Black Diamond NOW

Predators

Living in the northwest, we are blessed with nature's bounty.  This includes the cute and cuddly looking bunnies, squirrels and chipmunks that we so love to see, even in our yards, as well as those predators who rely on these same creatures as a staple in their diet.  I didn't think that I'd ever see bears roaming around Lake Sawyer, but so they were this year, even swimming in the lake.  Raccoons are also regular visitors and not to mess with as are river otters and beavers.  We've even seen a weasel in our yard.  But it's birds of prey that we see most often among the predators and their antics can be amazing to watch as they target their dinner of the day.

What's the most amazing bird of prey that we've see while hiking and exploring?  Not eagles and not osprey, though they are so much fun to watch, but I would have to say seeing a peregrine falcon in action was the most exciting.

We saw this peregrine eating dinner after downing it's prey along Shi Shi beach.  Never thought that we would be so close.  Did you know that peregrines are the fastest bird in flight in the world with speeds topping 200 mph.  They literally dive bomb their prey, stunning them with the force of their hits.  They are not big (about the size of a crow) but they sure pack a wallop.  

Eagles, of course, are reining kings of the sky and appear to fear nothing.  Just look at those talons.

For the best form diving, however, it's osprey that win the prize.   And look at the size of the prey they can catch.

This kokanee salmon must weigh 2 or 3 lbs.  A family of osprey take up residency here at Lake Sawyer most of the year, while bald eagles typically head north by mid July or so for summer vacation - and summer salmon runs.  Here's one at Lake Sawyer with a large catfish.  Poor picture but it does show the catfish.

Not quite as glamorous perhaps as peregrine falcons, bald eagles and osprey, we also have quite a few of what I'll call "blue collar" birds of prey of the hawk and owl families that we can see more widely in the Puget sound area.  We even get to see short eared owls in flight during daylight hours.  Very graceful and very powerful.  I wouldn't want to be a rodent with these guys around.

Rough legged hawks are somewhat smaller but fast and also in pursuit of rodents.  Even saw one of these guys hunting at Kelly Butte lookout.

American Kestrels are one of the prettier, though petite, members of the hawk family.  

Kestrel will eat anything from insects (beetles, dragonflies, spiders and butterflies), to rodents, to small birds.  Really really quick.  Too many more to include in this post.  Soooo much fun observing and photographing them all.  One thing they all seem to have in common - so graceful and so determined.

 

 

Lake Sawyer Water Quality Update - May 2019

For those not familiar with water quality testing at Lake Sawyer, in May and August of each year samples are taken to measure three key water quality indicators - Secchi disk, which measures the clarity of water at it's deepest depth, phosphorus which for Lake Sawyer is the key indicator of algae growth and nitrogen which is of lesser importance here.  All three measures are then combined into an overall Trophic State Index.

Following is a chart of phosphorus sample results in May dating back to 2006.

As you can see, samples are taken for phosphorus concentrations at three different depths - 1 meter, 8 meters and 15 meters.  No significant trend during this period either positive or negative (the lower the better).  We have data going all the way back to 1971 where we see much higher phosphorus levels than this during a period when we also had significant and regular problems with algae blooms.  Life is much better today.  We will see sample results again in August.  Because of warmer temperatures and limited flushing of the lake during summer months, we typically see significantly higher phosphorus levels in summer months, particularly at deeper depths.

Measurements taken with the Secchi disk measure water clarity.  The deeper you can see the disk in the water, the clearer and the better.  As you can see, there is a significant positive trend here.  My only concern is how much of this trend is caused by rain patterns which recently have decreased flows into the lake from both Ravensdale Creek and Rock Creek.   

A trophic state index at 40 or below is where we want to be.  The higher the overall index, this means more plant/algae growth and decreased oxygen levels - and fewer fish in the lake.  Phosphorus is a little higher so far this year and lake clarity continuing to improve.  We'll see what August data looks like.  And a reminder - data can bounce around, trends are what we are looking for.

