Just a Walk on the Beach

By Peter A. Morris
It is cool but there is no wind, so I think a walk on the beach is in order.  Ten minutes later I am on Dallas and checking out which section to explore.  It's high tide and there is lots of activity.  Just east of Ogden Point is a good selection of logs to choose for a place to sit and observe, so I find a suitable pair that give a good backrest and a good view of the action.

There are big clumps of seaweed on which are dozens of sanderlings, yellowlegs and turnstones following the edge of the waves as they sweep in, and feasting on the hordes of flies and bugs that crowd the tumbling, swirling weed.  The activity is attracting all kinds of other species, young Bonaparte gulls, terns, heermans, thayers and California gulls are all there, soon to be heading south.

A container ship has made a turn after coming through Race Rocks, no doubt with a call in to Victoria Pilots' Station.  And the Coho is just coming into sight through the mist hanging off Port Angeles.  I'm glad I remembered the binoculars.

Here's a pair of mergansers chasing some small fish to within a few feet of the shore, then suddenly there are twenty or thirty of them.  They have a good way of sensing a feed.  A whole 'raft' of fish leap out of the water, the birds keeping up with them, and most surfacing with a beak filled with a delicious snack. Two pairs of harlequin ducks have entered the tiny bay, followed by a group of mallards.

Ah, there goes the pilot boat, off to meet the ship.

This is a nice time of year to be here - the coolness keeps some people away and gives a remote feel to the location.  One could be almost anywhere, and my mind drifts off to some other beaches where I have done just this very thing, sat and watched.

A sure sign that winter is on its way, is the bullwhip kelp that is starting to show in quantity, and other shallow-water seaweed is massing by the ton to be swept onto the beach and beaten by the sea into a pulp to disappear into the sand and pebbles.  The nutrients will eventually be absorbed and taken back by the sea.

Some horned grebes put in an appearance, as do some greater scaup, who are early, I think - they usually come in November.  Then I remember, November is just a few days away.  I glimpse something out of the corner of my eye, and turn my head slowly, but it's gone, whatever it was.

The pilot boat has reached the ship and I can see the pilot climbing up the ladder to the deck.  Then he will be in the wheelhouse greeting the Captain and the Mate to give instructions on getting the ship into the Haro Strait and on to  Seattle or perhaps Vancouver.

More memories of my past ....

There it is again, a small movement, and this time I see a little mink scuttling around the logs looking for a snack.  She may be still feeding little ones.

A shiver runs through me.  A light south-easter is getting up and I'm cold.

The Coho is well on her way across.  She will arrive on time.