Juneau Independent

Here in Southeast, two species of swift reach the northern extent of their breeding range, although they are not common here.

The snow is still thick on the ground in some places and my pond still has a lot of ice. The small alders that grow at the pond edge were bent double by those heavy snows and still have their tops locked in the pond ice. Pairs of mallard visit the pond every day, foraging around the edges and on the fallen seeds on the ice. Other spring things are happening too!

Ice-out at Twin Lakes! Some swans soon discovered the open water and quickly took advantage of the access to submerged vegetation. Skunk cabbage inflorescences grew larger, bringing their cheerful yellows to the dark grounds. Mountain bluebirds continued to show up in the wetland, delighting many of us as they head north; they are gone before the end of April.

In mid-April I went out on the Airport Dike Trail, hoping to find some fat buds that were loosening up and showing a little green leafiness. Alas, no, too soon for that. My best observation for that walk happened out by the bench.

All that snow — over 16 feet of it! We shoveled. We dealt carefully with the blind junctions, where huge snow berms meant you couldn’t see the cross traffic until you pulled your car well out into their lane. We shoveled again and we dreamed of spring.

These strange little critters are in their own phylum, distantly related to arthropods and round worms. There are over a thousand species of them, distributed in various habitats around the world; over 80 species are known from Alaska. So small that they are almost invisible to our unaided eyes, most of them are less than a millimeter long.

When a new bumblebee queen emerges from her natal nest in late summer or early fall, she makes a so-called ‘nuptial’ flight.

The insect order Hymenoptera includes wasps and bees. Bees evolved from a waspish ancestor a long time ago and constitute a separate lineage, which is not the focus of this essay, although some comparisons are quite interesting.

Some time ago, I wrote about animals preening, mostly emphasizing the physical and social functions of that activity. Now I focus on how the digits (fingers and toes) are used for grooming and preening.

A horde of capelin swept into Auke Bay this winter, happily feasted on by seals and sea lions and diving birds. Seeing a video of that horde prompted me to learn more about those little fish; here’s a small summary.

The word "whiskers" covers a variety of structures, stiff or soft, and most mammals have them. What we often call "whiskers" in humans are facial hairs grown chiefly for adornment, although they may sometimes have minor ancillary functions, and this essay does not deal with them.

A male wood duck tends to his plumage. (Matt Goff Sitka Nature photo) By Mary F. Willson Birds typically take good care of their feathers, preening them frequently. This behavior is partly innate, but some of it is learned, by watching others or from experience. They commonly use their bills or their feet, maybe occasionally rubbing on a branch or a rock. This self-maintenance practice has several benefits for the individual. For instance, it may remove ecto-parasites and deb