Chalky vs. Mushy Halibut

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How much does a pound of halibut cost in your neighborhood grocery store? If you can even find halibut for sale, it probably costs more than $20 per pound, and if you decided to buy it, you expect your butcher to hand you a perfect chunk of pristine, white fish. Pacific halibut is one of the most sought-after food fish in the world. When cooked, halibut has a subtle flavor and a flaky texture, but when fishermen report catching halibut with sub-prime flesh conditions, the news alarms sport and commercial fishermen, fish processors, chefs, and consumers. Chalky and mushy flesh conditions are the two biggest concerns for halibut caught in Alaska.

What is the difference between chalky and mushy halibut, and can a human safely eat the meat of a fish afflicted with either condition? The two flesh conditions might both look unappetizing, but they are very different from each other. One is caused by the rigors of an athlete trying to stay in the ocean and out of your boat, while the other is a sign of a malnourished fish. Let me explain in more detail.

Chalky Halibut

When an animal exerts itself, it uses oxygen to break down glucose and produce energy. During intense exercise, such as when a sprinter runs a race, he might not be able to breathe enough oxygen to complete the chemical process to produce energy. When the body does not have sufficient oxygen, it produces lactic acid, which your body can convert anaerobically (without oxygen) into energy. Producing anaerobic energy works great in the short term, but during prolonged physical exertion, lactic acid can build up in the bloodstream and muscles faster than the animal can burn it, lowering the pH of the muscle tissue.

The blood and muscles of a healthy athlete, as well as those of a healthy fish, will slowly dump excess lactic acid once the athlete or fish stops exerting and begins breathing normally again. When a fish is killed at the end of a long fight, though, the excess lactic acid stays in its flesh. Small halibut in the 10 lb. to 15 lb. range, caught during the warmest part of the summer, are the most susceptible to excess lactic acid in their tissues.

The meat from a halibut with a build-up of lactic acid often looks white and cooked as soon as you fillet the fish, but it sometimes takes several hours before the flesh turns chalky. Instead of the semi-translucent appearance of normal halibut meat, chalky halibut is white and opaque. Chalky halibut looks like raw halibut after the meat has marinated in lemon juice for several hours. Chalky halibut is safe to eat, but the meat often tastes tough and dry when cooked.

Mushy Halibut Syndrome

As the name implies, halibut with this syndrome have large sections of flesh which are soft instead of firm, and sometimes the flesh is so mushy, it feels like jelly. A mushy halibut is often obvious even before you fillet it because the fish looks emaciated, and indeed, biologists think malnourishment causes this condition.

Mushy halibut syndrome is most prevalent in halibut in the 15-20-lb. range. Although fish pathologists have yet to pinpoint the cause of this condition, they have not found parasites or infectious agents in affected fish, and they do not believe it is a disease that can be transmitted from fish to fish. Microscopic examination of the tissues of mushy halibut reveal a severe loss of muscle mass, and the affected muscles resemble those of animals known to have nutritional deficiencies of vitamin E and selenium.

The muscle atrophy in mushy halibut causes weakness in the fish and compromises the halibut’s ability to capture prey, leading to further malnutrition and weakness. This syndrome is most common in areas where populations of prey fish have declined, and the stomach contents of mushy halibut show many have consumed small crabs instead of the forage fish they normally eat. Researchers wonder if crab lacks some of the nutrients necessary for halibut to thrive.

Mushy halibut is safe to eat, but when cooked, it falls apart and resembles oatmeal.
According to the International Halibut Commission, neither chalky nor mushy halibut are common, but the prevalence of these conditions varies between years and locations. As the oceans warm, researchers worry these conditions will become more common.

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Robin Barefield is the author of three Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, and The Fisherman’s Daughter. To download a free copy of one of her novels, watch her webinar about how she became an author and why she writes Alaska wilderness mysteries. If you like audiobooks, check out her audiobook version of Murder Over Kodiak. Also, sign up below to subscribe to her free, monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska.

