swimming upstream

Back again, and I want to talk octopi

noreply@blogger.com (Barbara Clements) — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 20:01:00 -0800

I was at the Seattle Aquarium at a hosted event of the NW Science Writers Association, and since I didn't see alot of people there I knew- first group event I'd attended - I decided to talk beaches and critters with the volunteers. Since I am a beach naturalist, I can talk their language about starfish, craps, groupers and the like.

But the most fascinating creature of the night, that night, and any other for me was the octopi in an dual tank. The male was white and sleeping in his, while the female, a pretty color of coral, then white, then pink and back to deep red, was having a great time checking out her tank and slipping her tentacles through the holes where the male's side began and her's ended.

The volunteer said that come valentine's day, they'll let the two check each other out, to see if romance blooms. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn't. If I was an octopus, I'm not sure I'd be so eager to find my forever love, since that's sort of what it is.

They are terminal breeders, so once they mate, the male, apparently dies quickly and then the female hangs around for a few weeks, and then dies as well (or is it months?).

I did learn that they smell with their suckers (didn't know that), and could operate all their arms independently (their intelligence made me swear off calamari).

Taking a holiday break

noreply@blogger.com (Barbara Clements) — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 16:55:00 -0800

To retool a bit. From now on, this blog is going to focus on the passion I have of the month, and that alone. So next up, raptors. I'll see you in a week or so. Think of raptors in the Kent Valley or eagles down at PLU.

See you then. Barbara

Endangered Sparrows?

noreply@blogger.com (Barbara Clements) — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 20:40:00 -0800

Really? I had to read this twice to believe it. Apparently, sparrows are dying out in England, because everyone is paving over their front yards, and therefore reducing the insect population the birds need to feed they young, which often starve to death. Here is a video, and here is the link to the story.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7739102.stm

Changes in the smallest organisms mean big changes for the big ones

noreply@blogger.com (Barbara Clements) — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 19:30:00 -0800

Came across this on my yahoo account feed. Apparently fresh water is traveling through the artic to the atlantic ocean for the first time in 800,000 years. And it means big changes for the phytoplankton, which of course, means big changes further up the food change for both oceans.

Such as our orcas starving to death, because they can't get enough salmon.

Marbled Godwits at Willipa Bay

noreply@blogger.com (Barbara Clements) — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 20:43:00 -0800

This just in from the Seattle Times if you wish to go bird watching. Sounds fun!

Photo for Jeff Larsen.

Biodiversity abounds

noreply@blogger.com (Barbara Clements) — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 14:01:00 -0800

Despite our best effort to stamp it out in the oceans. Take a look at this newest marine census!

Love the Boston Legal about the salmon

noreply@blogger.com (Barbara Clements) — Fri, 7 Nov 2008 15:02:00 -0800

I was going to post a rather grim report about farm salmon in Canada nuking all the wild stock up there, but how about this instead? If you haven't already, watch the recap of Boston Legal from this week about the election, fish, sex and mad cow. It's great.

There's a wonderful exchange between Denny and Allan regarding why Denny is voting for McCain.

Allan presses Denny, so Denny finally deadpans that it's to save the wild salmon stocks in Canada.

Huh?

"Yes, you see if McCain wins, many Americans, smart Americans will move to Canada, and they'll figure out how to save the wild salmon."

Obv., McCain didn't win, so the Canadians are going to have to figure out how to save their own fish.

Spotted owls still struggling to hang on

noreply@blogger.com (Barbara Clements) — Tue, 4 Nov 2008 19:56:00 -0800

Not that I've seen either here, in Kent Wa. Maybe a great horned owl or screech owl, but no barred. However, it seems that the spotted owl, according to this article, isn't losing ground due to loggers, but the naturally agressive competitors for space, the barred owl.

On a related note, squirrels. I often see the Western gray squirrels dumpster diving at PLU. But yesterday, I had to doublecheck, a red squirrel, the less agressive cousin, ran across the parking lot.

