Sphagnum and Insects

After a quick walk around Totem Park this morning to check on shorebird activity (it was pretty quiet), I spent most of this sunny (but not quite as warm as the past couple days) day wandering around in muskegs with Kitty checking out sphagnum mosses. Kitty is heading south for a workshop, so I took … Read more

Shoals Point

While a hoped-for trip to Low Island didn’t seem like a good idea due to a north wind, we ended up spending the day on the beach north of Shoals Point instead. The beach was protected from the wind, and despite an adventurous landing and departure from the beach, it was a nice day to spend outside.

I was interested to note that there was no evidence that I could recognize of glacial smoothing on the rocks there. This was expected, based on past experience, but I hadn’t really looked for that sort of thing specifically before. I don’t know how old the formations are, maybe 10,000 years, maybe longer? However, it seems quite likely that no ice over ran that location since that time.

Bird-wise, it was fairly quiet on the beach. A few shorebirds flew by from time to time. Just as we were getting ready to leave, a small flock of 9 Semipalmated Plovers (first for me this year) came running down the shore in that run and stop pattern they seem to share with robins. Also we saw two Caspian Terns flying along the shore (also first of year for me).

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Another Hot Day

It got up to 70 late this afternoon, easily breaking the record for the day. The old record seems to have been 60F set back in 1956. This seems a little surprising, since 60F is definitely warmer than normal for this time of year, but doesn’t seem that extreme, and 1956 is getting to be … Read more

Bald Eagle with White Primaries

A Bald Eagle with striking white primary feathers has been reported around Sitka several times over the past few years, but I had never seen it until I noticed it soaring above my house early this afternoon. I seem to recall it’s been seen elsewhere in Southeast, but I am not sure where. Given its … Read more

Crow Behavior Mystery

While down at the beach checking out the shorebirds, I happened to catch an odd sort of interaction between several crows. I was able to get three different ~1minute video clips and posted to youtube the one with the best light and sound, but the behavior in all three was essentially the same. The quiet … Read more