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The February 22nd show featured a conversation with Starling Birch, videographer and mountain adventurer. Originally recorded and aired in August 2023, we talked about the pleasure and pain of adventuring into the mountains. We also considered the motivations that drive us to put ourselves in often unpleasant and potentially regretful circumstances when exploring the challenging landscape that surrounds us in Sitka.

Be sure to check out Starling Birch’s Youtube Channel for many short videos documenting some of his adventures around Baranof Island and beyond.

Starling Birch on Instagram

If you have questions or observations you want to share, please feel free to leave a comment here or on the page I’ve set up for that purpose.

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The February 8th show featured a conversation with Lauren /Bell, Lauren Wild, and Ellen Chenoweth, organizers of the first (annual?) State of the Sound community event scheduled for later this month. We talked about the intentions for the event, what is planned, and how folks can participate.

If you have questions or observations you want to share, please feel free to leave a comment here or on the page I’ve set up for that purpose.

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The January 25th show featured a conversation with Connor Goff. we talked about his experiences diving, boating excursions and some lessons learned, and birds.

If you have questions or observations you want to share, please feel free to leave a comment here or on the page I’ve set up for that purpose.

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The January 11th show featured a conversation with Richard Nelson and Kitty LaBounty. This conversation was broadcast as a live show in early 2016 (almost 10 years to the day before this show aired). Richard and Kitty were my most frequent guests over the first decade my show. Richard passed away in fall 2019, and Kitty last October. I am very grateful for their support of me and the Sitka Nature show both on and off the air.

If you have questions or observations you want to share, please feel free to leave a comment here or on the page I’ve set up for that purpose.

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The December 28th show featured a conversation with Paul Norwood and Brooke Schafer. In what has become an annual tradition for the show closest to new years, Paul and Brooke shared highlights of their explorations and adventures over the past year, and talked about some of the things they have in mind for the coming year.

If you have questions or observations you want to share, please feel free to leave a comment here or on the page I’ve set up for that purpose.

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The December 14th show featured a conversation with Jen Cedarleaf and Victoria Vosburg. We spoke about the upcoming Christmas Bird Count and some birding highlights from the past year.

If you have questions or observations you want to share, please feel free to leave a comment here or on the page I’ve set up for that purpose.

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The November 30th show featured a conversation with Zak Pohlen. Zak is an avian biologist and avid birder. We talked about birding and how it supports conservation work, especially using eBird as a tool for monitoring bird populations, and the impact of human activities on bird behavior.

If you have questions or observations you want to share, please feel free to leave a comment here or on the page I’ve set up for that purpose.

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The November 16th show featured a conversation with Kari Sagel and Brooke Schafer. In our (mostly) annual Sitka Nature and Library Show cross-over, Kari and Brooke shared reflections on encounters with nature through reading and direct experience.

If you have questions or observations you want to share, please feel free to leave a comment here or on the page I’ve set up for that purpose.

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The September 21st show featured a conversation with Brie Drummond, biologist with the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge. Her responsibilities include overseeing monitoring work on St. Lazaria island. We talked about the overall scope of the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge, and more specifically the nesting seabirds of St. Lazaria.

If you have questions or observations you want to share, please feel free to leave a comment here or on the page I’ve set up for that purpose.

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The September 7th show featured a conversation with Kitty LaBounty. Kitty shared about the soon-to-be released field guide Mushrooms of Alaska, which Kitty had received an advanced copy of. (Released in October 2025, it should be available through your favorite book seller). We talked about mushroom ecology, identification, and our personal experiences with mushrooms. We ended with Kitty sharing stories from some of her recent travels.

If you have questions or observations you want to share, please feel free to leave a comment here or on the page I’ve set up for that purpose.

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The August 24th show featured a conversation with Gavin McNichol, assistant professor at the University of Illinois Chicago. This conversation was originally aired October 2024 when Gavin was in town as a Scientist in Residency Fellow at the Sitka Sound Science Center.

