In a busy chore-laden day yesterday, I managed to pull off a nice, yet brief, nature prowl here in Port Townsend. First stop was the pier at Fort Worden, where I arrived just as the rain started. Pretty quiet bird-wise, and the raindrops were messing with my usual fish-watching, so I left.
"Time and tide wait for no man", someone once said. Maybe women have better luck. I guess the gist of this quote is that you'd better pay attention to the moment - things are happening that you might miss while you're sitting around on your couch reading poetry. Well, prairie flowers don't wait either - they have things to do!
That's why I stopped off at Kah Tai Prairie once again, to see what was happening. I'm glad I did. Two springs ago, I had missed a really cool little flower out there - Geum triflorum - and last year just saw the last of 'em, mostly their really cool feathery seed heads ( the plant AKA Prairie Smoke, a good name). Yesterday I found a bunch of the showy pink little things freshly blooming - very nice.
On 3/20 I noted the first Camas coming up, and yesterday saw more barely showing - soon the prairie will be blue with Camas. Also noted the first white Cerastium, and the newly emerging Chocolate Lilies. The bright yellow Lomatiums continue to expand, but the Olsyniums (Blue-eyed Grass) are passing their prime already.
I was keeping my ears and eyes peeled for the nesting Killdeer out here, but no luck. A few White-crowned Sparrows were singing a bit in the light rain. A flicker called, and a few Crows. Then I noted a bunch of Robins singing. In the instruction manual on "how to activate your Robin", you might note that detail "to get your Robin to sing, just add water". It seems to work - Robins singing in the rain.
I did notice that there were Robins singing in the foreground, and then a larger background sound of Robins, and soon those birds, about 100 or so, flew into the nearby golf course poplars. All those Robins toodling at once was quite the deal - none really belting it out like they do on territory in May, but quite the sound scene anyway. I guess all those Robins haven't quite got to wherever they're going yet. It is only March.
Jeff Gibsonon the prairiePort Townsend Wa