On a Lifelong Journey to Learn my Place
Snow Geese can regularly be seen migrating overhead during the fall (and maybe spring, though I don’t recall seeing them much then). However, I have only heard of a handful of reports of them actually on the ground, and most of those have been individual birds who for some reason failed to keep up with … Read more
Brown Booby near 56N 148W, taken by Justin Smith, used with permission I was forwarded an interesting report from the Gulf of Alaska near 56N 148W (much closer to Kodiak than Sitka) of a Brown Booby seen and photographed by Justin Smith late in the afternoon on 28 October (the day before the one landed … Read more
It was unseasonably warm (and warmer than forecast), with temperatures reaching 50F (or pretty close). I don’t know, but wonder if this was due in part to only partly cloudy skies that allowed plenty of sun through during the day. I stopped by the Backdoor for pizza and saw Larry, who I asked about the … Read more
Sabine’s Gull I was lucky to spot the distinctive wings of this juvenile Sabine’s Gull as I happened to be looking out the window of the classroom towards the channel. Sabine’s Gulls have been reported near town before, but they are mostly seen off-shore of Sitka during migration. I only recall one other report (from … Read more
Originally I thought I would have little time to look for the Red Phalaropes today, but it turned out that neither of my afternoon classes would be meeting today, so after lunch Rowan and I headed out to see what we could find. During my morning class I thought I might have seen two phalaropes … Read more
One of the things that stood out to me on my recent visit to Ataku Island was how heavily some of the false azalea (Menziesia ferruginea) was browsed. The first stop we made after leaving the beach was a small clearing at the top of a knoll. It was not entirely evident to me why … Read more