We discussed his work studying wetland soil biochemistry. He is currently starting a project in Sitka studying the impact of Yellow Cedar decline on microclimate and soil carbon.

If you have questions or observations you want to share, please feel free to leave a comment here or on the page I’ve set up for that purpose.

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The August 10th show featured a conversation with marine biologist Greg Jensen. This conversation was originally aired in May 2024 when he was in Sitka as part of the Scientists in the Schools program through the Sitka Sound Science Center. Among the activities he participated in, was sea week at the elementary school (which has been going since at least the time I was in elementary school 40+ years ago). This lead to conversation about getting out to the beaches as children, how this ignited his passion for observing and documenting marine life, and some of what he’s learned over several decades spent exploring the waters of Puget Sound and beyond.

You can find Greg’s field guides at Molamarine.com.

If you have questions or observations you want to share, please feel free to leave a comment here or on the page I’ve set up for that purpose.

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The July 27th show featured a conversation with Jason Briner. Jason has been working in Southeast Alaska for a decade, collaborating with many others to conduct field work to better understand the timing of glacial retreat and the post-glacial environment of the region. He has been part of an interdisciplinary team conducting field work in the Sitka area the past two summers. We spoke about what earlier work has revealed so far, and what they hope to discover through the projects that are currently on going.

If you have questions or observations you want to share, please feel free to leave a comment here or on the page I’ve set up for that purpose.

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The July 13th show featured a conversation with Elizabeth Thomas, a paleoclimatologist based out of the University at Buffalo. Elizabeth shared about the water cycle and how understanding it and its effects can give insight into past climates. She is part of a team working to reconstruct the timing of glacial retreat and post-glacial climate and ecology of this region.

If you have questions or observations you want to share, please feel free to leave a comment here or on the page I’ve set up for that purpose.

Today I was due to fly South for a field trip to a location in the uplands of Byron Bay. Original plans were for a morning flight, but weather conditions below the flight minimums caused a delay. The Coast Guard helicopter could easily have flown (and does in much worse), but as there was a sling load involved, they required more visibility for safety.

The weather lifted enough for us to fly down in the afternoon. It ended up being a brief window, as the rain started in earnest and brought clouds down with it not long after we arrived.

The flight was reasonably smooth. We could see below us, but were near the base of the clouds which was probably mostly under 1000 feet. For most of the flight down I was looking at the water, but when they made a loop around to come in to our target area, I got a look at the headlands immediately north of Byron Bay.

With the sling load, they took some time deciding on a spot that they could safely deposit it that was also close to where we needed the stuff to be. They settled on a rocky spot adjacent to the lake, then landed with the helicopter a bit further upland to allow us to unload.

Some of our gear was in the helicopter (rather than on the sling load). It was an experience getting it unloaded while fighting the rotor wash. One of my bags had been hanging a bit loose in the sling load, so I was glad it didn’t break free during the flight.

Given the forecast for later in the week, Jason had decided to aim for a late Wednesday return. The concern was if we didn’t make it back Wednesday, we wouldn’t make it back until Sunday, at the earliest.

Given the short timeline for the trip, Jason and Jeri prioritized getting on the lake to get some bathymetry while Sam and I worked on getting stuff unpacked and set up.

The bathymetry run revealed the lake didn’t have the kind of basin that had been hoped for, and furthermore was too deep for the coring equipment. Option two was a nearby smaller pond.

The pond bathymetry was promising, so we moved all the coring gear up the hill and completed its assembly.

We took a break from this effort to try to find good camp spots. However, plenty of rain made things extra wet. We managed to find scattered flat-ish bedrock exposures elevated enough above the marshy ground that the abundant water wouldn’t flood them. rain on mix of marshy with exposed bedrock.

It was clear that more water was flowing than typical. My sense was the rain amounts were more like what this area would see during fall storms.

I ended up setting up my tent on a sort of flat rock. I had enough padding (including my life jacket, pillows, pads) plus I’ve been sleeping on a thin cushion on the floor, which probably made it easier for me to handle.

