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Thank you for your experienced input RRS. Do you have any thoughts on the subspecies identification of the larger cackling geese? In a few years, I have progressed from realizing that these "small" Canada Geese are actually a separate species to trying to tease out their subspecies. As...

Billie Frank Jr. - Nisqually NWR, early-mid April. Part 2: Geese and Ducks. There has been a flock of 100ish cackling geese at Nisqually since late fall. They are especially vigilant when a bald eagle cruises by, exploding into the air and noisily repositioning to a quieter meadow to...

Billie Frank Jr. - Nisqually NWR, early-mid April. Part 1: Cryptic marsh birds. Spring is on the way. I have observed the rapid pace of change at the refuge. The weather, the flora, and the fauna reflect that this transition is underway. And one impact of this was demonstrated during...

That area of Southern Arizona is so rich in bird species. Endemics, Sonoran species, Eastern species, Western Species. Steve

With that tendency toward piscatory, those horsefly rainbows could be killer in lakes that have invasive brook trout that need some thinning. Steve

Love the detailed report complemented by great pictures of flora and fauna. Steve

Yes, a red tail. You can see the red tail of an adult in the second image. Steve

For the Antarctic cruise, I upgraded from a Canon 80D mirrored camera to a Canon 5D Mark IV. My major bird lens is a Sigma 150-600mm zoom. The combo of 5D and zoom lens is hella heavy... The 80D often has a 70-300mm zoom to shoot butterflies or flowers (closer minimum focal distance) or for...

Yes, I haven’t been posting in this thread very much since the new year. Some of you may be concerned that I busted my trigger finger. But the reality is far more exciting. I’ve been VERY backlogged in processing my pictures. The largest cause of this backlog is the 14,000+ pictures and...

If you want a real mind-blower, look up the Bobbit worm (see here and here). They can reach 10' in length buried into the sediment. They are ambush hunters which can explosively strike a passing fish with its powerful jaws and pull the fish down its burrow to be devoured. Steve

Hi Brian, That is the giant pile worm or giant clam worm. The old scientific name was Nereis brandti. That genus has been better defined in recent research papers and this species has been placed in a new genus, Neanthes, though there is some discussion of moving it into yet another genus...

Very cool video. King snakes have evolved immunity to the venoms of rattlesnakes, cottonmouths, and copperheads, but not apparently to coral snakes (see a great review here). Natural molecules in king snake blood neutralize (to varying degrees, among king snake species and likely poisonous...

The red dot in Merlin indicates that the identified species is rare in the region of the recording. Therefore, you would have less confidence that the identification, based on song or call, is correct. The only species on your list that I might have some reservations about would be the...

Well, a CTD might be a strain on his pontoon boat... Steve

[Rant follows.]. Cliff Mass is a tenured professor at UW, but his perspective is often VERY incomplete / biased (especially if he can get a dig at the Seattle Times or NPR) for an "objective scientist". Last spring, in several blogs, he significantly downplayed drought possibilities in the...

I doubt that they would padlock the access as there is a federal BLM campground adjoining the state DNR site. And the site is a trailhead. The only thing that I think that DNR could do is NOT service the vault toilet. However, this situation might put less urgency on finding a solution to the...

Wow, after nine years in college, he must be well-along on a Ph.D... It is past time for real universities to get out of the business of professional sports. Spin them off to private capital and focus on their core mission, education. Steve

Growing up in the Boston area, I did some bait fishing in a local tidal river for tomcod (and eels accidentally) and off the rocky shores for tautog and cunner. With my BA in hand, I moved across the country to Santa Barbara for gradual school. My Ph.D. advisor and several of his graduate...

They could be carried by swallows... African or European??? Steve

Steve