 

Sunshine

Living in the wilderness on Kodiak Island, Writing, , ,

Ahh, sunshine! Finally, we’ve had a week without clouds. When the sun shines on this lush, green rainforest I call home, no place is more beautiful, and a day of sunshine makes me forget all the cloudy, rainy days preceding it. We have had a cool spring with almost no sunshine until now, and I was beginning to wonder if I would ever see the sun again.

June is “work” month here at our lodge on Kodiak Island. It is the month we paint, fix, clean, and garden in preparation for our summer bear-viewing and sport-fishing trips. A day of sunshine means it is time to rush outdoors, grab a brush and spread paint until exhausted. June is also one of the rainiest, foggiest months on the island, so we cannot afford to squander sunshine on decadent activities such as picnics on the beach or hikes in the woods. Nevertheless, I enjoy the sunshine, and after a week of hard work, I am also looking forward to the forecasted rain in a few days!

This time of year, writing is a luxury, and I have to steal a minute here and there to write a few lines. While my mind bursts with story-telling and promotional ideas, I don’t have time to follow through on them. I recently began publishing my murder newsletters on Medium, an online publishing platform. Here is a link to my first article. While this is the wrong time of year to give myself a new job, I was excited to have an additional outlet for my writing, and I couldn’t wait to see if people would read my stories on Medium. I dreamed of thousands of new readers, but now, I’ll be happy if my article receives a hundred views.

I am eager to get back to writing my next novel. I’m excited about the story, and I love writing fiction. My writing focus this summer, though, will be to finish the edits on my wildlife book. I hope to send it to my publisher this winter.

I have been thinking about my blog posts for this summer, and I plan to focus once again on fish. Of all the posts I have written, my most popular one is, “The Difference Between Atlantic and Pacific Salmon.” I guess this means folks are interested in fish, and since I love talking about fish, it’s a topic I’ll embrace. I have a halibut post planned for next week, and then I’ll jump into the troubling issue of the sudden decline in Pacific grey cod.

Please send me any questions you have about fish species in the North Pacific, and I will investigate the answer and write a post about it. I will be happy to write about fish biology, fishing regulations, and fishing techniques.

I know I don’t say this often enough, but thank you for reading my posts. I appreciate you! Now, it’s time for me to get outdoors, enjoy this sunshine, and paint something.

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Robin Barefield is the author of three Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, and The Fisherman’s Daughter. To download a free copy of one of her novels, watch her webinar about how she became an author and why she writes Alaska wilderness mysteries. If you like audiobooks, check out her audiobook version of Murder Over Kodiak. Also, sign up below to subscribe to her free, monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska.

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Interesting Facts About Sitka Black-Tailed Deer

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While I always smile when I see a Sitka black-tailed deer, I don’t always run for my camera because I see deer nearly every day. Last week, I wrote about the three deer that hang out in our yard. The other day, I stretched out on a sunny spot in the grass and closed my eyes. I felt something touch my face, and when I casually brushed it away, I heard loud breathing and hooves stomping. I sat up abruptly and looked into the eyes of a young buck. I’m not sure which one of us was the most startled, but after we recovered, the deer resumed grazing, and I laughed.

While they may be common, deer are fascinating animals, and I thought I would share a few interesting facts about Sitka black-tailed deer.

How did deer get to Kodiak Island, and how have they survived?

The most interesting fact about the Sitka black-tailed deer on Kodiak Island is that they exist and thrive here. The deer population on Kodiak stems from a founder population of fewer than 35 animals. Twenty-five Sitka black-tailed deer were introduced to the north end of Kodiak Island in three transplants from 1924 to 1933, and another nine deer were introduced in 1934. The deer population has since spread to most areas of the Kodiak archipelago, and despite the limited gene pool, the population appears to be healthy. The size of the deer population fluctuates from year to year, depending on the harshness of the winter, but biologists estimate when the population is at its peak, approximately 70,000 deer on live on the archipelago.

How can deer eat some poisonous plants?

After a long, cold winter, deer enthusiastically graze on the first green sprouts in the spring, and they often eat skunk cabbage, despite the fact the plant contains oxalic acid, a poisonous compound. Humans who have tasted skunk cabbage claim the plant burns their mouths for hours, but it doesn’t seem to bother deer. Deer are also able to tolerate other toxic plants, and it is possible their gut bacteria can neutralize the toxins in these noxious plants.