Despite wearing rain gear the whole time, I was still pretty damp. I had a warm sleeping bag, and thought my clothes might dry from body eat overnight with decent ventilation.

On this day I was focused more on setting up camp and project stuff, but did notice some of the plants and made a couple of observations.

[Writing this after returning home, it feels like the trip was so compressed that it is difficult to remember everything clearly. I remember noting at the time that 24 hours felt like much longer – it reminded me of the early days of covid when something only a few days past felt like it had been weeks ago.]

My iNaturalist Observations for Today

I was up on the early-ish side to go out on boat with Connor. I already had plans for the afternoon, but he had unexpectedly ended up with the day off and the weather was decent.

We dropped in at Starrigavan and we were on our way shortly after 8am.

The ride out was glassy. One of the few times it’s been so calm when we’ve been out over the past 9 months or so.

High tide had been around 7am, so we had a falling tide to contend with at Low Island, but the lack of surge made it easier.

I was interested to see no seals on the side of the island as we approached. Previously there had always been some. I wondered if maybe it was just the time of day, and they were out in the water. However, they were present on the other side of the island, so I’m not sure what was going on.

I didn’t shed any layers to walk around the island. With the sun out and no wind, I quickly warmed up. There wasn’t far to walk, so it wasn’t too bad.

Sandpiper numbers had increased overall, though we didn’t spot as many Semipalmated Sandpipers today as we had a few days ago. One Whimbrel still present.

Black Oystercatchers have still not hatched. I did notice a nest I hadn’t seen previously (but I think Connor had).

I saw one oystercatcher egg that had appeared to have been found and eaten by a bird.

After our loop around Low Island, we headed out to St. Lazaria.

We were still working our way through the kelp patch when I saw a big splash in the distance off in front of us. I’m guessing I had just missed seeing a whale breach.

One Horned Puffin was with some Tufted Puffins by St. Lazaria. It was flightier than the Tufted Puffins, so we mostly just had distant looks at it.

We spent some time there getting photos, then went pushed on toward the cliffs along the shoreline inside of Sitka Point.

We saw a handful of Horned Puffins flying in and out of a cave.

With the calm conditions we were able to nose up into the mouth of the cave.

We saw one puffin disappear up into a hole. I had assumed they would be on ledges, so was surprised when it disappeared. It’s interesting to consider how the rock was holding together there.

Before we left, the puffin came out and gave us a look.

From there we went to the ampitheter between Sitka Point and Trubitsin Point. Connor added fuel to the main tank in preparation to head out further.

Out beyond Cape Edgecumbe, we saw a loose group of charter boats and commercial trollers fishing. We went by them to see if they might have attracted any birds, but we didn’t see any.

I did wonder if any of the charter clients wondered about us running so far out in a little skiff.

In this area there was mixed swell, but little wind. As we went further out, the swell became more uniform and the water’s surface glassy. Connor said he had seen very few days as nice as we were experiencing out there.

We did finally see some birds. At first Rhinoceros Auklets, then some Northern Fulmars.

Some distance further, were a few more boats. They were probably fishing just past the shelf break, and it’s likely albatross were out there. However, Connor didn’t want to push too far and risk running low on fuel, and time would have been a challenge as well.

Coming back we got into a bit more wind, especially once we were back inside the cape. However, it was basically at our stern and not strong, so it didn’t make things challenging.

We stopped for a few minutes to try and get photos of Tufted Puffins at St. Lazraia. In this case, we were on the outside, and they were mostly flying by us. I might have managed a few photos that are worth keeping, but will delete almost all of them.

I had just enough time to grab a very quick bite to eat, then met up with Jason Briner and family for the trip out Green Lake Road. They needed to be back by around 4pm, so we wouldn’t end up with too much time, but thought it would be enough to get a sense of what was out there, and whether future more careful investigation might be warranted.

On the drive out we made a couple of stops beyond Medvejie. We did find ash in a few places along the road there. Some of the deposits seemed reworked, like they might have resettled after coming down the hill. Others looked more like they might have been intact from the original ash fall.