Black Diamond Demographics - Income

How much money do people make who live in Black Diamond?  How does this compare with other communities in the state?  Well, thanks to Bill Kombol who passed along results from a recent study, we now have an answer and it may surprise you.  First, a couple more data points.  The study was conducted in 2017 and ranks the Wealthiest Zip Codes in the Puget Sound Region measured by Median Household Income.  In all, there are 715 zip codes in Washington State and one might expect that the vast majority, if not all of those are located in the Puget Sound Region.  A few wheat farming zip codes in eastern Washington may represent a few outliers, but if you are in the top 10 or even top 100 in the Puget Sound Region, you are more than likely to be in the top 12 or top 120 statewide.

The first surprise from this study was that Black Diamond had the Highest Median Household Income growth, year over year at 23.1%.  Wow, somebody got some extraordinary bonuses or windfall profits from something.  Anybody willing to share with the rest of us?

The second surprise is that overall, Black Diamond ranked 44th among all zip codes with median household incomes exceeding $90,000.  Not exactly Medina but ours is an affluent community to be sure.

Thanks Bill for passing along this interesting data.

Backpacking? Bring Your Bear Canister!

Planning to do some overnight back packing and camping in the mountains this summer?  There are black bears with young cubs in the cascades and even a few grizzly bears in North Cascades National Park.  Bring your ten essentials and add an eleventh - bear canisters to safely store your food and not attract unwanted visitors.  The following photo in Mt. Rainier National Park, with Pinnacle Peak in the background, was taken several decades ago but bears do seem to be as common today as they were in the past, if not more so.

Image courtesy White River Valley Museum, PO-00660, n.d.

Following is a quote from our National Parks: "Proper food storage is essential and required (by law) for the health and safety of humans and animals in North Cascades National Park Complex. Many bears (black bears, but including the occasional grizzly bear) make their home in the North Cascades, and sightings are not uncommon. Bears are opportunistic, omnivorous eaters who will take advantage of easily available food sources, particularly in the fall when they are fattening up for the winter." 

When you stop by the Park Service at Mt. Rainier, North Cascades or Olympic National Park for your backcountry permit, be sure to bring you bear canister.  Hard sided canisters are now required at a number of sites depending on where you are hiking (though they do have a few canisters to lend for use and return for those who forget or were unaware).  You must be able to hang your food out of reach at all back country sites.

With recent reports and sightings of a mother bear and cub here at Lake Sawyer and elsewhere around the community, including one swimming across the lake, keeping food in the house makes sense everywhere in our community too.

 

Lake Sawyer Fishing - Looking Good

Judging from all the boats on the lake this weekend, fishing at Lake Sawyer is pretty good right now.  It may not be quite as good as it was in days past, but that would be tough to beat.

Photo courtesy Tacoma Public Library, Fleming-269, circa 1905

This one was definitely worth being on a postcard!

Black Diamond - 1936 to 2017

What has been happening in Black Diamond looking back over the period 1936 to 2017?  What did our community look like then and how does that compare with the here and now?  King County's iMap Interactive Mapping Tool provides some great points of comparative reference.  Following is an aerial image taken in 1936 spanning from 288th Street in the north to Jones Lake in the south and Lake 12 to the east and Horseshoe Lake to the west.  Not all of this area is within current city limits but the map provides a reasonable framework for visualizing what changes have occurred in our community over the years.  Here's what an aerial view of our community looked like in 1936.

Adding a few photos of well known locations from this time period, 1936 looks like this:

The Lawson coal mine closed in 1910 following the explosion that killed 11 miners and the Black Diamond mines were on their last legs, if not closed, by 1930.  The railroad depot closed in 1925 for passenger service but rail service continued for hauling coal until about 1931.  The mid 1930's and the great depression served to end what I'll call the "resort" era at Lake 12 and Lake Sawyer, but what an era it was. You could even rent bathing suits back then. The Lake Sawyer Mill Company sawmill and logging operations closed the doors in 1934.  Click on the above picture to enlarge and get a better view of these photos and their locations.

