Sitka Nature

As far as I know this is the first breeding record for Pied-billed Grebe in Sitka, and it seems to be one of only a handful in the Alaska (a couple in Ketchikan and one from the Copper River). This summer I first noticed Pied-billed Grebe on Swan Lake early in June. I heard from a visiting birder that it had been observed singing within a day or two after. Subsequently, I thought I saw it again on 4 July, but did not get a good enough look to be sure, so I inquired from other local birders and heard that one was seen in late June. Last week I saw it again on two different days, with two birds observed the second time. Finally, this morning, I observed at least one adult (but I think probably two) and two juveniles seen in these photos.

Looking at the past reports of Pied-billed Grebes in Sitka, I notice there are a couple of years where the pattern of occurrence suggests possible breeding with observations in May and August. Given how difficult the birds have been to observe this summer after the first couple of days – several times I’ve gone by the lake looking for them and have not been able to find any, and on those occasions when I have seen them, they quickly swim away – it is not implausible that breeding took place.

Thanks to Bill Tweit and Carrie Hisaoka for reports of these birds. The information about prior breeding records comes from the paper “Birds of Ketchikan Area, Southeast Alaska” written by Steve Heinl and Andy Piston and published in Western Birds vol 40 no 2, 2009. Prior records for Sitka are referenced from Marge Ward and Marlys Tedin’s observations.

• On Gavan Hill in the clouds headed to Harbor Mountain with my dad and kids (67, 8, and 7 years young) #

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In May Connor found and brought me this Thallophaga hyperborea which had been crawling up a stake he had pounded in the ground. It seemed a strange place to find a moth, but upon learning its identity (via bugguide.net) and reading a little about the life history, it made more sense.

Larvae of this species dine on conifers, including our local Western Hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla) and Sitka Spruce (Picea sitchensis) then spend the winter as pupa in the soil before emerging as adults in the spring. It seems likely this individual was just emerging when Connor found it.

Variable Carpet Moths (Anticlea vasiliata) are aptly named for their diverse array of color morphs. This May I photographed two different ones, to go along with one I photographed April 2009.

Information I’ve seen about larval food plants does not includes only raspberries, which many people raise, but they are not especially common. It is possible this species moved in with the introduction of raspberries, though I suspect they have other food plants that are native – perhaps salmonberries (Rubus spectabilis) which are abundant.

The photo which leads the post represents the least marked end of the spectrum for this species, with those shown below being perhaps more typical. Note the dark lines present in the relatively unmarked individual are also present on the other individuals, though the darker bands obscure them somewhat.