There was definitely no ash in some places going up the hill to Green Lake where I would have expected ash to be present.

I went to a gathering of high school classmates this evening. It was nice to visit with some folks I hadn’t seen in years (more than a decade in at least one case). It’s nice to catch up, but it also feels like a way that (for me at least) I can understand and process a little better my childhood experience, as we recount some of our memories (and how we perceive them with the perspective of middle age).

I didn’t get any photos, but the place we were at had a nice view of the colorful sunset.

On my way home (at nearly midnight) I could see a moon just trending towards gibbous hanging low in the sky. I briefly considered getting photos, but felt too tired after a long, full day.

My iNaturalist Observations for Today

I spent the afternoon out with Jason (visiting geologist) and KK (local outdoor enthusiast and professional hydrologist).

We started at Sawmill Creek Campground and headed up Beaver Lake trail with Jason’s family. They continued around on the trail, while the three of us split off to go to the uplands.

Jason wanted to take a look at some boulders I had made note of on my last visit. If they were suitable (they were), he wanted to get samples to do exposure dating on the rocks. Results should give a time frame for when glacial ice was last present at the location.

Low clouds and steady rain didn’t make for ideal weather, but sometimes you go when the schedule allows.

After sampling from two boulders on the main level, we dropped down to the lowest bench. The route I chose wasn’t ideal, as we were coming from a location I hadn’t dropped down from previously, and visibility was limited.

I double-checked the map on my phone to make sure we weren’t dropping off into the forest going towards Herring Cove, but otherwise navigated by following the path (such as it was) which seemed best.

Along the way I saw a pale brown bird fly up. It flashed white outer tail feathers, and I couldn’t think of normally occuring species that fit. It landed on a branch where it sat perched long enough for me to get a better look through binoculars. It took me a moment to make sense what I was seeing. I’ve never seen a blond junco before. It was buffy around the front (like a Swainson’s Thrush) and only slightly darker on its head and back. The pattern of shading was like a juvenile junco, just much paler. I also heard it calling. I would have loved to get some photos, but my camera was tucked away in a drybag in my backpack, so I had little hope of getting to it in time.

Jason sampled from a third and final boulder down on the lowest bench.

There we walked over to the only boulder I had previously noticed on my first several trips. It is perched right above where the hill starts dropping steeply down. This was right at the cloud base, and I could see Herring Cove.

I was reflecting today on how many boulders there are up there that I had not really noticed until that last trip when I specifically went to look. Another reminder of how much I fail to notice most of the time, and the value of having particular questions and errands to help expand awareness.

I’m not sure how navigating through the limited visibility would have been had I not been up there several times before. I’m sure I would have needed to refer to my map. As it was, I didn’t have any trouble staying reasonably oriented and getting us to where we needed to go.

My iNaturalist Observations for Today

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The June 29th show featured a conversation with Ron Heintz. We spoke about some of the work on herring and salmon Ron was involved in over many years as a fisheries biologist, and more recently landslide risks as part of the Sitka Sound Science center helping to coordinate research.

If you have questions or observations you want to share, please feel free to leave a comment here or on the page I’ve set up for that purpose.

Connor had the day off and had decided we could make a run to Kalinin Bay and hike over to Sea Lion Cove. The last time I had visited was in May 2011. The last time Connor had been there, he was just learning to walk.

We got off to a leisurely start, dropping in at Starrigavan shortly before 9:30am.

The run up took just over an hour and involved a little bit of chop at some of the places where the east wind funneled through passages.

The worst was between Sukoi and Sinitsin where the wind seemed to be coming out of the northeast, having plenty of fetch across Salisbury Sound. The waves were also reflecting off the shore, making for more confused seas. Fortunately, it was just a short stretch, becoming more coherent and then calming as we got over towards Kalinin Bay.

We weren’t the first boat in Kalinin Bay.

