When I photographed this Common Raven, wind surfing off Ocean Beach in San Francisco, I didn’t realize that new life would continually germinate from this one photo … through my Creative Commons license and into the public domain by way of sketches, artwork composites and collages. I’m always delighted when an image I’ve licensed under…
Archives for October 2011
Local Salmon & the Salmon ISA Virus
I came upon Alexandra Morton through a link on a Facebook page — the Orca Network’s page. Morton is a biologist who, according to her brief bio statement, is “a registered professional biologist who was living in a remote archipelago studying whales when the fish farmers came to my town.” Today, she posted a revealing…
Derelict Nets & Entangled Birds
Note: All gulls pictured in this post, and other trapped birds were freed from the netting. Follow Up on 10/21/11: I phoned today and learned that an official went out to this net, confirmed what we saw in terms of bird entanglement, and holes in the net have apparently been fixed as a temporary measure,…
Yellow Woolly Bear
My caterpillar ID is rusty, to say the least, so a Flickr user helped me identify this caterpillar as a Yellow woolly bear or Spilosoma virginica — destined to become a tiger moth. I posted about a different variety of woolly bear after a trip to Bodega Head last year where we got some close…
Why I Don’t Disclose Wildlife Locations
You may have noticed that with many of my posts, I describe the location of my photos in most general terms. There’s a reason for this, and it has nothing to do with hoarding a choice photography spot. In fact, most places where I’ve photographed wildlife are quite open to the public and well-known by…
Pinniped R&R
(about pinnipeds) This group of California sea lions (Zalophus californianus) was hauled out on a dock in Westport, Washington. The scene reminded me of Pier 39 in San Francisco — although on a much smaller scale. California sea lions are a protected species and, by law, all marine mammals should be viewed from a distance…
Fly Away Home (and Safe) …. 2011
I’m re-posting my comments from October 2010, on this the opening day of waterfowl hunting season in Washington State, and a week before California’s opener. I’ve said it before so rather than saying it again, I’ve opted to reprint my thoughts from last year, with a few tweaks. See also a discussion of non-hunters and…
Pelagic Family, On the Rocks
We passed this Pelagic Cormorant family (Phalacrocorax pelagicus) on one of the few isolated nesting spots near Vancouver Island (British Columbia). We were told that in the 1990s, rampant shoreline development eliminated important habitat for the cormorants. This rock island was one of a few ecological reserves the B.C. government set aside for the cormorants’…
The Orca-Scat Tracking Dog
Tucker isn’t really interested in the water. But, he spends his working days on a boat, sniffing out orca scat in the breezes of the Salish Sea. He’s a labrador mix, trained as part of the Conservation Canine program — at the University of Washington’s Center For Conservation Biology. Tucker’s ambivalence about water actually makes…
If Orcas Could Buy Sofas …
Orcas can’t, of course, pick out sofas. But if they could, they would tell you that their survival may depend on the product and furniture choices we make — and the industries we support in the process. The orcas of the Salish Sea, who regularly cross the international boundary between Washington State and British Columbia,…