Fall Warbler

I still have trouble distinguishing Wilson’s and Yellow Warblers in the fall. I think if I had a chance to observe them carefully for a while, it probably wouldn’t be too hard, but I’ve generally seen them actively feeding and hard to get a good look at for long.

Kids Identfying Birds

Recently my kids have been interested in trying to figure out what a bird is from pictures I’ve taken. Although both have shown some interest in birds over he the past few years, my son Connor has spent much more time paying attention to birds and trying to figure out what they are, so in many cases something that is a challenge for Rowan, he knows immediately. The picture above was one such example, so I had Rowan do this one on her own with a couple of bird books and some prompting questions from me.

In what follows, I will explain the process she went through and follow up with a second picture, so if you don’t already recognize the bird and want to try figuring it out on your own, you can check your answer below.

Read more

Yellow Warbler

Yellow Warbler Singing Recently I have been asking people if they have seen any Yellow Warblers this spring. While not an especially common species along the road system in Sitka (mostly due to lack of preferred habitat, I suspect), in many years they are show up around the first week of May. However, this year … Read more

Moss with Strange Growth

Last summer I noticed these white growths while doing some plant surveying work along Blue Lake Creek. At first glance I thought maybe they were rootlets coming from the trunk of the tree (either Red Alder or Sitka Willow, I can’t remember which). Closer examination revealed that they were actually growing directly from the moss. … Read more