How do deer communicate with each other?

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about how foxes communicate with each other. One of the ways deer communicate is with the aid of pheromones produced by the scent glands located on the lower legs. A gland on the outside of the lower leg produces an “alarm” scent, a gland on the inside of the hock produces a scent to help deer recognize each other, and glands between the toes leave a scent trail when a deer walks. Deer have excellent senses of sight, smell, and hearing. Their ears move independently of each other, allowing them to pick up on signs of danger from different directions.

Why do some deer have deformed antlers?

A certain percentage of deformed antlers are common in any deer population and may be produced as the result of an injury. Research shows that leg, pedicle, and velvet injuries can all lead to deformed antlers, and these deformities may be temporary or permanent. Some deer in certain areas of Kodiak Island, particularly the Aliulik and Hepburn Peninsulas on the southern end of the island, display abnormal antlers with a bizarre shape, sharp tips, and retention of velvet well into the mating season. Research on these deer indicates they are also sterile. At first, the problem was believed to be genetically linked due to the narrow gene pool of the small founder population. This theory, however, did not explain why the deer with the mutated antlers were mostly concentrated in one area of the island, even though there was nothing confining the deer to this area. A study published in 2005 carefully analyzed all aspects of the problem and concluded the sterile deer with the malformed antlers were not the result of inbreeding. Instead, researchers think the deer living in this area of the island are ingesting something such as kelp or grass laced with estrogenic molecules that alter antler growth, transform testicular cells, and block the descent of fetal testes.

The Sitka black-tailed deer on Kodiak Island experience the best and worst of nature. In the spring and summer, they enjoy an endless supply of food in this lush environment, but winters are often harsh, and nearly the entire deer population can be wiped out by a series of cold, snowy winters.
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Robin Barefield is the author of three Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, and The Fisherman’s Daughter. To download a free copy of one of her novels, watch her webinar about how she became an author and why she writes Alaska wilderness mysteries. If you like audiobooks, check out her audiobook version of Murder Over Kodiak. Also, sign up below to subscribe to her free, monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska.

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How do Deer Antlers Grow?

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Why do deer have antlers, and how do they grow so fast? Can you imagine having to walk around with a set of antlers on your head? I get a headache just thinking about it.

Last year in late May, we saw a Sitka black-tailed deer doe with two newborn fawns in our yard. They took up residence nearby, and we still see the trio nearly every day as they graze on our sprouting grass. The fawns are now almost the same size as the doe, and I wonder when they will wander off on their own. Will the doe have a new set of fawns this year? She doesn’t look pregnant, but we will know for certain in a few weeks.

Does between the ages of five and ten are in their prime and usually produce two fawns a year. Mating season on Kodiak occurs between mid-October and late November. The gestation period is six to seven months, so fawns are born from late May through June. Twins are the most common, although many young does only produce a single fawn, and triplets do sometimes occur. Newborn fawns weigh between 6.0 and 8.8 lbs. (2.7 to 4.0 kgs.). For the first week, a newborn fawn has no scent, allowing the mother to leave the fawn hidden as she browses for food to rebuild her energy reserves after giving birth.

The two young deer we often see in our yard are bucks, and they have little nubs on their heads. Bucks begin to grow a new set of antlers in the late spring because the increased daylight in the spring stimulates the hormones that regulate antler growth. During the spring and summer, antlers receive a rich supply of blood and are covered by a fine membrane called “velvet.” At this time, the antlers are fragile and vulnerable to cuts and bruises. By August, antler growth slows, and they begin to harden. A few weeks later, antler growth ceases, blood flow to the antlers stops, and the velvet dries up and falls off. Bucks then retain these hard, polished antlers throughout the mating season. After the mating season, cells start to de-mineralize the bone between the pedicle and the antler, weakening the connection between the skull and the antler, and the antler falls off. On Kodiak, deer normally begin dropping their antlers from mid-to-late December.

Sitka black-tailed deer antlers are fairly small compared to other species of deer and typically have three or four points on either side, including the eye guards. A very large buck might have five points on each side, including the eye guards.

