One doesn’t have to go far to see local river otters in the wild. Just take a walk out on the Trinidad pier and you’re likely to see one swimming in the harbor. But the best time is when local sport fishermen return to the floating dock below the pier to clean their catches. On […]
Outdoors
Posted inLife + Outdoors
HumBug: Autumn is Here
Late in the year, sources of nectar are scarce and those species that depend on it concentrate around the dwindling resource. Wild anise, a few thistles and other small flowers support that insect population and therefore increase an photographer’s opportunities to see species often dispersed over a much larger area, so a short walk along […]
Posted inNews
McKinleyvile Marksman
Turns out skeet shooting isn’t necessarily a young person’s game, at least according to Dan Jones. He ought to know — the 45-year-old McKinleyville native has just climbed to No. 1 in the national rankings by the National Skeet Shooting Association and he’s on his way to compete against some 400 to 500 shooters at […]
Posted inLife + Outdoors
HumBug: Why No Cricket Choruses?
I recently got a question from a reader as to why he didn’t hear the grand evening choruses of crickets he had gotten used to in other places. Like much in nature, while the question may be simple the answer is not. According to Dolbear’s Law, the chirp rate of a given cricket can be […]
Posted inLife + Outdoors
HumBug: Oregon Bugs
Although my primary reasons for going to Oregon were visiting family and eclipse watching, I did manage to get in a little bug hunting as well. One of the nice things about the hobby is you can do it nearly anywhere outside of Antarctica. Central Oregon’s high desert is a far cry from our coastal […]
Posted inLife + Outdoors
HumBug: Critters in the Water
The river is low enough now to wade upstream for miles without getting in over my knees. You have to be careful because the rocks are slippery with algae. The annual blue-green algae warnings are in effect and it is suggested you keep pets from drinking the water. A small camp towel is handy to […]
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Eclipse 2017: Humboldt Sits on a Partial Path of Totality
While we won’t get the full view, Humboldt County residents will still have some pretty good seats for one of the greatest celestial shows on earth when a total solar eclipse takes place Aug. 21. At the height of the event visible here on the North Coast — where the maximum coverage will hit around […]
Posted inLife + Outdoors
HumBug: Mythic Moths
Sunday night around 11:30 when I checked the light trap in my back yard, I was amazed to find a moth with a body as large as the first two sections of my finger and narrow wings like a hummingbird. I recognized it immediately as one of the Sphinx moths, although I didn’t recognize the […]
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HumBug: A Moth of Another Color
When I think the word “moth” I think of something gray. To be sure there are brightly colored day fliers, but the nocturnal majority are gray or brown, patterned to blend in with tree bark where they rest during the day. One of the things that makes moth identification challenging is that there are often […]
Posted inLife + Outdoors
HumBug: Ow! The Lady Stings
I usually discourage folks from bringing me insects since I do not actively collect, but when my son told me he had what he thought was a very fuzzy, wingless wasp, I was delighted. While it might not be politically correct to stereotype red heads as fiery, you might want to give this ginger girl […]