Fast forward to 1998 and as one might expect over 60 years, a whole lot of change occurred during this period.

Mining came back to town with Palmer Coking Coal's aggregate mining operation, the Reserve Silica mining operation of silica sand (now closed and in process of reclamation) and of course the John Henry No. 1 Mine which ceased operations in 1999.

Dredging of area lakes seemed to be the order of the day, particularly at Lake Sawyer, with significant parts of the lake dredged to make it more "development friendly".  But the big news was all of the residential development that occurred in our community beginning in the 1950's. The Lake Sawyer area alone added over 600 residential lots as the Neukirchen family (owners of the Lake Sawyer Mill Co.) and other land owners subdivided their land into residential lots.  Our cabin/home was built was built in 1954.  Significant waterfront areas surrounding Lake 12 and Horseshoe Lake were also developed during this period.  In addition, with the development of Morgan Creek, Lawson Hills Estates, Eagle Creek and Diamond Glen, historic Black Diamond also saw significant residential growth.

In 1975, the Black Diamond School District was dissolved and absorbed into the Enumclaw School District.  Grade school age children went to school in Black Diamond with middle school and high school students bussed to Enumclaw (as it is today).  Sawyer Woods Elementary (part of the Kent School District) was built to support the residential growth on the west side of Lake Sawyer, followed by Kentlake High School, which opened in September 1997.

By 2007, King County aerial photographs were now in color.

By 2007, new schools had attracted more residential development in the designated King County urban growth area west of Lake Sawyer.  In this case, land use regulations intended to protect land from development in unincorporated King County didn't quite work.  Lots of homes were built.  The John Henry No. 1 Mine ceased operating in 1999.  No mine reclamation occurred during the 2000 - 2017 period and we can see a big deep lake and spoils piles now on the site.   A significant area of timberlands in the Lake Sawyer watershed were also clear cut during this period.

A decade later in 2017, we can see the beginnings of the 10 Trails Master Planned Development.

Important parts of Black Diamond's history remain with some freshened faces.  Still a wonderful view of Mt. Rainier from the Black Diamond Bakery.  The old railroad station has been remodeled and "reclaimed" into a top notch History Museum befitting our community's coal mining history.  What a great new coal miner statue. Even the historic cemetery received a freshening.  Wonderful library and a brand spanking new elementary school.  Trails for mountain bikers and hikers abound and so do the views from Lake Sawyer.  Fortunately, our community's gift of wonderful wildlife remains including those cute otters, elite osprey fishermen and kings of the sky bald eagles.  4th of July traditions with Uncle Sam at Lake Sawyer and Labor Day festivities also remain.  

It will be interesting to see what this map looks like in 2027.  Fortunately, we have some important measures now in place that hold real promise for our future.  For one, new parks and natural areas are strategically located to protect the Ravensdale Creek sub-watershed and Lake Sawyer water quality.

Forest lands previously logged have recently been acquired by King County and add even more buffer protection.  Much to be thankful for and much to look forward to, including plenty of challenges too.  From where I sit, though, my glass is well over half full.

 

Lake Sawyer Circa 1936

It's seldom that we have an opportunity to see aerial images of our communities as they were dating all the way back to 1936.  Thanks to King County's Interactive Mapping Tool, iMap for short, we get to see what our entire community looked like as it was then and now, with the latest aerial photos taken in 2017.  That's nearly 80 years of our history.  What did Lake Sawyer look like back then and compared to now?  

Here's what Lake Sawyer looked like in 1936.  I've taken the liberty of including images of 4 our lake's iconic sites of the time, including the Lake Sawyer Mill to the northwest, the log dump near the islands on the west side, the Grove resort just south of the islands and Lake Sawyer Paradise resort at the far southwest end of the lake next to what is now Lake Sawyer Regional Park.

