On a Lifelong Journey to Learn my Place
Animals
Recently we visited Magic Island (out at Halibut Point Rec) during a low tide and I took advantage of the opportunity to photograph some of the more obvious tidepool denizens which, for whatever reasons, I had not really spent much time with before. Prime among these are the giant green sea anemones (Anthopleura xanthogrammica). As … Read more
We drove out the road today to check on the Swainson’s Thrush nest, but couldn’t see any birds using the nest. There were however many birds active in the brushy area adjacent to the road. Several thrushes were utilizing the ripe elderberries that were abundant on one large bush. In addition there were other smaller … Read more
There have been herons reported nesting out at Starrigavan several times over the years. This year there is a nest in the forest bounded by the estuary, the road, and the viewing platform parking lot. It’s a little hard to get good looks at the birds (and they probably won’t be there for much longer, … Read more
Young Surf Scoters between Shoals Point and St. Lazaria Surf Scoters are a common wintering bird on the near shore waters around Sitka, but most of them head north (or maybe east?) to nest on freshwater lakes. However, young birds (those that hatched the prior summer) are not ready to breed and opt not to … Read more
Rhinoceros Auklet photographed on a recent trip. Taken between Vitskari Rocks and Low Island. Rhinoceros Auklets seem to be one of the more frequently encountered water birds on Sitka Sound. I don’t think they’re necessarily more abundant population-wise, but more that their feeding habits keep them around locations boats tend to travel (or at least … Read more
There was some wind and heavy rain this morning, but things settled down later in the day. I spent some time playing frisbee early this afternoon, and at Moller Park there was only an intermittent light wind out of the southeast with light rain falling occasionally but not often. After frisbee was a trip to … Read more