Deer antlers grow at an amazing rate. Biologists have determined white-tailed deer antlers can grow as much as one-half an inch (1.27 cm) per day during their peak growth. Antler size is dependent on age, nutrition, and genetics. Antlers are made from bone, and they develop from the pedicle on the frontal bone of the skull. Male fawns produce “button” antlers at the age of four to five months, and they begin growing their first noticeable antlers the following year. A young buck’s first antlers may be only single spikes, but antler size usually increases with age until they reach a maximum size. Antler growth requires a great deal of energy, so antler size is dependent on good nutrition and environmental conditions. A buck may produce smaller antlers the year following an extremely harsh winter.

While biologists don’t know why bucks grow antlers, several theories have been proposed:

(1) A buck with large antlers may signal to a potential mate that he is healthy and possess good genes.
(2) Antlers may be used as a weapon during the breeding season to establish dominance between males.
(3) The size of the antlers alone may display age-related dominance without the males having to fight. Although, current research does not support this theory.
(4) Deer may use antlers

to defend themselves against predators. Although, this would only be beneficial for bucks since does don’t have antlers.

It is likely a combination of two or more of these theories point to the true purpose of antlers.

The Kodiak winter of 2016/2017 was very harsh, and biologists estimated as much as 80% of the deer population on the island died. We saw deer carcasses everywhere we hiked in the late winter of 2017. The 2017/2018 winter was mild, and the deer fared much better. The deer wandering through our yard this spring look fat and healthy, and I suspect we will see a bumper crop of fawns this summer.

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Next week, I’ll cover some interesting facts about deer.

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Robin Barefield is the author of three Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, and The Fisherman’s Daughter. To download a free copy of one of her novels, watch her webinar about how she became an author and why she writes Alaska wilderness mysteries. If you like audiobooks, check out her audiobook version of Murder Over Kodiak. Also, sign up below to subscribe to her free, monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska.

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Sign Up for my free, monthly Mystery Newsletter about true crime in Alaska.

How Do Red Foxes Communicate?

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You only need to hear the scream of a fox in the middle of the night to know foxes communicate with each other and with other animals. Like dogs, red foxes communicate through body language, vocalizations, and scent.

Most body posturing is either aggressive/dominant or fearful/submissive. A curious fox will rotate his ears while sniffing, and when playing, a fox might perk up his ears and rise on his hind legs. When afraid, red foxes grin in submission, arch their backs, curve their bodies, crouch their legs, point their ears backward and pressed against their skulls, and swing their tails back and forth. Submissive foxes maintain a lower posture when approaching a dominant fox. When two evenly- matched foxes square off, they approach each other sideways and display postures suggesting a mixture of fear and aggression, with ears pulled back, tails lashing, and backs arched. When attacking each other, a red fox approaches its opponent head-on instead of sideways. They hold their tails aloft and rotate their ears to the sides.

In addition to body language, red foxes use vocalization to communicate. They have a wide vocal range and produce sounds spanning five octaves. Biologists have divided most of these sounds into contact calls and interaction calls. Contact calls are used when two foxes approach each other or when adults greet their kits. Foxes use interaction calls either during courting or when dominant and submissive foxes interact or during an aggressive encounter. A call that does not fit into either of these categories is a long, monosyllabic “waaaaah” sound made during the mating season, and biologists think this vocalization is a female calling for males.

The red fox has extremely good hearing, and unlike other mammals, it can hear low-frequency sounds well, allowing it to detect small animals moving underground, so it can dig the prey out of the dirt or snow. Although not as acute as its hearing, the red fox has a good sense of smell and binocular vision that reacts mainly to movement.

A fox’s sense of smell allows it to use scent to communicate. A fox urinates to mark its territory and food caches. A male raises one hind leg and sprays urine in front of him, while a female squats and sprays urine between her hind legs. Then, anal and supra-caudal glands, as well as glands around the lips, jaws, and on the pads of the feet, aid another fox in detecting the scents marking the first fox’s territory or food cache.

As with most mammals, foxes have developed an elaborate array of means to communicate with each other. Just because we don’t understand their language, doesn’t mean they don’t have one.

