Today was easily the warmest day that I have experienced in Sitka so far this summer.  I had two tours to work today, with the first landing near Pt. Brown and the second a trip south with a landing at Calligan Island.

Weather:  Sunny and warm, with light wind.

Birds:  I saw a flock of about 4 large shorebirds flying over Crescent Harbor around the time of our first departure.  Between tours I saw another fly over just outside of Crescent Harbor.  I do not know for sure what they were, but I suspect they were yellowlegs.

I saw several flocks of what I believe were Red-necked Phalaropes.

There was a black and white alcid that I think may have been an Ancient Murrelet, though I did not get a good enough look at it to be sure.

It looked like the young eagles were starting to fledge at the nest in the Kasiana Islands.

Flora:  At Point Brown, the group I was with seemed determined to hike back in the woods, so we ended up making it back to the muskeg.  The flowers seemed to be mostly finished where we saw, but there were a few apargidium flowers still hanging on.

At Calligan Island I noticed crow berries ripe on some of the taller rock outcrops on the beach that were covered by moss and crowberry plants.

Other Notes:  There were a couple of sizable rafts of sea otters near Fragrant Island.

Several humpback whales were still active near Vitskari.

We watched a couple of seiners fishing for sockeye at the entrance to Redoubt Bay.  The net we saw pulled in did not produce a large haul, but it did have quite a few fish in it.

There were several sets of deer tracks in the sand at Pt. Brown beach.

Today was my first day as a naturalist on board an Allen Marine Tour. I am working a couple of days a week for the remainder of the summer. As far as I know, I will primarily be working on the Captain’s Choice tour. This is a three hour tour for up to 16 people that includes about an hour on the beach somewhere out of town. When there are three tours, as there was today, it makes for a very long day, but it is fun to get out and see some places and things I do not otherwise have the chance to visit. Today we went south of town for each of the three tours. The first tour we visited the beach near Frosty Reef, the other two we went to Calligan Island.

Weather: The morning started out overcast with a little breeze. By mid morning it was starting to clear off and the breeze had died down somewhat. As the day went on, it continued to clear off, but the wind picked up again. The wind seemed to be blowing out of the North or Northwest.

Birds: I saw many murrelets and one murre. Near Calligan Island there must have been some feed near the surface as there was a flock of gulls gathered and acting like they were findind something to eat.

There was a Red-breasted Sapsucker nest with calling young on the point across the spit from Calligan Island. I also heard what I think were a pair of Hairy Woodpeckers. They were active enough I wondered if there was a nest in the area.

Flora: The coralroot orchids are well into their blooming. Though there are many flowers, single-delights seem to be nearing the end of their blooming. Cleavers are abundant on the beaches we visited south of town.

Marine Mammals: We were able to see humpback whales, including some pretty good views of the tail flukes as they were diving.

We were able to observe a raft of Sea Otters as well as many individuals scattered throughout the south part of the sound.

Quite a few harbor seals were hauled out on rocks at one point as well, though I do not know which island/rocks it was.

Invertebrates: One of the tour passengers found a mussel shell that was about 6 inches long. This was a california mussel. These are not typically found around town as they prefer a location with heavy surf.

I took a couple of other folks out on a hike up the West Fork of Indian River valley today. Our intention was to visit the large hemlock tree my brother showed me a couple of
years ago.

Weather: It started out cloudy, with the cloud layer at around 2000 feet. By around noon the clouds had started breaking up, and sunny skies prevailed throughout the rest of the day. There was a good breeze, though I failed to note the direction.

Birds: The woods were much quieter than last time I went up Indian River. There were a number of juvenile birds, including Winter Wrens, Varied Thrush, and what I think was a Hermit Thrush.

One of my hiking companions had to head back early and told me later that he had found a hawk feather on his way back. He thought it was from either a Sharp-shinned Hawk or juvenile Goshawk.

As has been the case quite often in recent days, there were eagles active around the neighborhood. One even spent some time perched in a relatively small tree right across from the house.

Flora: Flowers blooming included Heart-leaved Twayblade, Ground Dogwood, Mountain Arnica, plantanthera orchids, and a few others I do not recall right now.

The most interesting plant experience for me was probably the discovery of many patches of Goblin’s Gold moss. I did not have my tripod, so I could not get very good photos of it, but many of the root wads from overturned trees had it growing on them.

We did measure the hemlock tree to be over 100 inches in diameter. In addition to this, we measured a few spruce trees that seemed fairly large. The largest of those we measured was over 90 inches in diameter.

There was a white slime mold in evidence on the trunk of a tree that had fallen down some time ago.

Enchanter’s Nightshade is a small plant that forms a ground cover in some places. It was abundant throughout the hike today, though in one place there was a small area with none growing in it, though it was growing all around. The patch of ground was not totally bare, but it definitely did not have many plants growing in it compared to ground just adjacent. There was not a clear reason that I could see for this to be the case.