There was no dredging in what is often referred to today as the Boot or Cove in the northwest corner, Frog Pond as it was known at the time was dry much of the year, there was no outlet weir and there sure weren't many homes.  The Lake Sawyer Mill company operated until 1937 and we can see how large of a footprint in the northeast part of the lake that it had at the time.  A log dump can also be seen up there too.

Fast forward to 2017 and as expected we can see that a whole lot has changed since 1936 - mostly homes and dredging both north and south.  I should add photos of all the paddleboarders and wakeboarders to this one.

Each time I look at comparisons such as the one above, I find more and more surprises.  For example, the amount of growth to the west of the lake in unincorporated King County and Covington is far greater than I ever thought.  Other obvious changes too as we look south.  Will share more historical images and comparisons in future posts.

Friends of Lake Sawyer - On Vacation or Moving Away?

In the nearly 40 years that we have lived at Lake Sawyer, we could always count on visits from lots of regular friends.  Though I expect that they are still around, it's been awhile since we have seen a few of them.  Maybe I should put up some MOST WANTED posters.  First on my MOST WANTED list are the family of river otters that seemed to visit so regularly during fall and winter months.  They are so fun to watch and a great indicator of healthy water quality.  But, it's been a few years since we have seen them making the rounds.

At one time we had kokanee spawning in Ravensdale Creek - a  fisherman's delight to be sure for both man and otter but kokanee haven't been seen here for 20 years or more and are no longer planted in the lake.  But, trout and bass fishing do seem to be reasonably good, judging from all the cormorants, osprey and fishing boats we regularly see.  So let's hope that our otter friends are just vacationing elsewhere for a little while, letting osprey guard their territory.

A couple of winters ago, a storm wreaked havoc with the eagles nest at the south end of Lake Sawyer next to Frog Lake.  Alas, too much damage done and the eagles haven't been seen nesting here since then.  Though we do still occasionally see them patrolling around the lake, it sure would be great if we could find where they might be nesting now.  Close I hope.

Here's a view of a 3 or 4 month old eaglet taking some practice flights between branches, about ready to leave the nest.  Where else have you seen this before and within walking distance of your home?

Next on my MOST WANTED list are the winter Coho salmon that have historically spawned up Ravensdale Creek.  Four or five years ago, Judy and I were able to find them spawning near the "slatted" bridge.  Quite the spectacle to witness.

The good news - a substantially modernized salmon hatchery downstream at Big Soos Creek is now nearly completed.  Let's hope that increasing water temperatures and more development along Covington Creek don't ruin this important habitat.

So, if you spot any of these "friends" on our MOST WANTED list, please let me know.  It's very important that we keep the welcome mat out - through our actions to protect lake water quality and to maintain the vital wildlife habitat that we now have.

With the old Black Diamond sewer plant no longer discharging into the lake beginning about 1991, with the John Henry No. 1 mine shut down beginning in 1999 and now we have an "anti-degradation" phosphorus discharge limit in place and enforceable with the MPD developer, we have a good shot at protecting the lake.  But, it will take the continued work and vigilance of us all to make that happen. We do have challenges ahead.

John Henry Mine Update April 8, 2019

Update April 8, 2019

Today, I received an update from Gerald Shervey, Industrial Unit Supervisor with Washington State Department of Ecology, regarding schedule for release of a new NPDES permit for the John Henry Mine.  Their current target time frame for having a new draft permit available for public review and input is May.  That's pretty soon.  Good News!

Update April 3, 2019

Last week, the Voice of the Valley published a Public Notice of Pacific Coast Coal Company's (PCCC) planned Blasting Schedule for reopening the John Henry No. 1 Coal Mine here in Black Diamond.  This was a surprise to many of us who having been following mine events, since we were expecting to have an opportunity to provide public input regarding a new NPDES permit that was to be drafted by the Washington State Department of Ecology (DOE).  As a reminder, here is the mine site as it currently sits with spoils piles and surface water monitoring locations shown.  

