Outdoors and Recreation

A queen bumblebee visits a blueberry flower. (Photo by Bob Armstrong)

On The Trails: Spring flowers and their pollinators

Spring flowers have co-evolved with insect pollinators for a long time. The flowers require pollen delivery to set seed. To entice insects to visit and… Continue reading

 

A male red-winged blackbird shows off his colors in a good display. (Photo by Gina Vose)

On the Trails: Springtime

The last part of March seemed to pass slowly, at least for those of use impatient for spring. Each of us has their own sequence… Continue reading

 

A pseudoscorpion contemplates a red mite for lunch. (Photo by Bob Armstrong)

On The Trails: Pseudoscorpions

Just before the spring equinox, a friend and I went out on the Fish Creek Trail one morning on a low tide. We saw five… Continue reading

 

The author prefers gambling on new shrimp sports more than putting money into a casino or betting on sports. (Photo by Jeff Lund)

I Went to the Woods: Money Madness

I doubled our money. Then lost the winnings. Then lost the initial bet. Just like that I turned our $100 into $200 then $0 in… Continue reading

The author prefers gambling on new shrimp sports more than putting money into a casino or betting on sports. (Photo by Jeff Lund)
A red-winged blackbird male shows off his colorful “epaulets.” (Photo by Bob Armstrong)

On the Trails: Spring comes slowly

February ground to a halt and March slowly geared up. Days were getting longer, but the tedious pseudo-spring weather prevailed — no longer really winter… Continue reading

A red-winged blackbird male shows off his colorful “epaulets.” (Photo by Bob Armstrong)
A male peacock showing off its colors. (Jatin Sindhu / CC BY-SA 4.0)

On the Trails: Three observations to ponder

While we are waiting (?patiently?) for spring to really get rolling, here are a few things to think about. • Sexual dimorphism in bird plumage:… Continue reading

A male peacock showing off its colors. (Jatin Sindhu / CC BY-SA 4.0)
A troller fishes near Ketchikan last summer. (Photo by Jeff Lund)

I Went to the Woods: Fish farm fiasco

I’ve spent almost all of my life searching for and evaluating fish. As a boy, I rode home from the river with wild silver salmon… Continue reading

A troller fishes near Ketchikan last summer. (Photo by Jeff Lund)
A museum visitor mimics pterosaurs flight in the age of the dinosaurs. (Tim Evanson / Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license)

On the Trails: Wings aloft!

When vertebrates moved onto land, long ago, some of them eventually became airborne, way after the insects did. There are three groups of vertebrates that… Continue reading

A museum visitor mimics pterosaurs flight in the age of the dinosaurs. (Tim Evanson / Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license)
At the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding in China, a giant panda held a bamboo snack with the help of a thumblike digit. (Sharon Fisher / The New York Times)

On the Trails: Little bones

We’re all familiar with the major bones of a human body, although many folks don’t know their official names. Far less well-known are some small… Continue reading

At the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding in China, a giant panda held a bamboo snack with the help of a thumblike digit. (Sharon Fisher / The New York Times)
Steelhead fishing and photography take skills that necessitate time to develop. (Photo by Jeff Lund)

I Went to the Woods: Kicking and drooling

She’s fine for about ten minutes. It’s a challenge so she’s game. She props herself up on her hands in the cobra pose, then on… Continue reading

Steelhead fishing and photography take skills that necessitate time to develop. (Photo by Jeff Lund)
Aerial photo of the Juneau airport and newly formed dike around the perimeter in about 1956. Note the absence of any trees and the fully inundated area. (Courtesy Juneau International Airport, photographer unknown).

The path to Juneau’s heart: The Airport Dike Trail

Created as emergency access road for airport, it’s now a popular area for dog walking and birdwatching.

Aerial photo of the Juneau airport and newly formed dike around the perimeter in about 1956. Note the absence of any trees and the fully inundated area. (Courtesy Juneau International Airport, photographer unknown).
This boreal owl has captured a vole. (Photo by Linda Shaw)

On the Trails: Three small owls

We have three small owls that share a lot of characteristics. They are the boreal owl (Aegolius funereus) of North America and Eurasia, known as… Continue reading

This boreal owl has captured a vole. (Photo by Linda Shaw)
Little beetles crawl over a skunk cabbage inflorescence. (Photo by Mary F. Willson)
Little beetles crawl over a skunk cabbage inflorescence. (Photo by Mary F. Willson)
This painting, “Abandonment of the Whalers in The Arctic Ocean September 1871,” depicts the New England whaling ships trapped in pack ice off northern Alaska. Wainwright Inlet is in the background. (Photo courtesy Ted and Ellie Congdon, Huntington Library)

Alaska Science Forum: When the Civil War came to Alaska

About 150 years ago, a few days after summer solstice, the gray skies above the Diomede Islands were heavy with smoke from whaling ships set… Continue reading

This painting, “Abandonment of the Whalers in The Arctic Ocean September 1871,” depicts the New England whaling ships trapped in pack ice off northern Alaska. Wainwright Inlet is in the background. (Photo courtesy Ted and Ellie Congdon, Huntington Library)
The brands you wear don’t always say a lot about your political stance and moral compass. (Photo by Jeff Lund)

I Went to the Woods: Passive activism

I almost didn’t watch the Super Bowl because I was tired of the Chiefs, indifferent toward the Eagles and am grossed out by the NFL… Continue reading

The brands you wear don’t always say a lot about your political stance and moral compass. (Photo by Jeff Lund)
Twigs of red huckleberry are green all year, but brighter in summer than winter. (Photo by Bob Armstrong)

On the Trails: Tree bark

The center of a tree or shrub stem (from roots to trunk, branches, and twigs) is woody, composed of xylem cells that conduct water from… Continue reading

Twigs of red huckleberry are green all year, but brighter in summer than winter. (Photo by Bob Armstrong)
An adult double-crested cormorant flies low. (Photo by Bob Armstrong)

On the Trails: Some January observations

One day, late in January, a friend and I watched two Steller sea lions swimming near Pt. Louisa. One of them held a front flipper… Continue reading

An adult double-crested cormorant flies low. (Photo by Bob Armstrong)
The author’s hopper and stonefly tying days are behind him. (Photo by Jeff Lund)

I Went to the Woods: Tie one on

As a kid I threw spinners and spoons, and didn’t bother to learn the impact of bugs in a salmon or trout’s life. No. 5… Continue reading

The author’s hopper and stonefly tying days are behind him. (Photo by Jeff Lund)
A male northern flicker shows his red mustache mark, identifying him as the red-shafted type. (Photo by Detlef Buettner)

On the Trails: Northern flickers visit Juneau

There are over a dozen species of flicker, living in various parts of the Americas. The species we see here is call the northern flicker.… Continue reading

A male northern flicker shows his red mustache mark, identifying him as the red-shafted type. (Photo by Detlef Buettner)
The Dalton Highway winds through the Jim River and Prospect Creek valleys in northern Alaska, where an official thermometer registered Alaska’s all-time low of minus 80 degrees F on Jan. 23, 1971. (Photo by Ned Rozell)

Alaska Science Forum: Dangerous cold across the land

In late January 2025, meteorologists from the National Weather Service Prediction Center in College Park, Maryland, are predicting “dangerously cold temperatures and wind chill values… Continue reading

The Dalton Highway winds through the Jim River and Prospect Creek valleys in northern Alaska, where an official thermometer registered Alaska’s all-time low of minus 80 degrees F on Jan. 23, 1971. (Photo by Ned Rozell)