I had just put my phone on airplane mode to conserve battery (there’s no cell service in this area anyway) and was surprised to receieve several notifications. I noticed my phone had connected to wifi. The yacht we were motoring past had Starlink, and apparently my phone was able to connect.

Moving in towards shore, we were going with the wind.

The tide was low and we considered just beaching on the tide flat. However, we weren’t sure about being able to pull the boat in far enough with a higher tide expected on our return.

We moved down the shore, basically beaching the boat and dropping the stern anchor there. Connor wrapped the line around a rock he thought would be high enough to be accessible when the tide was up (spoiler: it wasn’t).

Another group was coming to shore at the same time. They had more people and made multiple trips shuttling folks, so we got started before they did.

We walked the beach to the start of the trail at the estuary proper. A trail sign there notes that trail through the estuary is flooded on tides above 9 feet.

The trail follows the edge of the estuary, and is quite muddy along significant parts of this section. It was longer than I remembered.

We heard a chainsaw, and not far up into the forest crossed paths with a Sitka Trailworks trail crew. I stopped to visit briefly before continuing on. They had experienced yesterday’s heavy rain event. Based on their description, the rain was even heavier here than where I was.

I had forgotten there was a memorial bench overlooking the small lake partway along the trail. A plaque has a remembrance of John Padilla, who was my brother’s 5th grade teacher.

We followed the trail around the lake, then down the hill.

The trail travels along and through a wetland area before another patch of forest between it and the beach. One of these days I would like to explore the boggy area more. I thought we might take some time to look around on our return, but didn’t have time.

It took us about 1.5 hours to make the hike across.

We had been chasing blue sky for much of the day. The clouds were faster than us, and the clear skies had retreated to the north. Rain began to fall not long after we arrived at Sea Lion cove.

We worked our way north through a small backwater estuary area and over to the bluffs at the north end of the beach.

In addition to observing plants generally, I was keeping a look out for different horsetails. I knew at least one had been reported from this area which I had not previously observed.

Tucked on the lee side of one the bluffs a handful of crabapple trees were growing in a way that caught my eye.

Belted Kingfishers kept flying in, and Connor was able to locate approximately where they had a nest.

On one of the bluffs was a group of large (for the species) Sitka alders. I didn’t spend too long looking at the epiphytes, but if I make it back again at some point, perhaps I will.

The other group had arrived not longer after we did, but by the time we left the bluffs, they were gathering to head back.

I knew at least one member of the group, and had noticed the kids were wearing rain coats. Had we caught up with them, I was going to ask them if they had invited the rain, and to take it back with them. As it turned out, the rain stopped as they left. We didn’t get rained on again.

Walking down the beach, I was up at the top looking at the plants growing there, and Connor walking down along the water.

I noticed him looking at something, taking photos. I scanned the beach, but didn’t see anything.

He got my attention, saying there was a Snowy Plover.

The plover did a remarkable job of blending in with the sand, but I finally spotted it.

It was not flighty, and gradually got used to us. We spent the next 40 minutes watching it, I ended up with 640 photos.

We continued down to look over to the shoreline south of Sea Lion Cove then walked out to a rocky point marking the south end of Sea Lion Cove.

The rock out at the end had interesting patterns of cracks and crevices. I’m not sure if they were due to weathering, or what.

Back on the beach, I chatted briefly with 5 guys who were on a kayaking trip. They had started at White Sulphur and were ending at North Beach Cabin. Yesterday’s crossing of Salisbury Sound sounded intense. They were spending today at Sea Lion Cove, with plans to finish up the paddle tomorrow.

Connor went back along the beach, and I once again stayed up in the meadow area.There’s an impressive thicket of the Thimbleberries there. I’m not sure how well they produce. I’ve never been at Sea Lion Cove when they were ripe (at least that I know of).

Connor spotted the plover again.

The light was better, so we spent another 40+ minutes and I shot an additional 400+ photos.

This time it wasn’t foraging down at the water line. It had been standing near a pile of washed up kelp when Connor spotted it (I couldn’t see it at first)

It seemed less concerned about us – perhaps in part because it was more concerned about avian predators. It kept looking up and seemed especially concerned by a Red-tailed Hawk hovering over the trees. It hunkered down for a while.