Invertebrates: In the middle sister muskeg where I previously observed emerging dragonflies there were many adult dragonflies and damselflies in evidence. I was puzzled somewhat by how small they seemed to be. I am pretty sure the newly emerged dragonflies I saw before were Hudsonian Whitefaces, and today there were definitely many of these flying around. However, the ones flying around today seemed distinctly smaller than what I had seen before. I also noticed this effect with a couple of Four-spotted Skimmers. My best guess is that when their exoskeleton dries, it shrinks somewhat. I previously observed them just just after emergence, so perhaps they were still not completely dried out.

Also in the middle sister muskeg, we had some fun looking at the critters in the puddles. I pulled out a large caddisfly encased in its larval home. Apparently these insect larva build their home with miniture logs which they extrude after processing plant fibers. They are able to stick them together to make a long tube in which they live.

In addition to the many different creatures living below, I happened to notice a spider running across the surface of a puddle. This was not something I remembered seeing before.

This evening the kids brought in a large dark colored moth they had found in the back yard. It seemed unable to fly, though I do not know why. Its underwings were more of an orangish color.

Mammals: As has been the case most times that I have been up this way, there was relatively fresh bear sign. We saw some tracks and places where skunk cabbage had been uprooted, but more significantly there was some pieces of deer hide (that did not look too old, the hair did not seem to be coming out yet). Near the deer hide was a place at the base of a tree that looked like it had been dug up and recovered recently. We took that as a sign to keep moving.

There were a few different locations that looked like deer beds.

I hiked Harbor-Gavan Ridge from Harbor Mountain to town today, so did not spend too much time at home.

Weather: This morning it was mostly cloudy, but by noon, heavier clouds moved in and brought rain. Along the trail there was a little bit of wind, but not much. There appeared to be some fresh snow at the higher elevations of some of the peaks behind Harbor-Gavan Ridge. It looked like it might have been around 4000 feet.

Birds: It seems that many birds have young out of the nest. It was difficult to say for sure, but I think I saw juveniles of the following species, American Robin, Dark-eyed Junco, Varied Thrush, and maybe a Song Sparrow.

There were also many birds singing. I am not sure if they are birds that are nesting later (or again), or if they just continue to sing throughout the summer. I guess I tend to assume the singing has something to do with breeding, but I’m do not know.

On the way home I happened to notice a Steller’s Jay in the trees along the back road by Hames Gym. It seemed to be acting a little bit different than I have seen in the past. It was hopping about from branch to branch (so far, not too unusual). I walked over by it and it did not seem too concerned with me. It made a clicking noise (I’m not sure if it was with its beak or voice) then a breeaw sound. I don’t think it was the Red-tailed Hawk imitation that they can do, but it was somewhat similar. It repeated this call a few times. I eventually noticed there was a second jay nearby, but it did not call while for the brief time I watched them.

Flora: Things are pretty well along. The early bloomers are at or past their peak. Although I saw the plants, I did not see any Cooley’s Buttercup flowers. Species blooming included Salmonberry, Rosy Twisted-stalk, Sitka Valerian, Stream Violet, Alaska Violet, Caltha-leaf Aven, Dwarf Blueberry, Alaska Blueberry, Wedge-leaf Primrose (nearly done), Tall Mountain Shooting Star, Fern-leaf Goldthread, Columbine (just getting started), Nootka Lupine, Net-leaf Willow (just getting started), Siberian Miner’s Lettuce, Alaska Saxifrage, Alpine Azalea, White Mountain Heather, Alaska Mountain Heather, Yellow Mountain Heather, Black Lily, Narcissus Anemone, Labrador Tea (in the muskeg near Gavan trailhead), Northern Geranium (just getting started), Alaska Paintbrush, Red Paintbrush, and some graminoids (sedges and grasses).

Plants that were not flowering, but had significant growth included, False Hellebore, Broad-petalled Gentian, Sagewort, and Hawkweed.

It looks like the salmonberry crop at higher elevations may not be a bust. There were lots of flowers on the bushes that line parts of Harbor Mountain Road. They were undoubtedly protected by snow during the March cold snap and the cool weather in April.

Other Notes: There were fresh deer tracks on the trail in a number of locations.

I observed a squirrel in the subalpine Mt. Hemlock krumholtz on the south slope of Harbor Mountain. I do not remember seeing one there before. I did not pay attention to how close this patch of dwarfed trees was from the main forest, so it might not have been much of a journey for the squirrel to get there.

I went for a walk up Indian River Valley and visited some of the lower valley muskegs. I started in the bench muskeg, went down to the large pine tree clearing, back up to the bench muskeg and then into the larger muskeg up valley from the bench muskeg. Later in the evening I spent a little time looking around near the large spruce tree.

