have been a cormorant. There was a black vulture with them, but now, I’m starting to think these black headed ones are just immature turkey vultures and not black vultures.
Grey seagulls are immature herring seagulls
And I’ve been mistaking these gray seagulls. They are not grey seagulls, but immature herring seagulls. I was reading up on seagulls and found that out.
This one just caught a small Dungeness crab which I thought was too big for it to eat.
But I was wrong again, it was able to swallow it. Most of the time they pull the legs and claws off and eat them first, but not his guy. Down the hatch.
I see these grey looking seagulls begging for food from the white herring seagulls and thought they were just grey seagulls begging from the white ones, but now I know better.
I went on in for the day and headed on home for a nap.
More working on the car and van
After the nap, I worked on replacing my right turn signal light bulb that burned out on me on my way to Jenner this morning. I was able to rob a bulb off my Toyota Land cruiser until I get to the store for some new ones.
After another break, I put the radiator fluid back in the van radiator and then took it easy for the rest of the day.