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For those of you who enjoy audio books, the audio version of my novel Murder Over Kodiak is now available. Check it out here. Also, you can download a freed digital version of one of my novels by watching my webinar about how I became an author and where I get my ideas for my novels.

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Robin Barefield is the author of three Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, and The Fisherman’s Daughter. To download a free copy of one of her novels, watch her webinar about how she became an author and why she writes Alaska wilderness mysteries. Also, sign up below to subscribe to her free, monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska.

Mystery Newsletter

Sign Up for my free, monthly Mystery Newsletter about true crime in Alaska.

The Kodiak Red Fox

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The red fox (Vulpes vulpes) is a member of the Order Carnivora and the dog family Canidae. Red foxes occupy the largest geographic range of any member of the Carnivora, across the entire Northern hemisphere, Central America, and Asia. There are currently 45 recognized subspecies of Vulpes Vulpes, and one of these subspecies is Vulpes vulpes harrimani, the Kodiak red fox.

Red foxes are one of only six mammals native to the Kodiak Archipelago, and like most other Kodiak mammals, Kodiak red foxes are very large. They have a huge tail, coarse, thick fur on the lower back and tail, and a thick ruff around the neck and shoulders. Most Kodiak red foxes are either cross foxes with a black/brown cross on their back and shoulders, or they are a solid reddish-orange in color. Silver foxes make up a smaller percentage of the population and are striking with black fur, silver-tipped guard hairs, and yellow eyes.

Red foxes breed in February and March in Alaska. Soon after mating, the female will begin preparing a den for the arrival of her kits (babies). She may dig her own den, but often a fox just enlarges the home of a smaller burrowing animal. The litter is born after a gestation period of 51 to 54 days. An average litter consists of four kits, but litters of ten are not uncommon.

The kits open their eyes at eight to ten days after birth and leave the den for the first time at five to six weeks of age. By the time the kits are three months old, they begin to hunt on their own, and the leave their mother when they are seven months old.
In the summer, we see young foxes dart out of their dens, playing, chasing each other, and learning to hunt. Kits are curious and will often sit and watch us as we cruise past them in our boat. Even adult foxes are curious, but as they age, they learn to be wary.

Most red fox populations are considered stable. Red foxes are adaptable, and while they seem to prefer a wild setting, they can thrive even when living near urban populations.
Humans are fascinated by the beautiful, curious, intelligent red fox, and the red fox has been the subject of many songs, fables, and parables. In certain areas, foxes are trapped or shot for their furs, and in the early 1900s, fox farms, to supply pelts, were established on many of the small islands around the Kodiak Archipelago and off the Alaska Peninsula.

In addition to man, red foxes have several other natural enemies, including wolves coyotes, lynx, wolverines, and possibly bears. Eagles may prey on young foxes. The mite Sarcoptes scabiei causes mange in red foxes, resulting in hair loss, wasting and death. In the wild, red foxes live about five years, but in captivity, they may live as long as fifteen years.

We often see red foxes on the beaches at low tide, feeding on mussels, starfish, sea urchins, worms, and other intertidal animals. Foxes are a part of the Kodiak landscape, and I smile whenever I spot one.

Next week, I’ll tell you how foxes communicate with each other.

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The audiobook of Murder Over Kodiak is now available, and you can buy it here. If you want a free digital copy of one of my books, watch my webinar, and you can download the book for free at the end.

Please leave me a comment if you have any observations, questions, or suggestions

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Robin Barefield is the author of three Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, and The Fisherman’s Daughter. To download a free copy of one of her novels, watch her webinar about how she became an author and why she writes Alaska wilderness mysteries. Also, sign up below to subscribe to her free, monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska.

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A List of Wilderness Mystery Authors

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Last week, I talked about my tagline as an Alaska wilderness mystery author and discussed my efforts to find my ideal readers. In other words, I’m looking for readers who enjoy reading wilderness mysteries. When my publisher first tagged me as an Alaska wilderness mystery author, I laughed at the description because I’d never thought of myself as a wilderness mystery author. I use a setting I know and understand in my novels, and this setting happens to be the wilderness of Kodiak Island where I live.