I sat down on the sand and awkwardly moved along to get a better angle. The plover didn’t seem to mind me doing it. Perhaps this approach helped put it more at ease as well.

The clouds started building again and we decided to move on.

In the bog area, Connor spotted a fish alongside the trail. He picked it up, and there was a leech attached to its eye. I was curious if it latched on there and killed the fish, or if it found it dead, and attached afterwards. While I washolding them, the leech detached and crawled off, revealing an empty eye socket.

Given this distance from the stream, I was curious the fish was there at all. Perhaps it’s less separated than I imagine. Or maybe the fish got there during high water, and was stuck in the shallower water.

We took a little less time getting back at just over an hour from beach to estuary, with a few brief stops to make observations, and one to chat with someone.

Back in the estuary, I spotted a bear. At first I thought it was a lone bear, but then a cub appeared.

The tide was up significantly compared to when we arrived this morning.

The boat was where we left it, but shore line wasn’t (fortunately).

Someone had moved the shoreline and tied it to the trees, otherwise we would have had to wait for the tide to drop a couple of feet (or gotten pretty wet) to retrieve it from around the submerged rock.

The wind had died down, and it didn’t take me long to remember that Kalinin Bay is notorious for flies. I was able to discourage them enough to keep any from biting, but they were still swarming. We didn’t dally, hopping in the boat and quickly moving to try and get beyond them while we packed up.

Leaving the bay, we saw another bear on the shoreline, but didn’t stop to look.

It was quite calm in Salisbury Sound, and not just there. The water was glassy for much of the run back.

We stopped to get photos of the flamingo tree. There were eagles perched in it as well. The three flamingos I saw were tipped over, though I could see the lines that kept them attached. The tree is dead, so it’s probably not a good idea to climb it anymore.

We were back to Starrigavan by shortly after 9pm.

My iNaturalist Observations for Today

I worked on collections this morning. One of the ones from my trip up Herring Cove seems to be Jungermannia schusteriana. This is a species I’ve apparently seen multiple times before, but it’s looked different every time.

I went out to Galankin Island to help Kitty get things moved in advance of a trip. Heading across from Sealing Cove, dark clouds over the sound caught my attention.

I heard rolling thunder on the walk up. Galankin Island is right over the approach to the airport, but the thunder sounded deeper than most jets flying in. I never saw a flash, but two extended rumblings of thunder preceded the rain which was on its way.

Looking out over the water, it appeared quite windy off Cape Burunof.

Galankin Island has Rough-skinned Newts. They may be happy with the wet and gray year spring and early summer we’ve been having. I saw three in a small area, without even trying to look for them.

The rain started not much after we had arrived. We waited out the extended shower inside.

I worked on more collections this evening – mostly bagging and tagging to clear out boxes.

Connor and I are planning to make a go at getting to Sea Lion Cove tomorrow.

My iNaturalist Observations for Today

Yesterday’s high of 65F was the first day this year that was over 60F. It’s the fourth latest date for a temperature over 60F (at the airport, with records going back to the 1940s). The only years with later first dates over 60F were 1970 (July 2nd), 1991 (June 19th), and 1982 (June 16th). It was interesting to me that the 1980s was the only decade which had two years in the top 7 latest.

I spent part of the day working on photos and observations from yesterday.

I made it out for a bit this afternoon.

Along Jarvis Street I followed up on an observation I thought might be yellow monkey flower, but it looked larger than I’m used to seeing.

I confirmed it is yellow monkey flower growing there. It seems happy in the ditch.

Other plants also seemed very happy in and around the ditches along Price Street. I’m not sure if it’s minerals available from the gravel road, or something else. Whatever the case, it seems like they’re getting what they need there.

At Ultimate this evening we had enough for three on three. Some variable winds made it tricky, but it felt nice to be out in the sun.