The area at the bottom left is within Black Diamond city limits and the remainder within King County.  Total site area is 480 acres.  Confused as to what is happening, I contacted Glenn Waugh with the Office of Surface Mining (OSMRE).  OSMRE is the federal agency who issues both the Blasting Permit and Mining Permit.  He explained that the Blasting Permit is required when mining resumes.  In addition to forewarning people of the noise, it provides those homeowners within a certain distance of the mine's blasting operations to have their sites surveyed and documented in the event later cracks or crevices in the ground appear as a result of blasting operations. Each of these homeowners received a letter of notification directly addressed to them.

As to why a Blasting Permit is proceeding ahead with no NPDES permit yet issued by DOE, he explained that the NPDES permit issued for the mine dating back to 2013 remains valid today and until such time as a new permit is issued.  This is Washington State law, not federal law, and is confirmed by a letter from DOE to PCCC dated May 16, 2018.   So, once PCCC received final approval from OSMRE to proceed with mining, which they now have, they can operate under the old NPDES permit until such time as a new NPDES permit was forthcoming from DOE.  

I then contacted DOE, but have yet to hear back.  Will keep you apprised as I learn more.

Lake Sawyer Grove Circa 1930

The "resort season" will soon be here.  Have you been to the Lake Sawyer Grove lately?  Guaranteed to have a wonderful time.

Image courtesy Washington State Historical Society, 2002.56.2, circa 1930

The Grove was one of two resorts at Lake Sawyer in the 1920's and 1930's and is currently home to Rebecca and Ron Olness.  

Photo from my personal collection, taken by Asahel Curtis, June 1925

About time to get those paddle boards out.

A Walk in the Park - March Update

Though Judy and i experienced snow week one in February, we missed the 3 or so snow weeks since then until returning last weekend.  My oh my, what an impact recent snows have wrought on Lake Sawyer Park.  In February, I heard redwing blackbirds chirping away and beginning to nest at Frog Lake.  Trees and trails were in great shape, even after the first snow.  It's a whole different story today.  Trees and limbs are down everywhere.  Though city staff has cleared the trail allowing access from the parking lot to the lake, other trails that we regularly use are virtually impassable.  Forget trying to hike around Frog Lake or along the trail paralleling Ravensdale Creek.  I almost got lost today, trying to forge my way through.  Dozens and dozens of trees down and branches strewn everywhere.  And for now, at least, forget trying to listen for redwing blackbirds.  They apparently got smart and headed south for a while looking for warmer climes.  Only the hard core stayed, led by the army of coots that I would just as soon see heading north.  And of course, those noisy and hardy Steller's Jays continue to make their presence known with their screeching voices.

Other than a couple of Buffleheads, a pair of Mergansers, several year round resident grebes, a few solitary bachelor ducks and some red robins, there wasn't much to see today as the sun began to shine.

Thanks to city staff for keeping the park accessible. 

Cleanup is going to take a while.

 

Snowbirds

A combination of people and warmer winter climate seem to have resulted in more wild birds wintering over in the northwest rather than migrate further south.  When we do have a period of winter weather, it's interesting to see how these birds cope in the snow.  Following are a few pictures of our feathered friends dealing with the snow and cold of early February.

The colors of this male House Finch really stand out in contrast to the snow.  They also look a little larger than normal as they puff out their chest to help protect from the cold.  

I can't remember seeing so many Varied Thrushes like the one above hopping across our deck.  Following is one in flight.

Robins really stand out in the snow too and boy do they puff out their chest.

The "thugs" of this winter, and very noisy ones too, have been the Stellar Jays and Northern Flickers.  This flicker should be arrested for attempted "breaking and entering".

We did find a couple of casualties in the aftermath.  One was a humming bird, though I'm not sure why since we kept them supplied with unfrozen sugar water, and a Towhee. Here's one of the towhees that stayed close to the bird feeders.

Gotta love the Chickadees.  

Hopefully, it's time to say "until next year".

