Species Spotlight: Hooded Merganser

Species Spotlight: Hooded Merganser

Alex Levitskiy

This week I selected to write on Hooded Mergansers (Lophodytes cucullatus), a new addition to my personal collection.  As the name suggests, Hooded Mergansers are literally “hooded” with a large crest.  When in breeding plumage, the males have an unmistakably large white crest outlined in black, creating an attractive contrast.  The black continues from the head all along the back and tail.  Their upper throats are black, while their breast is white.  Along their mantle is a white and black barred pattern.  Similarly, along their backs, there are wing coverts that are black with a bold white line, forming striking plumes.  Their flanks are cinnamon-brown colored and are overlayed by fine black barring.  Lastly, the drakes have a fine black bill and a bright golden eye.  The hens too have a “hood,” but theirs is smaller and cinnamon colored.  Their overall body color is brownish-grey, and their wing coverts bear the same pattern as the males’ coverts do.  Hooded Merganser hens have brown eyes and brown and yellow colored bills.  In eclipse plumage, Hooded Merganser drakes resemble hens.

This species is classified as Least Concern by the IUCN, and is readily available in captivity.  Being the most affordable and smallest  merganser species, Hooded Mergansers are a great duck to begin with before moving to the more challenging sea ducks.  Since they are naturally diving ducks, Hooded Mergansers require diving-depth water.  In the wild, their diet consists of aquatic insects, small fish, crayfish, and other similar creatures.  In a captive setting, minnows can be released into their ponds for enrichment and supplemental protein.  It is a joy to watch all Hooded Mergansers diving and the males displaying with their raised hoods.        

Hooded Merganser Drake

Hooded Merganser Hens    

Photo Credit: Alex Levitskiy

Homer’s Art Program

Homer’s Art Program

     Alyson Witt

Homer High School is known for its sports, academic achievements, and of course, the arts. Whether it's music or art, the school provides many opportunities for students to grow and improve their talents. Students with an interest in art have the opportunity to take a series of studio art classes, each focusing on different aspects of art. The series of classes start at level one and end at level five, and must be completed in order to properly build up skills. Some students start these classes during eighth grade if they are in the select group that is chosen on skill and artistic interest. If these students continue taking art, they will finish at the level five class. Other students start art classes in other years and can continue until they graduate. By participating in the art program, students can become better artists, earn credits towards graduation, and meet a variety of people with a common interest. Students get to interact with their peers and their art teachers: Mr. Wallace and Mr. Andre. Both teachers love their jobs and their students. Mr. Andre also helps coach the throwers of the track and field team, helping them achieve their goals and improve.

         As an art student, my favorite part of the day is coming to art class. There is an overall lively and enjoyable environment in the class. As a freshman, I am in studio II with Mr. Wallace, who is an excellent teacher. Each week, we work on a sketch, an in-class project, and a long term project that is completed at home. Not only is art a good way for me to improve my skills, it's also a good way to relax during the day, and do something I enjoy. I would recommend the art program to anyone even slightly interested, it's an opportunity that won't be regretted.

Homer Musical, 2016: South Pacific

Homer Musical, 2016: South Pacific

Reed Cleland

This year, Homer High School’s musical theatre group has chosen to perform a blast-from-the past. South Pacific is a Rodgers and Hammerstein classic, filled with comedy, romance, and drama. It even contains undertones of socio-cultural themes that still affect today’s world.

The musical’s plotline-without any spoilers-is actually two distinct subplots. Set in the Pacific theater during World War Two, it follows the struggle of American sailors to capture a Japanese island. In the first sub-plot, Nellie Forbush (Bailey Kote), an American naval nurse, is in love with a distinguished French plantation owner, Emile de Becque (David Perfetti), who lives on the island. However, she has reservations about marrying de Becque when she learns that his children are half-Polynesian.

  Meanwhile, the young Lieutenant Joseph Cable (Rowan Travis) has traveled to the island to serve with American forces. He falls in love with Liat (Jenniellen Withers), a young and innocent Polynesian woman. Social restrictions, however, make Cable second-guess the wisdom of marrying an island native. Several supporting characters, including Liat’s mother Bloody Mary (Kate Halstead) and the comic relief Luther Billis (Kenian Ulrich), help tie the stories together into an epic of social struggle. The rest of the cast does a great job of enriching the setting and  playing roles that include Nurses, Sailors, Officers, and Polynesians.

The musical’s legacy is contained in several memorable songs, including “Some Enchanted Evening”, “There is Nothing Like a Dame”, “I’m Gonna Wash that Man Right Outa My Hair”,  “Younger than Springtime”, and “You’ve Got to be Carefully Taught”. While there are plenty of elements for a night of light entertainment, the musical’s deeper messages on overcoming bigotry makes us all stop and think, at least for a moment, on how we judge others.

Although the musical was produced more than sixty years ago, director Mrs. Kara K-B McLaughlin believes that these messages for accepting others are applicable to modern society: “The plot’s conflict is really driven forward by those characters who have to overcome their prejudices,” she said. “The show’s really significant for being written in a time when there was a lot of prejudice in America. Cable’s “You’ve Got to be Carefully Taught” can really be taken as a message to watch what we teach our children, because we end up believing a lot of things we’re taught as children.”

This musical is filled with talented singers, actors, dancers, and musicians. Their hard work, which started in October, will culminate on March 4th and 5th, in the Bonné Auditorium. Tickets will run at $6 for students and seniors, $8 for general admission, and $30 for a family rate. The show is one of the many examples of the phenomenal productions created by Homer High’s musical theatre and you will not want to miss it!

Experiencing New York City

Experiencing New York City

Isabell Berthelsen

The world has many famous sayings about New York City, such as “Anything Can Happen in a New York Minute” or “If You Can Make it Here, You Can Make it Anywhere”. The quote that I best remember is the description of the city as “The city that never sleeps”, and after two visits to New York City, I think that that last description fits the city just perfectly.

In Denmark, we don’t have any skyscrapers or a big skyline; Denmark’s biggest city, our capital Copenhagen, is made of mainly old buildings, some even build back in the 1600s by King Christian IV. So by coming to New York City as a Danish small town girl, I was truly amazed when I saw the giant amount of people walking on streets and the big skyscrapers looming up in front me. I visited the Empire State Building and I saw the view during both the day and night, it was breathtaking both times. You feel like you are standing on the top of the world; everything seems so small and peaceful, you’re so far away from the noise and the rush.

As a real tourist in a big city, I visited all the must-sees. I saw everything from The Statue of Liberty to Times Square to the Christmas Market in Bryant Park. So after experiencing one of the world’s most famous and biggest cities, I can conclude that New York City never sleeps and if you blink, you’ll miss it because anything can happen in a New York second.

(The photos are from on the top of the Empire State Building with another  Danish Exchange Studen, Laura, who lives in Tully.)