To understand my place in the mystery genre as a wilderness mystery author, I had to find other wilderness mystery authors and see how my books compare to theirs. I’ve found several wilderness mystery authors, but our numbers are minuscule compared to other subsets of the mystery genre. I thought it would be helpful for my blog readers for me to compile a list of the authors I’ve found in the wilderness mystery category. This list is by no means an exhaustive; it is only a beginning. I ask you to add to my list by leaving a comment at the end of this post. I don’t want to exclude any authors, and with your help, I can make my list more complete.

 

Nevada Barr: The queen of the genre in my opinion. Her first Anna Pigeon mystery was published in 1993, and she has since written 18 additional books in the series. Anna is a National Park Ranger. 

 

Dana Stabenow: An award-winning mystery author from Alaska who writes a series featuring Kate Shugak, an ex-investigator for the Anchorage D.A.

 

Sue Henry: Another well-known, award-winning Alaskan author whose series features Alaska State Trooper Alex Jensen and dog musher Jessie Arnold.

 

C.J. Box: Author of the award-winning series starring Wyoming game warden Joe Pickett.

 

Paul Doiron: His protagonist, Mike Bowditch is a game warden in Maine.

 

Joseph Heywood: In his series, Grady Service is a wilderness detective with the Department of Natural Resources in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.

 

Craig Johnson: His series character, Walt Longmire is the sheriff of Absaroka County in a remote part of Wyoming.

 

Keith McCafferty: His two main characters, Sherriff Martha Ettinger and fishing guide and part-time detective Sean Stranahan, have a complex relationship throughout this series located near Montana’s Crazy Mountains.

 

Jessica Speart: Her series features U.S. Fish and Wildlife special agent Rachel Porter who works to uncover the poaching and smuggling of endangered wildlife species.

 

Pamela Beason: Her wilderness mystery series features wildlife biologist Sam Westin, whose knowledge of wildlife and wilderness survival aide her in her criminal investigations. Sam lives in Washington, but her adventures often take her to other points around the globe.

 

Kimberli A. Bindschatel: Her protagonist is U.S. Fish and Wildlife Agent Poppy McVie.

 

Robin Barefield: (I have to include myself on this list!) Her main character, Jane Marcus, is smart and resourceful, but unlike most of the other protagonists on this list, Jane is not comfortable in the wilderness. When Jane finds herself in the wilds of Alaska, she must depend on her wits to survive.

This is my short list. Who have I forgotten? Please list your favorite wilderness mystery authors in the comments section of this post, and I will update my list. In the meantime, start expanding your reading list of wilderness mystery authors by checking out books by some of the authors I have mentioned!

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I am excited to announce my novel, Murder Over Kodiak, is now available as an audiobook. The book is available on Amazon, but you must sign up at audible.com to purchase and download the audio file.

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Robin Barefield is the author of three Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, and The Fisherman’s Daughter. To download a free copy of one of her novels, watch her webinar about how she became an author and why she writes Alaska wilderness mysteries. Also, sign up below to subscribe to her free, monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska.

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Sign Up for my free, monthly Mystery Newsletter about true crime in Alaska.

Wilderness Author

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Lately, I’ve been thinking about what it means to be a wilderness author and why the setting I’ve chosen is so critical to my novels. I naturally like to set my novels in a place I know well, and since I’ve lived in the wilderness for more than 30 years, it’s only logical for me to place my characters in this environment. I understand the challenges of the Kodiak wilderness, respect its tantrums, and love its beauty.

I know not everyone enjoys reading mysteries (crazy as this sounds to me), and of those who like to read mysteries, only a small fraction embrace wilderness mysteries. Mystery novels come in all shapes and sizes. We have cozy mysteries (think Agatha Christie), hard-boiled mysteries, police procedurals, thrillers, and puzzle mysteries to name a few. Except for cozy mysteries which are often set in small villages or towns, a large percentage of mystery novels are set in big cities, whether it’s New York, London, Tokyo, Chicago, L.A., a fictional city or somewhere else. Cities make sense as settings for mysteries because a large number of people live in a relatively small area in cities, and crime is not unusual there. City dwellers understand crime novels set in a city, and even the rest of us mystery lovers are intrigued by how characters navigate the obstacles of city life.