Snow Hike to the Slatted Bridge

Another local hike that you can take in most any weather condition is the trail from Lake Sawyer Park along the west side of Ravensdale Creek to what I call the "slatted bridge".  Measured from the parking lot to the bridge, it's about a 4 mile round trip through second growth forests on easy trail that provide some nicest views of the creek as it meanders it's way to Lake Sawyer.  Cross the bridge to the east side and follow the trails further north all the way to 288th and circle back around to the west side of the creek and you can another mile or two.

These are trails first established and maintained by a community of mountain bikers that provide some of the best mountain biking in King County.  I call it the slatted bridge because of the type of bridge shown above.  It's not the smoothest ride across but it sure is sturdy.  This is also a location where we have seen coho salmon spawning in the past.  The above view is looking east.  On this day, we even found some color.

Berries from weed holly trees stand out in the snow.  Other areas along the creek that can look a bit drab in the winter, really dress up in the snow.

It doesn't take a lot of sun to brighten the day.

What a winter wonderland we have here.

Snow Buddies

One might think that snow and cold weather would bring levels of outdoor activity to a halt.  Nope, it's been quite the opposite.  We've had visitors stop by that we haven't seen in some time knocking on our door.  Regulars take us a bit for granted, like our hummingbird friends who stare at us through the window if we are late in thawing the sugar water in their feeders.  Or the tribe of Dark-eyed Juncos who invited all their friends over.  I must say, they are fun to watch as the snow falls.  They stay so "puffed up" in the snow.

I still haven't been able to figure out which Juncos are females and which are males, though love is certainly now in the air.  They also invited their friends the Towies over for lunch.

The Wigeon family have been the biggest party crashers and made themselves at home in our yard and under our deck.  We haven't seen them all year.

Two females scouting the territory, followed by the boys.

The army of Coots stayed in the water (only about 100 or so of them), which is just fine by me.  Mallards, of course, acted as if they owned the place, waddling along right up on our deck.  We never feed them, but they sure looked like they expected a hand-out.

Mallards are truly the "Rodney Dangerfield" of the duck family but they really are a pretty bird.

And, of course, the squirrel family joined the party, cleaning up after the others.

Quite a menagerie on a snowy day.

Time to go for a hike in the snow.  Enjoy!

A Walk in the Park

What to do on snow days?  Stay close to home and if you live in Black Diamond, take a walk in Lake Sawyer Park.  After the snow falls, we often have clear skies and bright sun, creating a fantasy land, like this sunset at Ravensdale Creek.

Or, you might like it better in the morning.

Fortunately, city staff was quick to clear the park access road and only a few inches of snow fell, making it easy going on the trails.  It's an excellent opportunity to catch some sunbursts as the sun shines through the trees.

See if you can find some hoarfrost close to the lake.  With cold temperatures and high moisture levels in the air from fog rising on the lake, you can often find fields of hoarfrost, some even growing on the snow.

We found it everywhere.  If you have a micro lens for your camera (I don't), you can get some really neat shots of individual snow flakes.  I used my 300 mm long lens to capture this closeup while standing a long ways away.  Always looking for interesting shapes and lighting, like this view of Ravensdale Creek looking upstream.

And downstream.

A tip if you like to take pictures.  You will find Ravensdale Creek to be a great spot for sunset photos over the next couple of months.  Soon the sun will be setting right down the chute.  It's still setting a few degrees south as you saw from the first photo, but it should be even better in a week or so.  Usually, lots of color even now.

Are we all fortunate to live in the northwest or what?

