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Aka Canachites canadensis. I’ve seen plenty of girls, but I’d never come across boys in war paint before. And then out stepped this handsome fellow—even though it was autumn and hardly the season for boys to be sporting that kind of look. The ISO was cranked . . . → Continue reading Spruce grouse
Okay, the plural probably isn’t really applicable here. There was only one bear. According to the information on the hatchery’s website, when there are a lot of bears around, access is closed to people, to avoid conflicts. But there were plenty of people, and there was just . . . → Continue reading Alaska. The Great Salmon Saga: Bears
At the end of July, we spent about a week travelling around southern Alaska. For the last couple of years, I have traditionally been unable to keep up with everything, although I very much hope to eventually . . . → Continue reading Alaska. The Great Salmon Saga: Sea Lions and Gulls.
Velella, a.k.a. the by-the-wind sailor, a.k.a. Velella velella. A tiny inflatable raft (it comes equipped with an internal chitinous air chamber) with a sail. Usually about 7 cm across — the smallest seaworthy vessel on the planet. A colonial hydrozoan. These little sailors are distant relatives . . . → Continue reading Tiny Sailboats of the Great Ocean
This creature is not rare but quite asocial, misanthropic, and hidden. It usually walks gloomily in shallow water looking for fish, frogs, and other delicatessen. Bittern prefers overgrown marshes, so to meet and especially to see a bittern is not easy. Before this time, I saw . . . → Continue reading American bittern
More of winter. End of December on Long Beach, a really loooong beach near the Oregon border. . . . → Continue reading Long Beach and sandpipers
Rough-skinned is a name (quite descriptional, it definitely has rough skin), neurotoxic – physiological property (not a temper, as some may think). aka Taricha granulosa. . . . → Continue reading Rough-skinned neurotoxic newt |
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