I recently have been on a search for readers who enjoy wilderness mysteries. Most authors, except Stephen King, John Grisham, and a few others, must work to find readers. Nearly 5,000 books are published every day on Amazon, so in this sea of books, how does a reader find authors who write the type of books he likes? How does a new author make a living at writing? It isn’t easy, and it may be impossible to succeed in today’s book marketplace unless you are lucky or connected.

Authors are dreamers by nature, though, and I believe one day, I will find my core group of wilderness mystery readers, and they will tell their friends who will tell their friends. Over the last several weeks, I have been connecting with folks on LinkedIn and telling them about my books and my newsletter, and several of my new connections have signed up for my newsletter which thrills me.

I am an introvert, so reaching out to people on LinkedIn has demanded courage. I have been exhilarated by the results, though. Frances Joyce the publisher of the e-zine This Awful-Awesome Life asked me to write an article about Kodiak and its wildlife, and I jumped at the opportunity. Then, I connected with Pamela Beason, a popular wilderness mystery writer who lives in Washington state. We hope to work together in the near future to promote our books. Pam’s mysteries featuring wildlife biologist Sam Weston are excellent. If you enjoy wilderness mysteries, you will love hers.

James Hayman is my latest interesting LinkedIn connection. He is the New York Times bestselling author of the mystery series set in Portland, Maine featuring detectives McCabe and Savage. As soon as we connected, Jim asked me if I would be interested in writing a guest blog post for him about where I live on Kodiak Island and how I use this setting for my novels. My post is now available on his site: http://jameshaymanthrillers.com/blog/. I hope to convince Jim to write a blog post for me. I recently read his novel, The Girl on the Bridge, and I highly recommend it. I plan to read the rest of the series, and if you enjoy mysteries, I’m sure you will want to read his books as well.

Do you enjoy mysteries set in the untamed wilderness where characters must navigate hostile environments, raging storms, Kodiak bears, and other wild animals? If you think you would be interested in reading an Alaska wilderness mystery, or you know someone who would be interested, sign up for my webinar (http://bit.ly/2pcCOo6), and at the end, you can download a copy of one of my novels. The only purpose of my webinar is to introduce myself to new readers. You can decide for yourself if wilderness mysteries are for you.

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Robin Barefield is the author of three Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, and The Fisherman’s Daughter. Sign up below to subscribe to her free, monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska.

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When Do Eaglets Leave The Nest?

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Three weeks after hatching, eagle chicks, or eaglets, molt to a thicker, darker down which remains until the first set of feathers develop. At this stage, one of the parents remains near the nest to shelter the chicks from direct sunlight, inclement weather, and anything else that can harm them.

When an eaglet first hatches, its bill and eyes are dark-colored. Over the course of three to four years, the bill lightens to a swirl of shades of brown, then to yellow-brown, and finally to bright yellow. The eyes lighten to buff yellow by one-and-one-half-years, light cream by age two-and-one-half, and pale yellow by three-and-one-half.

As the chicks develop feathers and grow, the parents spend less time at the nest and more time hunting for food. The eaglets grow very rapidly as long as the parents can provide sufficient food. If the parents are unable to find enough food, the smallest chicks might die.

At one-and-one-half to two-weeks, most young eagles weigh one to two lbs. (500 to 900 grams). Between 18 – 24 days, chicks gain four ounces (100-130 grams) per day, a faster weight gain than at any other stage of their development. Eaglets begin feeding themselves around the sixth to seventh week, and by eight weeks, they can stand and walk around the nest. At sixty days, eaglets are well-feathered and have gained 90% of their adult weight. Large nestlings consume nearly as much food as adults.

Chicks remain in the nest for ten to twelve weeks. A week or two before they fledge, they can be seen on the rim of the nest exercising their wings and holding onto the nest with their talons. They flap their wings and may even lift off the nest. A chick can fall or be blown off a nest while exercising, and if it can’t make it to another branch, it might fall to its death. Biologists estimate one in seven eaglets fledges prematurely, either falling or jumping from the nest before it can fly.

