On a Lifelong Journey to Learn my Place
Connor and Rowan noticed this moth on the outside of my home office window, so I went out and took a picture of it. It’s been photo identified as Pearsall’s Carpet Moth (Venusia pearsalli) courtesy of Bob Patterson on bugguide.net, though it may be a similar looking closely related species. The NPWRC account for Venusia … Read more
Its large size, scaled cap, pores, and a few other features make Dryad’s Saddle (Polyporus squamosus) fairly distinctive. Mushroom Expert describes this species as “widespread east of the Rocky Mountains”, and the Northwest Key Council indicates it is found occasionally in the Pacific Northwest. I found this mushroom growing on a standing dead Cottonwood near … Read more
Margined White (Pieris marginalis) is the most common butterfly in the Sitka area (not that it has much competition, as there seems to be only one other regularly occurring species). During the warm years in 2003 and 2004, I remember seeing lots of these flying around during the summer, especially in June. In the years … Read more
While relaxing on a bench at Swan Lake, I happened to notice an unusual bird pop up to the surface. I wasn’t sure whether to believe it when I thought I saw a Pied-billed Grebe, but after waiting a while longer, I saw it resurface several more times and was able to confirm (and get … Read more
Connor noticed this moth resting on the side of the house. I caught it and brought it inside to photograph. The larvae of this species are said to feed on fireweed. As this is the first time I have noticed this particular species, I do not know how common it is around here. It is … Read more
Little Buttercup (Ranunculus uncinatus) is a fairly common species that I associate mostly with disturbed or gravelly areas near stream. I’m most familiar with it from near Indian River, and to this point my experience with this species is only at low elevation. Ranunculus is one of the more diverse genera in Southeast Alaska, with … Read more