Making Videos With Timelapse Photos

Our son Craig is a wonderful photographer (you can find his work online at Craig Goodwin Photography).  Concerned about what I was going to do with myself in retirement, he and our daughter Hillary ganged up on me and along with Judy encouraged me to take up photography.  Hillary bought me a camera and Craig patiently began showing me the ropes of how to take pictures.  Needless to say, I became hooked and regularly look to Craig for both inspiration and knowledge.  I'm also his occasional "intern" at Art Shows.  So, when Craig begins experimentation with one photographic technique or another, it inspires me to learn more too.  Recently, he began doing some really neat time-lapse photography so I began playing around with sunrises here at Lake Sawyer and see what I could learn.  I did some time-lapse photography with night shots under the stars in the past, but that was really quite a bit easier than doing either sunrise or sunsets because of the dramatic changes in lighting that occur as the sun rises or sets.  For example, as the sun begins to rise, I might have to use a shutter speed as long as 20 seconds or more to capture an early image and then by the time the sun rises, I might have to speed it up to 1/250th of a second or faster and balance all this change with appropriate aperture and ISO settings over about an hour's period of time..  

Choosing where to do time-lapse photography is a critical starting point for success and in this, living here on Lake Sawyer, I am blessed with an ideal location without having to pack up and head out any time I want to give it a go.  This is also the perfect time of year for capturing colorful sunrise images - and foggy ones too.  Gosh, I wonder what it looks like as the fog rises during sunrise.  So, I set out to see what I could learn.  

Far from being a static environment, I learned that a foggy morning had a whole lot going on as the following 350 image time-lapse video will attest.

 

Having fog as the central image theme made it a little easier to photograph since camera setting changes during the transition from a 30 second exposure to 1/400th of a second were muted by the fog, making these changes look more natural.  And I learned what it looks like as the fog lifts.

The next one was a lot tougher.  The sunrise on January 30 was a knock-out.  There was both a lot going on and many lighting and color changes to blend together.  This one is still a work in process as I try to see how I can make it smoother with fewer flashes during setting changes.  But, what a sunrise it was.

Each day is so very different.  Following is a sunrise time-lapse taken on Jan. 26, 2019, my first try here at the lake.

 

The variety of colors and clouds and settings I see each morning make truth to the saying "it's a new day".

One more, this one taken on the 31st.  

 

Lot's of fun and a lot easier for me to set up now.  Much more to learn and having fun.

Lake Sawyer Water Temperatures

It sure seems like it's been a warm and dry January.  One indicator for me has been that I've been able to be out on the lake in our kayak at least a half dozen times so far this year.  I can't remember ever being out in January before.  Maybe it's all that tough old horsehide we grow for skin as we age, protecting us from the cold?  Curious, I checked the Lake Sawyer Weather website and sure enough, weather has been mild this January to say the least.  As of January 31, Lake Sawyer water temperature measured 48 degrees F at one meter below the surface.  That's certainly warm for this time of year.  I think we can forget ice skating around the lake again this year.  Here's the latest lake water temperature chart.

Although Bob Edelman, who maintains this website, doesn't have historical water temperature data readily available, he does provide historical annual rainfall data and historical ambient temperature data on a daily, weekly, monthly and annual basis for Lake Sawyer dating back to 2005.  Using this data, following are two charts.  First, January rainfall for the years 2005 through 2019.

2019 has had the lowest level of rainfall at just 2.87 inches in January over this period.  Average January ambient temperatures also are at the high end of the spectrum over this period.

Unfortunately, higher temperatures are not good for fish habitat, particularly trout and salmon.  The oxygen carrying capacity of warm water is much less than for colder water.  Not a problem for catfish though.  It's most likely wishful thinking, but let's hope that warming trends don't continue or accelerate as recent years and forecasts seem to suggest.

Thanks again Bob for keeping us informed about the lake!

Lake Sawyer Wildlife - Making it through Winter

Helped no doubt by our unseasonably mild weather, local wildlife seem to be thriving at the lake right now.  I see one or two bald eagles most mornings taking stock of what's on the menu for the day.  They also are flying a lot together - could it be mating season?  Migrating ducks are also abundant now with mergansers and goldeneyes also making preparation for mating season.  These Common Goldeneyes are good sized and live up to their name.  First the male:

Females too.  Their orange tipped beaks and reddish brown colored heads, along with their eyes, stand out more than many female ducks species.

My favorites are still the Pied-billed Grebes that go fishing every morning just off our dock.  The females have quite a long neck.