My iNaturalist Observations for Today

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The June 15th show featured a conversation with Rick Taylor. Rick is an avid birder and geocacher, as well as a retired meteorologist with the US Air Force. We talked about the history of geocaching, and Rick shared experiences of birding and geocaching around North America, as well as from his time as a meteorologist with the Air Force.

If you have questions or observations you want to share, please feel free to leave a comment here or on the page I’ve set up for that purpose.

A Hairy Woodpecker visited the suet feeder this morning while I was watching. Moments after it left, a junco cleaned up crumbs below the suet feeder. I’m not sure if the junco is feeding young, but it might be.

I spent time doing microscope work so I could clear space tackle boxes before heading out for a hike.

I’ve been meaning to get up into the Beaver Lake uplands (aka the Ooompa Loompas), an upland area between Beaver Lake and Silver Bay. I thought I would try a more direct route than I had previously gone.

This route did not turn out to be so direct. I got into some brushy areas, needed to skirt cliffs and ended up climbing up through a steep gully between two cliffy areas. I’m not sure if I could have made it if I had been more committed to going direct.

On the way up at the base of cliffs, I noticed some species off mosses and liverworts that caught my eye, so it worked out okay.

I also found erratic boulders where I came into clearings, which I otherwise would have missed had I not gone this route.

I came into the more open areas higher up than I expected. While finding my way down to the lower bench area, I flushed a junco. It seemed to fly up from the ground, and I wondered if it might have been on a nest. I poked around briefly, but didn’t spot one. Later I had another similar experience, but didn’t find a nest then either.

Today I took more time and made a more extensive exploration of some of the open areas than previous trips. I overlapped with where I had been before, but definitely covered new (though nearby) ground.

Along the way, I took an alternate route from lower bench up to the higher areas.

From where I came out, could see other boulders scattered across the rolling landscape. I had never noticed them on prior trips, but now that I was looking specifically for them, they easily stood out.

Before going to look more closely at the boulders, I crossed a patch of forest to visit the northeast lobe. I’ve been wondering about it, but hadn’t previously made it over there.

I expected to be similar to the main area I’ve visited, but the terrain there had more elevation variation. Basically there was very little relatively flat area.

I was surprised to see deer trails and plenty of scat in this area. Both because it seemed open, but also because it didn’t seem like great habitat for food and such. The deer didn’t ask me, though. I did see one deer when it climbed up a away from a pond I was poking around. I had been there several minutes by this point, and I guess the deer just got uncomfortable enough that it abandoned the concealed place it was hanging out in the bushes.

I did wading in a couple of ponds. The bottom was quite soft. Despite its small size, one of the ponds was deep enough that I probably would have been over my waist had I gone all the way in. The deep, soft sediment on the bottom made me feel a little unstable on my feet, and I wasn’t interested in swimming, so backed out of that one.

On three humps with views down to Herring Cove and Silver Bay I found rock piles on top. I’m reasonably confident the rocks were piled by humans, and not recently. It’s hard to say how old they were, but I’m pretty sure it’s at least on the order of decades, and it could be more like centuries.

At the time I was on the northeast lobe, I was thinking I may not visit it again. It didn’t seem quite as rich as the main area, and was a little bit of a pain to get to. Looking back now, it seems more intriguing to revisit. Time will tell if I ever make it, but I do feel a tug of curiosity (as I often do).

Once back to the main area, I walked over for a closer look at at least a couple of the boulders I had seen. To my eyes, they look granitic. That’s bodes well for the possibility of collecting samples for exposure dating. If it works out, I’ll be interested to learn when the glaciers retreated from this area. Interestingly, I didn’t notice any erratic boulders on the northeast lobe.

Before heading down, I checked for long-leaf sundew (Drosera anglica) at the pond where Paul and Brooke had discovered it last year. I found only one plant that was still just putting out leaves. I’m not sure if they just get started later, or I didn’t happen to look in the right place.

I went back down the electrical department route, taking around 40 minutes to get back to the road.

