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Hi SF, Jellyfish have separate sexes. Individuals either produce clouds of sperm or of eggs. Even though individuals can release tremendous numbers of sperm or eggs, the ocean is a big place. Without aggregation and synchronization, many gametes wouldn't find its opposite number (dilution is...

That is such a wonderful compliment. I worked my whole professional life as a university professor (and scientist). I derived a tremendous amount of satisfaction when I was able to convey complex biological concepts to my students. That I am still having a positive impact with you all after I...

The France v England game has become the football equivalent of the NBA or NHL All Star games. "You get a goal. You get a goal. You get a goal."... Steve

I'm not sure why there is a game for third place. It is an alien concept in most sports. How hard do you expect the players to play in today's game between England and France? Will the game be treated as a "friendly"? No one remembers who placed where in the World Cup beyond the winner (and...

I did not know anything about the impact of smoke on bird behavior and I did a bit of digging this morning. It can be hard to get these kinds of studies funded because their locations and timing are not very predictable. I was able to find a discussion of this issue in "All About Birds" (see...

Some Birds of Paradise. [No, not this bird of paradise.]. More accurately, some birds at Paradise, Mt. Rainier Grouse can be cryptic, until they aren’t… This sooty grouse hen strutted across the parking lot at the site of the old Visitor Center at Paradise as soon as we arrived. I was...

Mt. Rainier 23 June 2026. A few weeks ago, my wife and I hiked several areas in the Paradise area of Mt. Rainier. Our wanderings included the Nisqually Glacier Overlook Trail, a section of the Skyline Trail, and the verge along then road to Reflection Lake. In addition to the stunning...

Yes, definitely coralroots. Given the time of year (but without seeing a close-up of a flower), I would predict that this is a cluster of spotted coralroots [edit, nope...]. [Edit: there is one clear flower in the second image (top center inflorescence). And flowers emerge from bottom of the...

If throwing out the occasional live anchovy keeps a school by the boat, then casting flies, even poppers, can just be a hoot. It does take longer to reel an albacore in with a fly rod, but I feel that the fight is more "visceral". Steve

I think that it will be a combo trip. I'll be using my fly rod as will @Burt Dagger. I'm not sure how the other two anglers intend to fish. Steve

Update: two seats are taken. DM me if you are interested in any openings that might appear or if we have to reschedule a boat in September due to bad weather. Steve

Update: seats have been taken. But if you are interested in a tuna trip, send me a DM and I'll keep you in mind if seats come up or if we have to do some weather-related rescheduling in September. Steve

Spain's precision passing is so impressive. Steve

Update, All Rivers is already landing tuna out of Westport (along side their salmon trips). The albacore are here... I still have two seats available for a charter with All Rivers on September 1st. Contact me if interested. Steve

Great advice about scopolamine patches. Unless the forecast is for flat seas (does happen), I will apply mine before bed the night before. It takes some time for the drug to be absorbed and to have effect. It does tend to make me drowsy at times on the boat and dries out my mouth. Some...

The bird folks (such as the American Ornithological Society and the International Ornithological Union) have done a great job of standardizing common names. In the scientific literature, common names are often used to identify that target species. This standardization provides stability to...

While I have several field guides at my elbow (literally...), I have been finding two web-based resources to be very valuable. The first is wildflower search.org (see https://wildflowersearch.org/). Once you provide your location and observation time, you can search possibilities by plant...

Very atmospheric with the fog/rain. Beauty rising from desolation. Steve

More Deer Antics. The doe with twin fawns finally paused long enough near my office window for me to take a few nice pictures of their activities. The fawns paused their “zoomies” long enough to do some grazing and some nursing. All this activity occurred even though my neighbor had a...

Little-known GBH hunting strategies: #1 hawking passing insects from an elevated perch and #2: stabbing aerial prey in the air. ;) ;) ;) Steve