Once their muscles and wings are strong enough, eaglets are ready to leave the nest. What prompts the chicks to fledge is a matter of speculation, but at some point, the parents cut back on the amount of food they provide their young, and they may even use food to lure the chicks away from the nest. Males fledge at an average of 78 days, and females fledge at an average of 82 days. Research in Southeast Alaska shows fledging there occurs on average in mid-August.

The first several flights of a fledgling are very clumsy, and their first few landings are usually crash landings. Juvenile birds have longer wings and tails than adults, and this makes learning to fly easier for them. As an eagle matures, its wings become shorter and narrower, and the tail gets shorter with each molt.

Immature eagles usually stay within a half-mile radius of the nest for the first six weeks after fledging, and they may even continue to receive food from their parents during this time. Eight to ten weeks after fledging, they seem to develop a stronger instinct to move further away from the nest.

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Robin Barefield is the author of three Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, and The Fisherman’s Daughter. To download a free copy of one of her novels, watch her webinar about how she became an author and why she writes Alaska wilderness mysteries. Also, sign up below to subscribe to her free, monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska.

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When do Bald Eagles in Alaska Lay Their Eggs, and When do the Eggs Hatch?

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Bald eagles lay their eggs in mid to late May in southern areas of Alaska, although one study in Southeastern Alaska indicated that they might lay their eggs as late as early June. The female lays between one and three off-white-colored eggs in a span of one to three days. The eggs range in size from 2.76 inches by 2.09 inches (70mm by 53 mm) to 3.31 inches by 2.36 inches (84 mm by 60mm).

The eagle pair begins incubating the eggs as soon as they are laid. The male and female share the incubation duties, and each mate hunts for its own food. Studies show that for 98% of the day, either the male or female sits on the eggs. The incubating bird stands up about once per hour and may change positions. A study at several nesting sites on Admiralty Island in Southeast Alaska found eggs were incubated for 95% of the daylight hours with females sitting on the eggs 53% of the time, and males tending the eggs 42% of the time. Brooding time dropped to 79% of the day for the first 10 days after the eggs hatched and by 41 to 50 days after hatching, the brooding time decreased to only 6% of each day. Brooding time increased when it was rainy and decreased when it was sunny. The incubation period takes 34 to 36 days. Since individual eggs may be laid a few days apart, they will not all hatch at the same time.

The hatching process is slow and arduous. It takes chicks twelve to forty-eight hours to fully emerge from the egg. The chick makes the first crack in the shell with its egg tooth, a small, hard bump on the top of the bill. After resting awhile, it then chisels around the large end of the egg. It eventually pushes off the end of the egg and wriggles out of the shell. The egg tooth dries up and falls off four to six weeks after hatching.

During hatching, a chick must undergo several physiological adaptations. Before it hatches, a chick absorbs oxygen through the mat of membranes under the shell. During the hatching process, it must cut the blood supply to these membranes and trap the blood within its body. At the same time, it must also inflate its lungs and begin breathing air once it has cracked the shell. The chick must also absorb the yolk sack into its body and seal off the umbilicus.

Newborn chicks are wet, exhausted, nearly blind, and extremely needy. Since a newly-hatched chick can’t regulate its body temperature, the parents must keep it warm. The chick is covered with pale gray down. The skin and scales of the legs are bright pink, the bill is a grey-black with a white tip, and the talons are flesh-colored. After the first week, the legs begin to turn yellow.

 

Eagles lay one to three eggs, but usually, only one or two chicks survive. Survivability is directly correlated to age. The first chick to hatch will be one to two days older than its siblings, so it will be larger and stronger and able to out-compete its nestlings if food is limited. If a brood has three chicks, the smallest chick usually dies within a week of hatching. Death is not normally caused by injuries from fighting with its siblings, but the chick simply starves to death because the older nestlings get all the food. The older chicks peck the young chick into submission to prevent it from eating enough to survive. By doing this, the older chicks ensure they have plenty of food.

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Robin Barefield is the author of three Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, and The Fisherman’s Daughter. To download a free copy of one of her novels, watch her webinar about how she became an author and why she writes Alaska wilderness mysteries. Also, sign up below to subscribe to her free, monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska.

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Sign Up for my free, monthly Mystery Newsletter about true crime in Alaska.