Curious naturalists can ask different kinds of questions about what we see. The most basic kinds consist of the usual, descriptive Who/What/When/Where/How? For instance, some… Continue reading
The first satellite’s Alaska connection On any clear, dark night you can see them, gliding through the sky and reflecting sunlight from the other side… Continue reading
Many animals store food in preparation for winter or just to be eaten later. Bears and wolves are among those that stash prey remains, with… Continue reading
Right about now, within a shrub in southern Texas, a ruby-crowned kinglet twitches to face northward. In a few months, guided by forces neither the… Continue reading
The understory of our forests is graced with lots of ferns in a variety of shapes and sizes. Ferns (along with trees and wildflowers) are… Continue reading
A seven-foot minuteman stands on a rock base where Massachusetts Avenue splits at the end of Lexington’s main drag. He was unveiled in 1900 to… Continue reading
I often walk out to Pt. Louisa for the great vistas and a good chance of seeing some wildlife. Sometimes, of course, there are no… Continue reading
One misty day in mid-December, a friend and I walked the little Fish Creek Trail. At the side of the pond, a small gray bird… Continue reading
It’s time to start emptying the notebook following the Fall Meeting of the American Geophysical Union, which happened from Dec. 9-13, 2024 in Washington, D.C.… Continue reading
Everything is being reduced to numbers which my math department friends down the hall cite as evidence of the advancement of the species. But old… Continue reading
This little owl was quite frequently detected in the trees at the edge of the wetlands this fall. And one appeared on the doorstep of… Continue reading
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
