Sitka Nature

I dropped Connor off at school this morning then picked him up this afternoon. He and I went down to Thompson Harbor to see if any birds were around there. Prior to getting him from school, I took a quick walk through Totem Park.

Weather: It was rainy and windy this morning, with several breaks in the clouds (sunshine, though still breezy) this afternoon.

Birds: The Cackling Goose and two Greater White-fronted Geese were still at Swan Lake. I did not see any ducks other than Mallards.

At Totem Park there were 3-4 Northern Pintails, 4 Green-winged Teal, 8 American Wigeons and quite a few Mallards in the estuary. I did not see the flock of teal and shovelers that was there yesterday.

There were quite a few gulls around, but in the quick look I took (all I had time for), I did not notice anything unusual. It’s interesting to watch the river just up from the estuary, as the gulls almost seem to treat it like a water park ride. They float down the river and, at a certain point at the upper part of the estuary, they take off and fly back upstream again.

I saw a Winter Wren along the trail.

Other Notes:

I took a look at Indian River after dropping Connor off at school. The water was lower than I expected. At the Sawmill Creek Road bridge, the willows and alders were still well above water. When I checked back later before picking Connor up, it was up 1-2 feet higher, with the base of the willows and alders were under a bit of water.

One of the presumed tomato plants appears to have been stepped on or something, as it no longer appears viable. The other one had a flower open on it today (click on thumbnail below to see). There’s supposed to be an 11+ feet high tide in the next day or so, and I’m not sure, but I think that will be high enough to soak this plant. With the wave action that’s been there lately, it will probably be gone if the tide does get that high.

Roseroot (Sedum roseum)

Other Posts in the series:
Bear Mountain Flora (part 1)
Bear Mountain Flora (part 2 – Saxifrages)
Bear Mountain Flora (part 3 – Aster Family)

This is (finally) the last post about the plants I found on a hike up Bear Mountain earlier this month. This will be sort of a catch-all of plants that I thought were interesting but didn’t make it into one of the previous posts.

Unidentified Pea Family

When I first saw this plant, it looked like a plant in the pea family, but I was totally sure about that. I looked for seedpods, but did not see any until I looked carefully at my photos when I got home. I did not look closer at the actual plant because I only saw them growing on a very steep (almost cliff) slope with loose rocks and a long drop. I opted to just take photos from a distance rather than risk the fall.

Yellow Monkey-flower (Mimulus guttatus)?

These plants were growing in a moist area. At the time I thought the leaves looked a little bit like Enchanter’s Nightshade. Looking at the photos and comparing with Enchanter’s Nightshade leaves, it’s pretty clear they are not. I’m now leaning toward Yellow Monkey-flower (Mimulus guttatus)

Holly-fern (Polystichumm lonchitis)

This does not seem to be an especially common fern around Sitka, though I have seen it a few places.

Unidentified Cinquefoil (Potentilla sp)

If I saw this plant growing on rocks along a beach, I probably would not question it as a Villous Cinquefoil (P. villosa). However, I have never seen it at upper elevations before, though it apparently does grow in the alpine. I would not be surprised if it is Villous Cinquefoil, but there are other alpine potentillas that I am not sure about. One particular difference I notice is that the leaves seem much coursely toothed than I am used to seeing on the beach. I only found it on the summit ridge at around 4000 feet, or so.

Unidentified Pearlwort (Sagina sp.)

It seems most likely that this is Snow Pearlwort (S. intermdedia) or Arctic Pearlwort (S. saginoides). Habitat seems to fit better with Snow Pearlwort.

Roseroot (Sedum roseum)

This was a new-to-me plant that seemed restricted to the alpine areas. I’ll have to try to get up again a little earlier next year to get photos of the flowers.

Sibbaldia (Sibbaldia procumens)

Another new-to-me alpine plant that I only saw in the alpine areas. In this case I managed to find some flowers, though they are fairly inconspicuous.