On a Lifelong Journey to Learn my Place
In August I got a brief look at the sparrow shown above. As best I can figure, it’s a Savannah Sparrow, though it really does look fairly different than the Savannah Sparrows I am used to seeing around here. The pattern of markings seems correct for Savannah Sparrow, it’s just the coloring that appears darker, … Read more
Roseroot (Sedum roseum) Other Posts in the series: Bear Mountain Flora (part 1) Bear Mountain Flora (part 2 – Saxifrages) Bear Mountain Flora (part 3 – Aster Family) This is (finally) the last post about the plants I found on a hike up Bear Mountain earlier this month. This will be sort of a catch-all … Read more
Slaty-backed Gull with Glaucous-winged, Herring, and Thayer’s Gulls all nearby. Today I saw a very dark mantled gull that I am reasonably confident is a Slaty-backed Gull. The heavily streaked head with quite pale eyes and pink legs seem to leave no other alternative, as far as I can tell. Gulls of the Americas suggests … Read more
Arctic-alpine Daisy (Erigeron humilis) Previous posts in the series: Bear Mountain Flora Part 1 Part 2 – Saxifrages There were quite a few plants in the aster family that I saw up in the alpine. Several of them were new-to-me plants and there were quite a few still blooming, which was nice. Arctic-alpine Daisy (Erigeron … Read more
Leatherleaf Saxifrage (Leptarrhena pyrolifolia) (second in a multipost series: Bear Mountain Flora part 1) Several species of saxifrage seem to be quite happy above the treeline. Some species were abundant (and still flowering) in the moist seeps, forming a lush rock garden along with other plants that grew there. Other species were found in drier … Read more
While hiking on the Middle Sister a couple of days ago, I heard a call that sounded enough like an eagle, that I might have passed it off as a strange eagle, had I not seen the bird. Fortunately, as I hiked up, it flew from its perch and landed in another tree. My brother … Read more