Males have more coloring on their beaks and are noticeably smaller.

I think we have a pair of squirrels nesting under our deck.  They love to do cleanup duty on the seeds and bits of suet that fall from our bird feeders when the birds are feeding.

Easy to get closeups of these guys. 

This one looks like he's sticking his tongue out at me.

Our favorites, of course, are the hummingbirds.

Will post some lake eagle pics when we get some more sunshine.  In the meantime, here are a couple of eagle photos from my travels to the Nooksack.

 

 

Prime Time for Sunrises at Lake Sawyer

With the sun at it's lowest angle of the year and plenty of high clouds for color, early January is often the best time for us to see amazing sunrises at Lake Sawyer.  Not that we haven't had some nice ones already, but colder weather also brings a few less low clouds that tend to give us the grey days of December.  That said, here are a few sunrise pics from the last couple of weeks.

The above photo is a 5 image panorama stitched together taken on Dec. 22.  

Totally clear skies aren't what we look for either.  Even just a few high clouds can add so much color, amplified by lake reflections.

Too many clouds for a lot of color in the above photo but for some reason, we often get just a small "slit" of clear sky on the horizon directly across the lake from us as the sun rises to the southeast. This same view that we see above looked very different only about 10 minutes earlier.

What's so much fun is that you never know what you will see and it changes so much in a 15 to 30 minute period of time.  

The above photo (a single exposure using a 20mm wide angle lens) was taken just 4 minutes after the first one I showed.  Clouds drift so much in a short period of time and colors change from pinkish to more orange and yellows in a matter of minutes.  One more.

Good news too about sunrise in December and January.  WE GET TO SLEEP IN and not miss a thing.  Get up at 7 am on weekends and you're good to go.  Somehow I feel like I'm cheating when I don't have to get up at 4:30 am.

How Do Hummingbirds Make It Through Winter?

The short answer to this question is that most of them migrate to warmer climates in Mexico and the Caribbean in winter and even to South America.  That's a long way for such a small bird.  But, according to National Geographic, more hummingbirds are staying north these days as a result of both warmer winter weather and human activity.  Winters in the Puget Sound region are by no means severe and we have lots of people activity, so we find lots of hummingbirds here year round.  How many of us have hummingbird feeders that we dutifully keep full of nice sugary water?  Many of us I'm sure.  Watching them fly and feed is so much fun!  So is trying to photograph them while in flight.  This one was taken Christmas eve morning.

To capture this image, I took the photo through our kitchen window and had to use a shutter speed of 1/2000th of a second.  What do hummingbirds feed on?  Of course, we all know that they love sugared water.  A concentration of 25% sugar is very similar to the high sugar content of flower and plant nectar that we typically see them feeding on in our gardens.  But hummingbirds are actually carnivores and feed on insects as their main food staple.  For some reason, the more people there are, the more insects and the better the habitat for hummingbirds.  Hmmm, some "food" for thought.  Sugar from plant nectar and people hummingbird feeders provide the fuel needed for them to catch their real nutritious food.

Look at those tiny little feet!  Hummingbirds need lots of sugar to survive and consume up to 1/2 their body weight in sugar each day.  A hummingbird's metabolism is the highest of any endothermic animal on earth and thus the need for lots of fuel.  To conserve energy during extreme cold weather, a hummingbird's heart rate can plummet from 1,260 beats per minute down to fewer than 50 beats - entering a state of torpor.  Even then, however, they can still lose 10% of their body weight over night.  They need food and lots of sugary fuel to find it.

Following is our latest addition of hummingbird feeders, this one made of blown glass by an artisan at a farmers market.  Pretty fun and holds plenty of sugar water.

Some people caution about making hummingbirds too dependent on people during the winter.  Fair enough.  Probably the best thing we can do is grow more plants that bloom in colder seasons - like hellebores.   And a couple of feeders properly attended will do just fine.

Now, if only I could find a way to increase my metabolism while eating all of that sweet holiday food, instead of going into torpor.