Weather: It was overcast but sun broke through in the early evening for awhile. There was a breeze out of the west. Throughout the morning there was light rain, though it stopped in the afternoon.

Birds: I heard hummingbirds a few times during my walk. I was also able to observe some juncos and a Lincoln’s Sparrow at fairly close range. The sparrow was doing a lot of singing, while the juncos seemed to be more active gathering food. One of them I saw had a beak full of green inch worms and flies (see photo). I am not sure whether it was collecting them for itself, its mate, or its young. For some reason it perched on a branch and chipped, while letting me approach it. Prior to this encounter I had a couple of juncos chipping rather aggressively around me. I took it to mean that I was encroaching on their territory. Perhaps they had a nest close to where I was walking through.

In the larger muskeg I heard a call that was a very fast trill changing to the more leisurely junco trill. I asked about it and found out that this is an occasional variation on the junco song.

There were a number of Pacific Slope Flycatchers calling along the trail at various locations. I was able to get a pretty good recording of one near the muskeg bench.

While looking around near the spruce tree, I saw a Townsend’s Warbler that had come down into the salmonberries. There is a Swainson’s thrush still singing loudly in the area as well.

Other: It appeared that a deer had bedded down by spruce tree sometime in the last few days. I have not seen the deer in at least a couple of weeks, but the scat around the tree was more recent than that. The bed also must have been more recent because it was not there the last time I walked through by the spruce tree.

Rowan and I went for a good walk through Totem Park today. Plants are definitely progressing on toward summer.

Weather: The day started sunny, but by noon it was overcast with the clouds moving up out of the south. In the evening there was some partial clearing. Temperatures were in the 60s, so it felt pleasantly warm. There was a good breeze out of the south while we were at the park.

Birds: While in the park we heard a woodpecker. I still don’t have the call notes solid, so I am not sure which species.

There was a flock of seven large birds flying over campus this evening. I am pretty sure they were Great Blue Herons, but someone else said they were sandhill cranes.

Flora: The purple sweet-cicely are nearing the end of their blooming in the park. Stream violets are still going strong. Rosy and clasping Twisted Stalk are getting ready to bloom. Beach greens and Siberian miner’s lettuce are blooming in the estuary. There are mustards blooming in various locations. Rowan noticed a slime mold growing on the end of a log near the trail as we walked through the park.

Other Notes: We found some deer tracks in the sand at the upper end of the estuary. I had Rowan try to follow them, but she tended to go back and ‘discover’ prints that were from where the deer came rather than where it was going.

Rowan also spotted a number of the flowers we saw today. She liked to point them out and ask me if I was going to take a picture.

At one point while I was trying to observe a Swainson’s Thrush, Rowan found a side trail and asked if we could take it. It was not much of a trail, but she did a good job following it through the brush.

Weather: Weather the last couple of days has been mostly cloudy with some rain. Wednesday it rained for much of the day and Thursday the rain started late morning but let up by evening.

Birds: The ravens continue to regularly feed on the campus lawn. The Savannah Sparrows are still quite abundant. I hear Orange-crowned and Townsend’s Warblers singing frequently. The Winter Wrens are still actively singing as well. Thursday morning down at the park a small flock of six Brants flew past.

Other Notes: There was a male deer in our back yard Thursday morning (see photo above).

I took Rowan and Connor to Totem Park this morning because Connor’s preschool was taking a trip to the park. Connor, Rowan, and I along with two of Connor’s friends from preschool formed a small group to wander the beach. The kids seemed to have a lot of fun turning over rocks and finding crabs. We also found some starfish and even a blenny.

I have been wanting to get up and try recording some of the dawn chorus, so I made an effort to get out of bed early this morning in order to go for a walk and do some recording. Despite a pre-5am rise time, it had been light for at least an hour already, so I cannot really claim to have caught the dawn singing. Part of the reason I wanted to do this is because I have read that some birds sing differently at dawn than any other time of the day. At this point, it seems like it might be easier to stay up until dawn instead of trying to get up before dawn.

Despite the post-dawn start, I did have a good time getting some recordings. It was not as quiet as I might have preferred, I heard heavy truck noise from the beginning, the traffic on Sawmill Creek is audible from much of the park, and of course the boat traffic through Crescent Bay can be fairly steady. Still, I think I was able to get recognizable recordings of Orange-crowned Warblers, Winter Wrens, Hermit Thrushes, Townsend’s Warblers, and maybe a few other birds.

In the larger part of the estuary grass flats, I saw deer tracks that looked recent.

Along the west side of the estuary area, I saw a mink running along the rocks. I was not in a position to follow it easily, however as I was on the other side of the river.

