Herring and Rain

This entry is part 59 of 133 in the series 2011 Photojournal

Today was the first opening of the 2011 Sitka Sound Herring Sac Roe Fishery. It was held in the afternoon near Middle Island. I don’t think it was close enough to see from the road, but it did not matter too much for me since I needed to teach class during that time. Total precipitation … Read more

March is Moving On

Somehow most of a month has slipped by with very limited posting, despite my intentions to keep up with nearly daily posts. I’ve started to fill in some of the missing days with photojournal entries (see side bar for recent updates there), though in most cases it’s been long enough that I have forgotten what … Read more

Boat Birding

It was a lovely late winter/early spring day with partly cloudy skies and calm conditions. I was able to get out for a trip birding by boat. We went from town out to checkout the waters by Low Island, then along the Kruzof shoreline and into Port Krestof before coming back to town.

Sea Lions and Gulls

Spent the morning on the Food Web Cruise fund raiser for Sitka WhaleFest. They asked me to be aboard as the bird expert. It’s typically an enjoyable ride on an Alen Marine Sightseeing Vessel. We saw several whales, sea otters, Steller Sea Lions, and of course many birds.

Later this evening I went for a walk to scan gull flocks along the channel. Didn’t find anything unusual.

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Views Along the Channel

During the school year I usually walk to UAS twice a week in the afternoon. It’s interesting to observe the changes, especially as the season turns to spring. The Channel boat harbors have boats in town for the Herring Sac Roe fishery tied up two and three deep to the transient floats. Long-line season starts a week or two prior, and the gulls are feasting on the effluent from the fish processing plants. Bald Eagles line the shoreline keeping an eye out for opportunities to eat, but it seems they are especially watching for the first herring spawning when the fish will be abundant close to the surface and relatively easy to feast on.

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