WASHINGTON, D.C. — I am once again elbow-to-elbow with thousands of scientists, at a meeting I first attended 25 years ago. Back then, in 1999,… Continue reading
A male hairy woodpecker is a regular visitor to my peanut butter feeders, also sampling from the suet from time to time. In a previous… Continue reading
With his eyes on Alaska weather and climate for many years, Rick Thoman saw a need for a recent update on what is happening within… Continue reading
There are about 28,000 species of bony fishes — the largest taxonomic group of vertebrates — and they have been around for a very long… Continue reading
Stan Boutin has climbed more than 5,000 spruce trees in the last 30 years. He has often returned to the forest floor knowing if a… Continue reading
From a visitor from England who visited Calgary on the way to Juneau, I learned about the Banff Springs snails, which live in thermal springs… Continue reading
I like living in a place where I can encounter wild critters in so many places and so often. But some days are always luckier… Continue reading
Mimicry in animals is a common form of protection from predators. For instance, two distasteful or toxic butterflies may mimic each other for mutual defense,… Continue reading
In the middle of October, bird watchers estimated about 40 short-eared owls were seen hunting on the wetlands — probably a record number. What was… Continue reading
A meteorologist from the National Weather Service’s local office recently told a newspaper reporter that heavy, wet, snow would materialize in a few days. He… Continue reading
Someone once asked me “Is evolution still happening?” My brief answer was “Of course, it’s always happening.” I would have gone on to explain a… Continue reading
Weighing as much as a cup of walnuts and resembling a squeaky dog toy, the short-tailed weasel is easy to underestimate. The spunky little creature… Continue reading
Crows, jays, ravens, magpies and their various other relatives (nutcrackers, choughs, jackdaws, etc.) belong to the taxonomic family Corvidae. It’s a sizeable family of about… Continue reading
In our region there are a few fully parasitic plants, totally dependent on other plants for carbon, water, and nutrients. Some of them are not… Continue reading
It’s early fall and we sometimes enjoy seeing fuzzy orange and black caterpillars trekking over the trails on their way to better foraging or a… Continue reading
Weeklong competition in Katmai National Park culminates Tuesday after delayed start due to a death.
Skip Ambrose has floated the upper Yukon River almost every year since Richard Nixon was President. Back then, in 1973, only 12 pairs of peregrine… Continue reading