When I arrived at the south beach, I noticed two or more Semipalmated Plovers, two Spotted Sandpipers, a Least Sandpiper, and two Dunlin all feeding up in the seaweed at the high tide line. I sat and watched them for awhile before moving out to the shoreline where I observed Black Turnstones, two Ruddy Turnstones, at least one more Least Sandpiper, and a few Western Sandpipers.

After watching the shorebirds for awhile, I went back up to the southbeach logs and sat to record the Orange-crowned Warblers I was hearing. While I was sitting there I was also able to watch them. There were at least two birds, I never saw or heard more than that at the same time, and they spent a good deal of energy with one chasing the other about. I do not know if they alternated being the aggressor or not. They would make there trilling call as they perched and found things to eat between chases (I did see one find and eat an inch worm that it found on an alder). On a couple of occasions they flew quite near to me. One neat thing was being able to observe the orange crown patch that gives these birds their name (see photo above).

There were many Savannah Sparrows along the beach. They’ve been pretty abundant this year. I am uncertain whether this number of birds is typical.

I spotted a Northern Harrier flying along the shore after it caused the gulls to scatter.

I also was able to watch a Yellow Warbler finding food to eat in the alders.

Weather: Today’s weather reminded me of spring weather I typically associate with March and April. Chilly rain showers moved through with the sun breaking out for short periods of time. The snow level has been down around 2000ft still within the past couple of days, so I suspect the snow pack is still accumulating rather than melting off. Hopefully I can start getting up the mountains in the next week or so as school winds down.

Birds: The ravens continue to feed in the lawn. There were two Golden-crowned Sparrows finding food in our driveway this evening.

Flora: I saw my first stream violet of the year in bloom yesterday. They’ve probably been in bloom for a few days, but I haven’t been getting out to check. The salmonberries are finally starting to get serious about blooming.

Fauna: Two deer were walking up in front of the Stratton Library today through the midst of a number of people. They walked within 5-10 feet of someone who was standing on the stairs by the library.

It’s been a busy week and I have not had the time or energy to do any entries.

Weather: It’s been pretty wet the last couple of days. Thursday it was noticably warmer than it had been. Snow level was up above 3000 feet for most of the past couple of days, but I noticed it down on the high points of Gavan Hill today.

Birds: I have not been to the park lately, but around the house I have heard what I believe is a Townsend’s Warbler and Winter Wrens frequently. Sometimes I hear a Northern Flicker in the distance. The robins have been fairly active around. On campus today I saw at least four Savannah Sparrows feeding in the lawn near the greenhouse.

Flora: The lupine are coming up in the yard. The infertile stems of the horsetail are also coming up. Spring has definitely been slow in coming this year, but I suspect as soon as we get a couple of warmer sunny days, things will seem to green up in a hurry.

Fauna: The deer are back around again. I’m not sure how far away they went, but they’ve been seen around campus frequently in the last few days. There were three of them out on the quad yesterday. This morning I saw one eating salmonberry leaves behind our house. Connor saw one behind the house later in the morning and there was a second one in front of our house as well.

It was a busy day with classes and students coming to get help with end of the semester projects. I did not have time to get out for a walk until this evening near dusk.

Weather: The day started mostly clear over town, but in every direction I could see clouds. It was partly to mostly cloudy throughout the day with increasing clouds in the late afternoon. By the time I went on my walk it was completely overcast. There was only a light breeze down at the park. The trees were covered in snow down to below 300 feet this morning, but most of that was no longer in evidence by this evening.

Birds: I heard what I think is a Townsend’s Warbler for the first time this year as I was getting ready for class this morning. I need to get a recording of it and confirm, as the call is not really similar to the one for Townsend’s Warbler on the Bird Songs of Alaska CD.

I did not see any ducks on the flume today. I spoke with a guy who has an office that looks over the flume and he said he had not seen the birds on the flume for awhile. He said there had been mergansers, dippers, a heron, and the mallards that all spent time there. He commented that it seemed like the birds ate all the small fish (salmon fry mostly) in the flume and then stopped coming.

There was a Hermit Thrush in our backyard this evening when I came home (see photo above). After it flew off a little ways I thought I might have heard its song. If it did sing it, it was only quietly, like he still was not quite ready for his on-stage debut. While I was watching the thrush, I heard a hummingbird buzz by.

It was a quiet evening for birds down at the park. I heard a couple of Winter Wrens, I did not see or hear any shorebirds. There were a few Buffleheads along the west shore, about half a dozen Mallards near the mouth of Indian River, and I saw (but identified it mostly by its call) one American Wigeon with the Mallards.

Other Notes: I talked to a student of mine who was fishing for steelhead. He said it looked like there were at least 10 of them swimming in the pool and while we were talking one splashed a little downstream of where he was fishing.

I noticed a few different moths flying around. Maybe I would see them more often if I went for walks around dusk on a regular basis.

The stream violet flowers along Westwood Trail have still not opened up.

Melissa and Rowan saw the two deer behind our house again.