Jerry and Wanda Bring the Sunshine to River Song

 Jerry and Wanda, our special neighbors from Carlsbad, came to town for five days.  We had a therapeutic load of laughs, food, and drink.  They were even kind enough to bring some sunshine with them!  Below are some pics of us doing some of our favorite activities, plus some bonus pics from the last two days.

We took a jaunt down to the Haceta Head Lighthouse where Jerry spotted a big fin in the water.  It turned out to be a gray whale flipper.  We watched from above as it fed just offshore.

Next stop was a walk at Ocean Beach with a minus tide.

Wanda giving our baboon some love.

Jerry, aping the baboon, gets in the picture.

Gail made a delicious salmon quiche using the Buteau method known as "quiche cuite sans plat"

We had a very pleasant afternoon lounging on the lower deck.

Bonus Shots

The clematis vine outside our bedroom is having a good year.

Wednesday, we did the 8 mile Cummins Creek/Gwynn Creek loop.  This tree recently fell across the trail.  Its fall would have been something to behold!

Duck Success!

 The Hooded Merganser, April, and her ducklings have left the nest.  When I checked the trail cam last night, I saw no activity for the 18th, but a whole series of shots were taken on the 17th that had nothing on them.  The shots on the 17th were mostly at mid day, and I think the little ducklings were coming out of the entry hole and falling faster than the camera could catch them.  After seeing no activity on the cam today, the 19th, I decided to take a look in the nest box.  All the ducklings and April were gone, and there were no dead ducklings.  The egg shells were broken into small fragments, so I couldn't estimate how many eggs were laid.  There were some down feathers present.

April on Monday the 16th.

The nest today, Thursday the 19th.

There are fewer and fewer old trees and snags with cavities available for cavity nesting ducks.  Installing duck boxes can make up for some of this loss.  I have moved both my trail cams to the edge of the river, one upstream from the duck box, and one downstream.  It would be very cool to get a video of the new family!

Sarah Comes to Yachats

 My sister Sarah, who lives in Anchorage, Alaska, came to visit us the past 5 days.  She stayed in the luxurious Overleaf Lodge in a top floor suite perched over the stormy ocean washing over the rocks below.  We spent the days together here at River Song, and two evenings with Lorie and Brian.

We are having record setting rains this spring, with 9.69 inches of rain so far in May.  The outlook is for continued wet and cool weather through the end of June.  The garden may not be so great this year if things don't warm up.

Gail loves to host tea parties for our infrequent guests.  Sarah gets the full treatment!

On Wednesday evening, we had dinner up at Lorie's and Brian's home overlooking the Yaquina Bay in Newport.

Sarah and Daisy hitting it off.

Sarah and Gail at the stone shelter at the top of Cape Perpetua.

It was a very relaxing visit with short strolls around the property, long conversations, and just plain goofing around.

Hopefully, I will have a few more photos to share when I get them from Sarah and Gail.

Duck Nest Box Has A Taker

 Our duck box finally has an occupant. On April 25, I was about to weedwhack near the box, but thought I should make sure there weren't signs of a bird nesting in it.  While I was sniffing around it, to my surprise, a Hooded Merganser flew out the entry hole about a foot from face.  I was initially afraid that if she was still in  the process of laying eggs, she might not come back.  That night I set up a trail cam to see if she was continuing to use the box.  Sure enough, she has been coming and going several times a day ever since.  We call her "April".  She is usually so fast coming and going that the camera misses her, or I just get a blur.  A few times I've been lucky, though.  Below are a couple shots that came out pretty good.

"April", on April 30th, going out for food.

Today, May 4th, April coming in.

Hooded Mergansers lay a clutch of 5-13 eggs, which take about 33 days to incubate.  They all hatch within a few hours of each other and the chicks all leave within 24 hours of hatching.  They climb out of the box as the mother calls to them.  She will stay with them for about 70 days.  

It would be awesome to see her with her ducklings swimming on the river!