Prepping for winter. Be kind to the animals

noreply@blogger.com (Barbara Clements) — Tue, 4 Nov 2008 19:52:00 -0800

I'm writing this and staring at a bag of birdseed, sitting at my feet. The feeders are empty and I feel a twinge of guilt. So, tomorrow, before I head off to PLU, the feeders will get filled.

Here is a great blog and a great post on how to be kind to the critters in our back yard during the winter, which here, seemed to start this weekend with blasting rainstorms that knocked all the leaves off the trees.

Think about the hummers this time of year

noreply@blogger.com (Barbara Clements) — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 11:55:00 -0700

Those who are hanging around, as well as those on their long journey to South America. Here is a great Seattle Times article on that point on bird feeders. (I always thought you needed the red color to attract them, but apparently not.

Photo from The Seattle Times.

Baldies and bats

noreply@blogger.com (Barbara Clements) — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 11:06:00 -0700

Was working at my desk on the PLU campus Monday, and looked up and caught sight of a mature bald eagle flying overhead. Then I went back to work, but kept hearing something that sounded like baldie chatter, so I looked again, and lo' there was said baldie on top of a fir tree, talking away to its mate, I think, who was in another tree. Apparently they come to campus each winter to feed on our dumpster diving squirrels, and the pet hampsters that get dumped on campus grounds.

On to bats, I came across this video on msn, and thought you might like to see it. Bats!! Love those bats. And if you're not into bats, how about vampire moths?

History of Halloween: Bats

Orcas take a hit

noreply@blogger.com (Barbara Clements) — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 12:44:00 -0700

I was dismayed to see both of these stories Saturday morning, about how seven orcas, including the baby, are now assumed dead. And the reason, they probably starved to death because there were not enough salmon to eat.

Now before anyone uses this as an excuse to shoot the sealions again (which I believe orcas do hunt), think about why there aren't enough salmon in the food chain. And it's not because of the sealions.

Photo from the Seattle Times.

Hunt for a raccoon and a stray kitten

noreply@blogger.com (Barbara Clements) — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 22:37:00 -0700

A New Tribune reporter was busy driving up and down five-mile drive this week in Tacoma, looking for a posse of raccoons that apparently has adopted a grey kitten. It's a great read, and you have to know this guy. Gruff on the outside, softy on the inside. Think grumpy santa claus.

I keep checking back to see if they found the kitten. However, it seems that someone keeps feeding these raccoons, because they are all approaching mike for a handout. Here are some interesting facts I found on raccoons while browsing google.

Update: Just checked the blog again, and apparently KOMO TV (where my hubby works) tracked down the story, the cat and its raccoon family. It's not been adopted.

Photo from KOMO TV

Eagle above, grab the lizard

noreply@blogger.com (Barbara Clements) — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 19:16:00 -0700

Was looking above our house on Scenic Hill in Kent yesterday, and up above was a baldie slowly circling around. It was great to see, but then I remembered who was sunning herself out on the back deck: Our lizard India. So I told Jennifer to go get her before we saw her flying off in the eagle's talons. She did, and wouldn't you know, it seemed the eagle lost interest in our house and glided off toward the cemetery, and rabbits.

Ph and whales sonar

noreply@blogger.com (Barbara Clements) — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 19:10:00 -0700

It seems that aside from arguing over whether dropping bombs in the ocean would affect the whales' sonar system, there's another point to be made, the changing Ph of the ocean might make it harder for them to communicate

Check out this blog.

A man and his stream

noreply@blogger.com (Barbara Clements) — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 16:44:00 -0700

My hubby is actually part of the local Trout Unlimited Chapter and know this guy, profiled today in the Seattle Times.

If we all just did our bit, persistently over the years, I think we would have salmon back in our streams again, and many other critters too. I think I might walk down to Mill Creek Park and take a look around this weekend.