In hindsight, water would have been good to have, or at least the water filter – which I thought about bringing, but forgot to grab before heading out. I didn’t really expect to be gone for so long, and I was fine. I just would likely have felt better with some water.

My choice to wear shorts had consequences as well. In my younger years I hiked in shorts almost all the time. I just accepted that my legs would get beat up when I was going off trail. These days I prefer not to have my legs scraped and scratched so much. I tolerate it, but next time I expect I’ll wear pants.

I’ve now at least circumnavigated much of the area up there. Looking at the map with my tracks, I see plenty of sections and pockets I’ve missed and would like to poke around in at some point.

I’m motivated in part by a liverwort that Worley reported from up there which I’m still hoping to refind.

I did a fair bit of collecting today. I nearly filled the two tackle boxes I had with me.

This evening after getting my radio show ready, I noticed the snow on Bear Mountain showed signs of recent avalanches. Presumably the warm day triggered snow to melt and avalanche off some of the rocky areas or remaining cornices. I think it was a good day not to be up on the snow.

I also saw what looked like they could be tracks roughly where I crossed the slow on my trip up there 10 days ago. At the time I wondered if they were my tracks (melted out a bit), or maybe a bear wandered across that way later. Reviewing the photo more closely, I saw the tracks continued on beyond where I had been, so I suspect it was a bear.

My iNaturalist Observations for Today

Clear early, then partly cloudy over town during the day, but clearing up again in the evening.

I needed to be home for calls this morning, but was able to get out on the boat with Connor late this afternoon.

Ocean conditions were much calmer than any trip we’ve been on this year. A welcome change.

We put in at Starrigavan and headed out towards the sound.

From off of Fred’s Creek on, we saw hundreds of Marbled Murrelets scattered about with lower numbers of other species. A whale was also in the area. I’m assuming there were food opportunities, but I’m not sure what. Perhaps salmon fry?

Groups of Ancient Murrelets were in the area as well. Some were small family groups, typically two adults and two downy young. Others were larger groups of adults, maybe still waiting for their young to hatch.

We made our way into Low Island and decide if we were quick about it, we should be able to anchor up and not get stranded by the falling tide.

As I’ve observed before, there were many seals on the shore, perhaps hundreds across the whole island. Those near where we came in went into the water long before we made it to shore and watched us curiously from the kelp beds. Others were not concerned.

There were a few birds, including the nesting Black Oystercatchers (I spotted one nest during our quick visit). Some Whimbrels and Brant were also present.

Back on the boat, we went towards Inner Point. On our return, there were still plenty of alcids, but not as many as their had been. I wonder if the murrelets had picked up food to carry back to their nests.

Approaching Inner Point, several Pacific Loons decided they weren’t interest in sticking around while we were there.

We walked around Inner Point. Whimbrel we had seen previously were still around. We also saw Canada Geese and Greater Yellowlegs. Oystercatcher numbers were lower than last time. The 51 I counted then seemed unusually high. I’m not sure why so many happened to be there at the time.

I picked up a plastic bottle at Inner Point that had an interesting logo on the cap. Connor said it looks like a swift to him. I did an image search on Google, but didn’t find a match.

My iNaturalist Observations for Today

I didn’t get out too much today. With the forecast calling for sunny weather in the coming days, it seemed like a good time to do things indoors.

This morning I heard birds making noise outside and checked. I saw two Hairy Woodpeckers, one feeding the other suet from the suet feeder. They took off when a Northern Flicker flew up to the feeder. I think it may not have been comfortable with me watching, as it didn’t stick around for long. Later I noticed the suet block had some chunks out of it. Perhaps this one won’t last for the better part of a year like the last one did.

I did make a brief walk around the neighborhood mid-morning. Not much snow remains on the Pyramids. I’ll try to catch when it disappears, but we’ll see if the clouds cooperate.

This evening I checked the visitor center at Totem Park for moths.

By this time the clouds had started to break up. Time will tell if it transitions to the sunny conditions called for in the forecast tomorrow.

My iNaturalist Observations for Today