On a related note, in preparation for putting together annotated checklists and/or slightly more detailed species accounts than I have been doing for the 1000 species project, I started a index of species checklists for Sitka. So far, I have reasonable lists for bryophytes, vascular plants, birds, mammals, and spiders. Probably each of them will require modification, but I think they’re a pretty good start.
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Ensign Coccid
Ortheziidae
This looks like an insect to me, as it seems to have six legs. Beyond that, it does not look like anything I have ever seen before. It is very small, perhaps 3mm long and I found it at the base of a Swamp Gentian (Gentiana douglasiana) I collected in a bog. Any help with the identification is definitely appreciated.
Update 21 September 2007: With help from bugguide.net, I now have a family for this insect.
Fox Sparrow
Passerella iliaca
I tend to assocciate Fox Sparrows with spring and fall migration, but I think that has more to do with the fact that this is when they show up around the neighborhood. They do nest in the area (the nest shown below was near treeline on Mt. Verstovia), but do not typically spend the winter here.
(Flower) Rove Beetle
Eusphalerum sp
This species of beetle is easy to find on many different species of flowers during the summer in Sitka. They are quite small, I would say less than .5 cm long. When I have observed them, they never seem to be in any hurry. Even after they have landed, it takes them a little bit of time to get themselves all tucked in under their elytra (the hard outer wing covers).
(Thanks to Francesco Vitali via bugguide.net for help with the identification.)
Sweet-scented Bedstraw
Galium triflorum
This is a fairly common plant along Indian River. I also noticed it growing abundantly along the road between Herring Cove and Bear Cove. It’s common name comes from the sweet smell it has when bruised. The smell comes from coumarins the plant produces.
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Lincoln’s Sparrow
Melospiza lincolnii
I mainly notice these birds in the muskegs and in other open areas around town such Starrigavan Estuary, Swan Lake, and the airport runway. They have a nice song. I was able to get a recording of a bird singing last summer, but I’ve not yet managed to find motivation to work with sounds too much yet. Perhaps in the next year I’ll get better at that.
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Hoverfly
Meliscaeva cinctella
This fly was apparently eating the pollen from the Cow Parsnip flowers. It is a species of hoverfly, but I don’t know of any more specific common name. Thanks to Martin Hauser via bugguide.net for the identification.
Beaked Sedge
Carex rostrata
I’m not absolutely confident in this identification. There are probably about two dozen species of Carex in the Sitka area. Many of them look somewhat similar, and good photos are sometimes hard to find. These particular plants were growing in a low spot near the bike path out Sawmill Creek Road. It was not an area where there was standing water, though I suspect in wetter conditions there might be.
Pearly Everlasting
Anaphalis margaritacea
I have only ever noticed this plant growing along roads, so it must not mind disturbed areas with lots of light. I am not sure where or how often it can be found in areas of non-manmade disturbance.
