Description
Sockeye Salmon: Oncorhynchus nerka
The word sockeye coming from the native word “sukkai”. In Alaska it is known as the Redfish.
The silver fish is the color of the Sockeye before spawning (or the color they stay if they don’t migrate to the ocean such as those in the Columbia River region where they are known as Bluefish). This resettlement to the ocean takes place ten or twelve months after fry have developed. Here they live for two or three years before returning to their birth streams, creeks and lakes to spawn. It is when they reenter the fresh water that the dramatic green head and bright red body transform both males and females. Sexes are still easily distinguished because of males’ larger sizes and their elongated and curling snouts, which begin to form when they reach the river estuaries on their way home. They will never eat again once they begin this pilgrimage and once the mating is over they will die. In the left spawning male are:
Pine Grosbeaks: Pinicola enucleator
Our pine grosbeaks in the Pacific Northwest ten to have this darker red colour. They have a lazy low warble of softly whistled notes.They aren’t common and are usually found in the openings of coniferous forests or near fruit trees in small flocks. They feed on seeds and fruit.
American Robin: Turdus migratorius
These birds pictured in the middle and right hand Sockeye are probably one of our most familiar birds in North America. They mainly eat insects, earthworms and berries. They dance around making the sound of rain which makes the earthworms rise from the ground where they instantly become a yummy meal.
