The Long Tailed Vole

Thanks to Alva I awoke to her meowing and a long tailed vole. I am beginning to see a pattern here... I leave and the kitties do not go hunting (or do not bring it back to the house) and the day after I return, they bring home a kill for me.

Voles, moles, mice and shrews oh my... much to learn about.  There are seven species of voles in Alaska. Voles are mice that have shorter tails and live in and eat grass. Voles are the base of many food chains, weasels, marten, owls and hawks, gulls and northern pike! Voles are scientifically different from mice because their molars are flat-crowned with an enamel pattern of alternating triangles or a zigzag. Voles live for about one year. Female voles can produces six litters per year and begin breeding within 3-6 weeks. Watch out... voles can have fleas and ticks along with Giardia which us humans can become infected.

  

 

  

 Voles are "game" here in Alaska. The season for voles is open year round and there is no bag limit.

 Happy hunting



juvenile sparrow that just left the nest

This was a tough one.  I wondered if it could possibly be a juvenile pine siskin due to a light yellow coloring on the chest. But it didn't feel like the right fit. So I asked one of my favorite birders and was directed towards a sparrow. Possibly a song or lincoln sparrow that has just fledged.

I would like to take this opportunity to talk about birds beaks.  Bird beaks are essentially a compact layer of epidermal cells (horny sheath) molded around the bony core of each mandible,
the upper and lower jaws. In nearly all birds, unlike mammals, both upper and lower jaws can move