Photo by the Seattle Times.

Giant , rare salamander spotted nearby

noreply@blogger.com (Barbara Clements) — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 14:17:00 -0700

Take a look! This guy was spotted just about 20 minutes north in Newcastle. Very cool.

Rare giant salamander sighting

Crow commute, it's still happening

noreply@blogger.com (Barbara Clements) — Thu, 9 Oct 2008 12:19:00 -0700

Stopped by the Taco Time on Meeker and low and behold, I caught the last of the crow commute up the Kent Valley. At 5:43 pm to be exact.

Does anyone know where these hundreds of crows roost each night?

Bird art

noreply@blogger.com (Barbara Clements) — Tue, 7 Oct 2008 11:22:00 -0700

The New York Times has a great piece, and multi-media presentation on bird art today. It's worth the read.

Of course this parakeet comes from the galleys of Mr. Audubon.

Still time to catch the swifts

noreply@blogger.com (Barbara Clements) — Tue, 7 Oct 2008 10:37:00 -0700

I plan to head up that way for my 30th class reunion (go Cascade High School, class of 78), but I will try to swing by Monroe while I'm up there this weekend, so see if there are any swifts left on the tail end of this migration.

This Seattle Times package is very nice.

Bats anyone? How about spiders?

noreply@blogger.com (Barbara Clements) — Sun, 5 Oct 2008 20:39:00 -0700

On Monday the 20th, the Rainier Audubon Society will be having a speaker on birds, and bats. So plan to attend. I figure that most of the bats are sleeping right now, and I haven't seen any in the night sky in about 2 weeks, even with the warm weather going into late September. Oh well, that's gone now.

But was is out in full, besides the Canadian Geese flying this way and that, are the spiders. Our rose garden in Kent has turned into a spider condo, with every spare plane, where one could build a web, taken. In fact one of the uber spiders of the species (I'm still looking it up to find out which one), I think moved into one fo the webs, and ate the builder and plopped herself in the middle one sunny day. Rough neighborhood.

Actually, I think the spiders I'm seeing are not wolf spiders, but orb spiders, some of which can get quite big, and apparently wander indoors during the winter (good maybe they can eat some of the fruit flies that seem to spontaneously combust in my kitchen. Here's a cool spider site, courtesy of WSU.

No, the trash doesn't go away

noreply@blogger.com (Barbara Clements) — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 14:54:00 -0700

I just love this blog, and usually check with it about every other day. It's called the sustainability blog, and it was a post on trash. And how it seemingly disappears every week, once the trash man comes. Well, it doesn't, as the author notes.

Here at PLU, I'm a little monkish about the trash. I just hate to throw anything away, and indeed, they make it pretty easy, with the cans, paper, composting and glass, not to mention plastics. So the compost sort of composts, until I get over to the University Center, where they take such stuff.

And as for Styrofoam. Any ideas?

Little critters do make a difference

noreply@blogger.com (Barbara Clements) — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 21:38:00 -0700

Often, I do feel it's the smallest critters, and their survival or not, that will make the biggest difference in what other species all the way up to the polar bear and the whale, and eventually us. Can't find a plankton photo right now, so one that eats planton will have to do.

Threatened fish in our area? Check out this cool map.

noreply@blogger.com (Barbara Clements) — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 13:08:00 -0700

Check out this cool interactive map from the USGS. Aside from the rather alarming news at how many fish are endangered in our area, it does give a clear idea of where the fish are and what streams and/or lakes they inhabit.

Photo of Death Valley pup fish, from Wikipedia.

For fish, swimming is everything.

noreply@blogger.com (Barbara Clements) — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 11:26:00 -0700

Especially if your a small fry, according to this article.

I especially loved this quote:

“If you can swim, you can go to areas where there’s more cookies or better food – or you can avoid the bullies,” explains Ryan Stanley, who specializes in marine biology. “Swimming in this environment is everything.”