Sitka Nature

• Just saw a Pied-billed Grebe at Swan Lake; a Very Rare species for Sitka. #

Powered by Twitter Tools

Its large size, scaled cap, pores, and a few other features make Dryad’s Saddle (Polyporus squamosus) fairly distinctive. Mushroom Expert describes this species as “widespread east of the Rocky Mountains”, and the Northwest Key Council indicates it is found occasionally in the Pacific Northwest.

I found this mushroom growing on a standing dead Cottonwood near the Mendenhall River while wandering around during a layover in Juneau. Though Sitka and Juneau are not far apart and share similar climates, it seems likely there are many species which are not found in both locations. To my knowledge this species has not been found around Sitka, though if it favors cottonwood trees, there are not so many of those in well traveled places near Sitka. I do hope to spend some time in areas with a fair amount of Cottonwood this summer, and will be keeping my eyes open for this mushroom.

Margined White (Pieris marginalis) is the most common butterfly in the Sitka area (not that it has much competition, as there seems to be only one other regularly occurring species). During the warm years in 2003 and 2004, I remember seeing lots of these flying around during the summer, especially in June. In the years since, they have been much less common, though I’m pretty sure I noticed at least a couple each year.

Larvae of this species are said to feed on plants in the mustard family and they will often have two flights a year.

E-fauna BC shows a Sitka record for another related species, P. angelika, but assuming it’s a valid record, I suspect that species does not typically occur here given its overall range and the lack of other records along the coast.

While relaxing on a bench at Swan Lake, I happened to notice an unusual bird pop up to the surface. I wasn’t sure whether to believe it when I thought I saw a Pied-billed Grebe, but after waiting a while longer, I saw it resurface several more times and was able to confirm (and get the pictures seen here) that it was a Pied-billed Grebe. I had previously seen and photographed a Pied-billed Grebe on Swan Lake two and a half years ago. It was interesting to see the differences – this time of year the pied-bill definitely shows up much more clearly.

Like the first one I saw, this one seemed to prefer to hang out among the weeds and avoid being seen clearly. I did manage to get a couple of clear looks, but most of the time I could not find it, and when I did, it was tucked in among the pond-lily leaves. It was favoring the south side of the peninsula while I was watching it today.

Pied-billed Grebes seem to show up somewhere in Southeast Alaska each Fall. They are considered Very Rare in the Winter and Spring seasons, and only Accidental for summer. In Sitka they seem to be Very Rare Fall through Spring, but this appears to be one of a very few (perhaps the only) June (or Summer) record for Sitka.